Inter captain Samir Handanovic pointed to the arrival of former coach Luciano Spalletti as the trigger for widespread changes at the club, culminating in them going clear at the top of Serie A.
The goalkeeper starred as Inter thrashed title rivals AC Milan 3-0 in the Derby della Madonnina today to move four points clear at the summit of the table, putting them in the driving seat for a first league title since 2010.
Whilst Handanovic praised the work of incumbent Antonio Conte in leading Inter to the top, he cited the appointment of Spalletti in 2017 as the turning point for the club.
“In my opinion, Inter started to change with the arrival of Spalletti, then with Conte”, Handanovic claimed in a post match interview with Italian television broadcaster DAZN.
“We started building from this and adding more pieces, only through hard work can you improve. You need time, bad results and good moments mixed together to achieve this.”
Spalletti replaced Stefano Pioli as Inter coach and led the Nerazzurri back into the Champions League for the first time in six years in his debut season, before departing in 2019 and being replaced by Conte.
Handanovic then continued to talk about the strength that this Inter has, believing that the team really sacrifices itself for one another.
“There are many components this season. There are many human qualities, not only footballing qualities, there you take the next step.
“Now there are people who talk on the pitch, something that didn’t happen before.”