Inter coach Antonio Conte insists that criticism of his team is unfair and that the Nerazzurri play a modern style of football, whilst also refusing to discuss his future at the club.
The Nerazzurri were crowned Serie A champions today after Atalanta were held to a 1-1 draw against Sassuolo, ending any faint hopes of Inter being caught at the top of the table.
After guiding them to a 19th Serie A title, Conte appeared as a guest on Italian television channel Sky Sport Italia but would not be drawn on questions surrounding his future beyond the summer, as he approached the end of his second season at the club.
“We only thought about the present because we couldn’t do it otherwise, we wanted to achieve our goal,” Conte stated.
“Now the President (Steven Zhang) has arrived, there are four games left, but I also want to enjoy this moment. In other victories I got caught up in other situations and I didn’t enjoy the moment, this time I want to enjoy it after many sacrifices.
“Then there will be time to talk and understand the situation, but at this moment, and by virtue of past experiences in which I have not enjoyed anything, I now want to make the most of it together with the team and my family. We deserved it and I don’t want anyone to disturb us.”
Conte insisted that his players would remain motivated as they saw out the final four games of the season, but hinted that some of the back-up members of the squad could be afforded more game time.
“We are certainly very happy and satisfied because bringing the Scudetto back to Inter with four games to spare is testament to the good work we have done.
“Now there is more serenity. It is inevitable that now we want to continue to do well, perhaps giving opportunities to those who have played less, and not because they did not deserve it but because of my choices. We will try to do our best until the end. I expect a great mentality from the boys.”
The coach lauded his players for their commitment over his two seasons at the club, whilst also firing back at critics of Inter’s style of play through the campaign.
“Honestly, the best thing that happened to me at Inter in these two years was finding a group that blindly trusted me and my leadership, this was the best thing. The growth of the players has brought this result.
“They asked me what Inter needed to return to success and I said I would need the individual development of each player, both physically and mentally. The boys have grown up today, they are now players who have won,” he added.
“Inter play modern football, they know how to do everything, from build up to counterattacking. The players learned to do everything, to read the game. A team must know how to read the moments and interpret different styles.
“Our virtues were many and we increased them with work. I like to see this team playing, only a blind man would not see the beauty of the goal scored at Crotone for example. These are all tried and tested situations in training. So many goals that we score, I don’t mean they are carbon copies, but they are practiced in training.
“I didn’t delete the tweets asking me to go! I think those tweets were from opposing fans who hoped I would go away, evidently it suited them like this.”
Conte has drawn praise for his ability to motivate and improve players, and the coach admitted that he took great pleasure in seeing his team progress.
“It excites me to see Sanchez making certain movements, you can see the quality of the player. I can propose an idea but it requires the quality. It is the team that wins.
“Darmian, Perisic, Hakimi, you consider them full backs but for me they are forwards, having this gives me one more player in defence and two in the attacking phase, basically they are additional strikers. Darmian was born as a full-back, but he is the prototype of a player modern. He manages to it with great quality.
“When I was a player the thing I hated was when a coach lied to keep me happy. I have always told the truth, even if it is bad, maybe at the beginning it hurts but in the end the player understands and appreciates those who say things to their faces. The players know that I always make decisions for the good of the team.”
Inter have seen previously disregarded players come to the fore this season, including wing-back Ivan Perisic, and Conte was full of praise for the Croatia international.
“My initial idea was to use him as a wing-back, and he had the skills. The player must also be willing. This year he’s back with a different focus.
“He is a footballer with incredible qualities, I always expect big things from him because he has great personality. The moment he understood it, I made him play, I didn’t fail him. He has the qualities to be even more decisive.”
A key part of Inter’s success this season has come from their solid defence, with the Nerazzurri only conceding 29 goals in 34 league games.
“Certainly there was also a change from a tactical point of view. In these two years I think that with the boys we have tried different situations, we continued as we had finished last year by pressing in different areas of the pitch.
“Last year we had grown, finishing just one point behind Juventus and in the Final of the Europa League.
“A team that wants to win needs a great balance in the defensive and attacking phases. In my opinion, during the match there is the moment when you press high and the moment you wait in your own half, you have to be prepared to interpret this.
“This year our opponents have found ways to counter and in my opinion the coach must understand that in everything you need a great balance in the two phases. We changed during the year, in some games we played with two aggressive midfielders and in others with two ball-players.
“Against Sassuolo we struggled because they build with so many players, they train to do this type of ball possession. But we took advantage of this type of situation. I believe that any great team should not have a single style, they must respect the opponent and at the same time not be overwhelmed. The tatcical maturity has been at the core of our growth during this season,” he added.
Conte maintained that success with Inter had not been an easy journey but was happy to have been compared to ex-Nerazzurri title-winning coach Giovanni Trapattoni.
“I am pleased and it is a great honour to be approached by a great coach and man like Trapattoni. You know that I was lucky enough to meet him at Juventus, if he hadn’t been there I would not have done taken this journey both at Juventus and as a coach.
“Winning with Inter is not easy. Those who have played for Inter and who have been coaches understand that it is a complicated situation, you have to understand the dynamics.
“I have never lost myself and this was also appreciated by those who complained about my past. I moved like I would anywhere else. I was called to Inter to bring them back to the top, I did it in two years and this fills me with satisfaction. It was not an easy thing,” Conte concluded.