Ivan Perisic has revealed his five favourite Inter players ahead of tonight’s Serie A match against Benevento.
Antonio Conte’s side are hoping to close the gap on league leaders AC Milan in matchday 20, with the Rossoneri two points clear ahead of their fixture at Bologna this afternoon.
Interviewed by Inter’s matchday program for the game against Pippo Inzaghi’s side at San Siro, in which the Croatian midfielder is expected to start, Perisic was asked to name a five-a-side team made up of players from the Nerazzurri’s history.
“Julio Cesar will play in goal, he made history with Inter,” Perisic began.
“Walter Samuel is in defence because he is one of those players you need to win.
“Samuel Eto’o is in for his talent and his willingness to sacrifice himself, he was world class.
“Dejan Stankovic is a complete player who has scored incredible goals and then there’s Ronaldo, who is one of the greatest players of all time.”
Perisic was then quizzed on several subjects away from life at Inter, starting with a question on the best defender he has ever faced in his career.
“In my career I have come up against many strong defenders, among those who have impressed me the most is Sergio Ramos,” he explained.
Perisic also recalled the first time that he exchanged shirts with a player in his career.
“I exchanged my first shirt when I was at Sochaux with Karim Ziani, a midfielder who had played with me there and we then came up against one another after he moved to Marseille.”
The former Wolfsburg player also spoke on his passions outside of football and sang the praises of Los Angeles Lakers basketball superstar LeBron James.
“I love listening to music and I like various genres from R’n’B to Croatian music,” he revealed.
“Sometimes I turn on the radio or I listen to my playlists.
“If I think of basketball, I think of LeBron James.
“He is a leader on the court and knows how to do everything, which is important for all the teams in which he has played, he has made history in his sport.”
Perisic also spoke on three of things he remembers most abut growing up in Croatia.
“When I think about it, the first things that come to mind are the gnocchi with meat sauce that my grandmother used to make for me, the Stadion Poljud where Hajduk Split play and the sea,” he concluded.
The 31-year-old has made 188 appearances for Inter in all competitions, since joining from Wolfsburg in 2015, scoring 42 goals in that time.