Emanuele Giaccherini believes Matteo Darmian is performing the same role at Inter as he did under Antonio Conte at Juventus.
Darmian was the Nerazzurri’s hero during their last two home games against Cagliari and Hellas Verona, coming off the bench on both occasions to score a late goal in a 1-0 win.
Giaccherini spent two seasons playing for Conte at Juventus and believes there are similarities between the pair, who have both managed to become unsung heroes.
“Darmian has done what I did at Juventus,” Giaccherini, who now plays for ChievoVerona in Serie B, told Tuttosport in an interview for Thursday’s print edition.
“He arrived under the radar and has become a decisive player.
“One of Conte’s biggest strengths is that he doesn’t care what your name is or how old you are, he’s only interested in how you work in training.
“If you deserve to play, you will play.”
Conte has extracted the maximum out of Inter’s players this season as they charge towards the Serie A title, which could be officially theirs as early as Sunday.
Giaccherini explained what was so special about Conte as a coach and praised the work he had done at Inter since his arrival in 2019.
“With Conte you either improve or you die,” Giaccherini added.
“He’s decisive in helping players become more mature, he gets things out of you that you didn’t even realise you had.
“Conte has a winning mentality which ensures you approach every game with the same level of determination, and that’s not easy.
“He never lets you lower your guard and there’s no such thing under Conte as a dip in concentration.
“This ensures you give your all wherever you’re playing.”
Inter will be champions on Sunday if they beat Crotone tomorrow and Atalanta fail to win at Sassuolo.
