Former Inter striker Giampaolo Pazzini has given his thoughts on the early phase of the Nerazzurri’s season and what he thinks of what he’s seen from the club so far.
Speaking to Milan-based newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport in an interview published in today’s print edition, the 37-year-old spoke about the Nerazzurri’s match tomorrow against another of his former clubs in the form of Sampdoria, as well as on the changes seen in the team under head coach Simone Inzaghi.
Inter finally return to Serie A tomorrow after an international break which interrupted their start to the season only two matchdays in, and they will hope that they can enjoy the continuation of the kind of form they experienced in their first two matches, from which they collected maximum points.
They will know, however, that doing so will be far from easy, with Roberto D’Aversa’s Sampdoria side appearing to be a difficult outfit despite having taken only one point from their two matches before the break.
“Inter did very well against Genoa,” Pazzini said of the Nerazzurri’s emphatic opening day win. “Away to Verona it was a more complicated match, they found themselves behind but reacted like a top team, showing that the fire is still burning.”
Of their opponents tomorrow he said, “Despite having collected only one point and not having gotten on the scoresheet yet, I also liked Sampdoria. Against Milan they played well and were a bit unlucky. Away to Sassuolo they played the game they want to, very cautious.”
“Simone has inherited the spine of the champions,” Pazzini said of Inter. “Starting with the same defense was fundamental. And even in the middle of the park little has changed. I think both managers have the intelligence to gradually put their ideas into place into it without upsetting what’s already there [speaking also of D’Aversa’s taking over from departed Sampdoria boss Claudio Ranieri].”
“Excluding the South Americans, I think he has only three points in mind from Marassi,” he predicted of Inzaghi’s approach tomorrow. “Winning on Sunday would also be fundamental for the Champions League.”
Of Inter’s style of play he said, “The Nerazzurri now attack differently. Lukaku was a force of nature, but also a central player. Now I see more variety of solutions, both in terms of options and ways to find goal. In the first two games they seemed to play better.”
On Nerazzurri striker Lautaro Martinez he stated, “Martinez has already shown how much he is worth in recent season. He is now a focal point for Argentina as well. I think he can fit perfectly with both Correa and Dzeko.”
On new Inter striker Edin Dzeko he said, “Edin is a target man who unlike Lukaku does not only look to get in behind. He also likes to come deep to dictate the attacking tempo, to seek combinations in the channel, to open spaces for his teammates. And then he scores. What more could you ask for?”
“They are among the contenders for the Scudetto along with Juve, Atalanta, Milan, Napoli and Roma,” Pazzini said of Inter. “In the Champions League they can finally qualify for the knockouts. Real remains excellent even if they lost Ramos and Varane at the back, but in Milan they can be beaten.”
Pazzini closed with his prediction for the Sampdoria clash for tomorrow, stating that “The Nerazzurri have more quality, but it’s always a battle at Marassi. It’ll be fun.”
