Former Inter defender Francesco Colonnese believes that the Nerazzurri are still the team to beat in Serie A, and that they will be the favourites for the Scudetto this season.
Speaking to Italian broadcaster TMW Radio, as reported by FCInter1908, the 50-year-old gave a positive appraisal of the quality of the Inter team after a summer in which both major departures and arrivals occurred.
Inter won their first Scudetto in eleven years last season, and did so by a comfortable margin with their closest rivals in the table AC Milan twelve points behind them.
However, after a summer of upheaval in which Antonio Conte, Achraf Hakimi, and Romelu Lukaku all departed, many observers have predicted that the Nerazzurri’s level would drop significantly and that they would be unable to remain the strongest side in Serie A.
However, Colonnese believes that through the quality still remaining of the last couple seasons’ team, and through quality additions, his former club are still top of the pile in Italy.
“They are still the strongest,” he said of the Nerazzurri, “they start from a previous body of work in which they have not changed the style of play, they have hired a coach with clear ideas.”
He continued, “The guidelines are the same but even with those talents they lost I believe that they have a competitive 3-5-2, excellent central defenders, and in midfield great starters with the right depth options.”
Colonnese stated that “I think they’re still the team to beat. I like Inzaghi’s football, at Lazio they played the best football in Italy, and after Juve they wer the one who won the most.”
Of the new Inter coach he stated, “He has always imposed his football creed, valued quality players and was a precursor of this change. At Inter, however, you must always prove that you are a top coach.”