Inter Vice-President Javier Zanetti is confident ahead of the Nerazzurri’s Champions League group stage match against Shakhtar Donetsk, and he knows that the club need to get back on track in Europe’s top competition.
Speaking to Italian broadcaster Sky Sport Italia ahead of kickoff, the Vice-President spoke of the need to turn last matchdays’s promising performance against Real Madrid into the right result.
Inter lost to Real in their first group stage match despite an encouraging performance which saw them play with attacking intent against Carlo Ancelotti’s men and create a number of presentable scoring chances, particularly in the first half.
In the end this wasn’t enough, though, with the Nerazzurri failing to convert any of their chances while the Merengues were clinical when they found the chance for a last-minute winner.
Zanetti knows that playing attractive football isn’t enough, and he sees the right attitude and focus in his team ahead of the crucial away match against Shakhtar.
“When you play in a competition like the Champions League, the feelings are always positive,” he said. “Difficult stadium, but we are ready for a great match. Given a performance like the one against Real, the confidence is there, now we want to achieve a result.”
He went on, “We are versatile, we have many alternatives that we can exploit and the guys have a lot of balance. As Inzaghi said, we need balance, but we will get there.”
“After winning the Scudetto, there is more awareness,” Zanetti explained. “The team feels strong and shows it on the pitch. For the Champions League we need to take one more step to get through this round. Then we hope to go as far as possible.”
Zanetti finished by reflecting on an important win over Shakhtar during his playing days, stating that it was “One of the most exciting matches I remember. We were losing 1-0 after the first half, and Mourinho reminded us that at that moment we were going out.”
“There were all offensive changes made, I played centrally, but we believed in it and we qualified. Then we got to raise this trophy. Now we have to believe in ourselves again, aiming to get as far as possible.”
