Nicolo Barella has drawn a demanding comparison from former Inter owner and president Massimo Moratti today.
Barella starred in Sunday’s Derby d’Italia triumph over Juventus, setting up Arturo Vidal’s opening goal before adding a second after half-time in the Nerazzurri’s 2-0 win.
He is reportedly attracting interest from Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich but has told Inter he wishes to remain at the club and become a legend like Javier Zanetti and Giacinto Facchetti.
“In terms of how he plays, Barella reminds me of former Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes who was a really great player,” Moratti remarked in an interview which appeared in Tuesday’s print edition of Tuttosport.
“He’s really been a great signing for Inter.”
Moratti, who owned Inter for close to 20 years, then went on to reflect on last weekend’s demolition of the Bianconeri, which allowed Antonio Conte’s side to open up a seven-point gap to their arch rivals in Serie A.
“Honestly, it is a good feeling because this victory gives the idea that the team is there and that we can aim for something important this year,” Moratti said.
“Juventus were undoubtedly the opponent who was the most scary, this in any case without underestimating AC Milan, because, especially after the victory at San Siro against Stefano Pioli’s team, Juve gave the impression that they had recovered.
“Plus, when you look at their team, you see that they always have a lot of good names in team.
“For this reason, Inter achieving such a clear victory is absolutely important.”
Moratti proceeded to speak about Conte and also pointed out a difference between Conte and treble-winning coach Jose Mourinho.
“His comments about Juventus being a reference point for all other clubs is a general discussion about the club as a whole, which has been owned by the same family for a hundred years and, also for this reason, expresses great strength.
“Furthermore, I believe that the talk about the gap to Juventus is part of Conte’s strategy to focus the Inter players’ minds.
“How is he different to Mourinho? With Mourinho we were always the strongest, he never talked to me about the others.”
Next Moratti was asked about Inter’s chances of winning the Scudetto for the first time since that historic treble-winning season under Mourinho back in 2009-10.
“Inter can always afford to say that word, because it’s not like we are Sassuolo.
“For the sake of good luck, one has to be careful.
“More than alchemy, I would say that it is a very balanced season and in that sense we are in a very positive position to be able to win the Scudetto.
“The coach always has a big impact so it is good that he stays focused and pushes everyone towards this result.”
Moratti then briefly touched upon Vidal and the atmosphere in the Inter team at the moment.
“Vidal? The goal did him a lot of good.
“I saw how happy the teammates were that he scored and this shows how good the atmosphere is in the team.”
