Inter defender Federico Dimarco is glad to have a place at his boyhood club after his return from loan in the summer, as it is the club he supports above all others.
Speaking to DAZN, the 23-year-old opened up about his happiness to be contributing regularly for the Nerazzurri this season, and how he has supported the club for much of his life.
Dimarco came through the Nerazzurri’s youth ranks, but it was on loan with Hellas Verona in the past two seasons that the defender really began to show his quality.
The 23-year-old became a regular for Verona as they established themselves as a strong midtable side under Ivan Juric, and Dimarco was an important part of this.
The player himself also developed a lot individually, refining the tactical side of his game and gaining important Serie A experience such that he has been deemed ready to become a first-team regular by Inter coach Simone Inzaghi upon his return to the club for this season.
Dimarco scored his first goal for the Nerazzurri earlier this season, a free kick against Sampdoria, about which he said, “Very often I stop to take free kicks at the end of training, but not only since this year, but since I was with Empoli.”
“I always stopped at the end of training, I took ten free kicks because I always wanted to improve and still want to do it,” he went on.
Of the goal against Sampdoria he said, “Almost inside the area, I could only shoot there, because if I hit it low the goalkeeper would save it. I placed it there and I scored a goal. If the free kick is too close to the post i hit it there, if it is five metres behind it is almost always higher and never at the goalkeeper’s post.”
“My favourite position to take free kicks is the center-right,” he explained. |Three running steps. When I go to the ball I try to stay low with my body to give it a strong whip. The goalkeeper does not look at me, but at the ball and where the kick is being timed.”
“My first goal in an Inter shirt meant a lot,” he stated, “for the many sacrifices made since I was little: I gave up many things and when the goal arrived it was It was an incredible feeling. I grew up here, I’ve always been in Milan except when I went out on loan to play.”
He continued, “My family is here. I’m really happy to be back home. Plus, I’ve been an Inter fan since I was born -I used to go to the Curva and for me it is truly an honour for me to play for this shirt. The best memory I have linked to Inter? The derby won 4-2, when Maicon scored from outside the box.”
Of his relationship with Inter supporters he said, “I feel very pampered, even when I was in Verona last year many Inter fans wrote to me and wanted me to come back. And this makes me very happy.”
Of strikers he’s played with so far in his career, Dimarco stated, “Giampaolo Pazzini in Verona, he was strong with his head. This year there are Edin Dzeko, Lautaro Martinez, Joaquin Correa and Alexis Sanchez who are strong forwards. To Edin and Lauti I try to deliver it higher, while to Nino and Tucu I try to deliver it low, who control it and kick it.”
“I like technical players, I like talent,” he reflected, “there are many strong full-backs that I like who have technical quality. The best for me is Marcelo of Real Madrid, who seemed unattainable.”
He explained of his style of play, “I look up even before looking where the striker is going, when I get to the cross I have already decided where to kick. I like to shoot.”
He closed with a reflection on his first match for Inter, “The first match I played with Mancini, against Milan, we were on tour in China, he lined up me as a midfielder: I didn’t know where to go. Last year, on the other hand, since I learned well how to play a a defender, and playing defender under Juric is like being a mezzala, I’ve always had a lot of fun.”
