Italian World Cup-winning coach Marcello Lippi has hit out at suggestions that Inter play negative football, whilst also tipping them to be contenders in the Champions League next season.
Antonio Conte’s side sit 10 points clear of AC Milan at the top of the Serie A table and only need a further nine to secure the Scudetto, but the coach has come in for criticism due to his style of play in leading Inter to the title.
However, Lippi, who led Italy to glory in 2006 and won five Serie A titles with Juventus, felt such criticism was laughable and leapt to the defence of his former midfielder Conte.
“Antonio deserves the many compliments. The claim that Inter play badly is a joke, they rightly play their own football, exploiting the athletic strength and technique of their strikers. Conte is doing a great job,” Lippi declared in an interview published in today’s newspaper edition of Tuttosport.
Inter’s season was marred by an early exit from the Champions League, as they suffered the ignominy of finishing bottom of their group and being eliminated in December, but Lippi felt they were more prepared for a challenge next season.
“If they had gone further in the Champions League, we would be talking about a masterpiece. I am convinced that they will be protagonists in Europe next year,” he concluded.
