Inter defender Milan Skriniar has expressed confidence in the Nerazzurri’s Serie A and Champions League hopes this season, according to a report in the Italian media today.
Speaking during an interview with Corriere della Sera today, the Slovakian centre back discussed the Serie A title win of last season under Antonio Conte and admitted that he thinks they are the favourites to repeat that achievement again this season.
“I was hoping for it. I knew I was coming to the historic club, even if it was difficult. Spalletti was there and he wanted to aim higher. The three-man change in defence? Difficult.
“I had never played three-man, I was struggling. Conte was good, he explained the movements to me, even with the videos. A hammer, you instil the winning mentality, you can assimilate it even if you don’t want to.
“Inzaghi is like a teammate, he understands us, talks to us, jokes and laughs with us, he was joking, yes, but more when we had already won the Scudetto. Freer with Inzaghi? I agree, you can see it on the pitch. As a third defender, I am also in attack. We are favourites for this year, I think so.”
Milan Skriniar admits that one of the factors in Inter winning the title last season was that they got eliminated in the group stages of the Champions League. This year they have not but he feels the Nerazzurri can hurt Liverpool in the Round of 16.
“In the end it helped us win the Scudetto. The elimination united us and put us in a great sense of revenge. In Serie A you work a lot on tactics, you don’t play back and forth but more with your head.
“The English go, go, go. We did well with Real Madrid, then they scored with a 25 metre shot. Certain teams you have to capitalise on the opportunity.
“Liverpool? I believe in this Inter, we can hurt them, especially at San Siro. We arrive ready even if the calendar of January and February is very tough. I would like to play all the time, then I don’t have the strength to play 60 games a year.”
The defender also put to bed any talk of him looking to leave the club in the near future, saying: “A new experience abroad is never bad, but I’m fine at Inter and Milan. I don’t think about going away, I’m happy. But you never know what’s going on. We’re not talking about renewal yet, I have the contract until 2023.”
Milan Skriniar is pleased to have only faced Romelu Lukaku in training but also has praise for other strikers.
“Luckily He only played against me in training. He’s big, fast, complete: there isn’t another one that strong and fast.
“Dzeko? Quick, he defends the ball very well. Among the opponents, Suarez and Benzema, two devils. To face them, I study. I watch videos, I talk to my mates to understand movements, feints, but they are so good that they can always cheat you with a move.”
Milan Skriniar also explained how it felt when he saw Christian Eriksen suffer a cardiac arrest whilst playing for Denmark in the summer.
“I was in the European Championship. We watched TV, the commentator spoke Russian, I didn’t understand anything, I saw a player on the ground. Then I was reassured by Inter. We do a wonderful job, we are paid well, but life is once. I’ve thought a lot, but I don’t want to think that such a thing could happen to me.”
