New Inter assistant coach Massimiliano Farris has given his thoughts ahead of the upcoming season.
Speaking to Inter TV, the Italian gave updates about how pre-season training is going, and expressed the desire to get off to a winning start alongside newly-appointed head coach Simone Inzaghi.
Farris joins the Nerazzurri in his role having worked alongside Inzaghi since the new Inter manager was in charge of the Lazio Primavera side, including for the entirety of the45-year-old’s impressive tenure as head coach of the Biancocelesti’s senior team.
Inzaghi and Farris will know that they have big shoes to fill in the form of predecessor Antonio Conte and his staff, but his words give the impression of a man who is fully dedicating to defending the Scudetto crown achieved by Conte last season with this Nerazzurri squad.
“[Pre-season is going] very well,” Farris stated, “for us the first impression on the team was important, we read a bit from all sides what Mr. Inzaghi’s approach was already before the first meeting so I think the players appreciated the willingness of the coach and staff to get to know the group.”
“We had intense days of work that served both to get to know, above all, the human qualities of the guys. The athletic and footballing qualities were well known because we came to the group of the Italian Champions, so it is up to us to make ourselves at home in this new reality.”
About his personal relationship with Inzaghi, Farris said “Surely I owe a lot to Simone as well as to Lazio, they have been intense years, we have achieved great results, probably even unexpected ones which have brought us here.
“There is a beautiful memory of Lazio, of our victories, but for me there is a particular flavor here because I play at home.”
Asked about what the most important aspect of the early approach of himself and Inzaghi was, Farris stressed a holistic and well-rounded approach.
“In all respects, from match preparations, to the mental and psycho-physical condition of the players, to the technical-tactical aspect,” he responded.
“We have known each other for many years among all the staff, the matches are prepared together and the weekly work, as it was for this preparation, is organized by the group.”
About the role of wide players in Inzaghi’s 3-5-2 system, Farris stated that “They have a fundamental role, certainly there has been an athletic evolution, because initially there were two types of interpretation.
“Either a defensive or a purely offensive one, but in recent years we have gone more in search of total coverage of the wing.”
“The defender must have a very high quality, he must stay focused for 96 minutes, which is how long the matches last on average today, I always tell the guys,” Farris stated about the demands placed on defenders in the system being worked towards under Inzaghi.
“An attacker can do nothing and then score the decisive goal of the match, the defender can be careful 89 minutes and then can happen to be tricked in the 90th minute.
“So I say that of the concentration that is required and given in training, in the focus on tactical preparation, we insist above all on these: concentration and determination.”
On his expectations for the upcoming season, Farris outlined “To continue the work we have inherited, so if possible to continue to be the leader in the Italian league.
“It will not be easy because repeating in Italy is difficult given that Inter have managed after so many years to interrupt the hegemony that existed in Turin. After that, possibly take that extra step in Europe.”
