Legendary former Napoli and Juventus defender Ciro Ferrara believes that Inter coach Simone Inzaghi has given the Nerazzurri an identity this season.
Speaking to Rome-based newspaper Corriere dello Sport in an interview published in today’s print edition, Ferrara hailed the job done by the former Lazio coach to steady the ship at Inter.
Inzaghi arrived early on last summer to take over from Scudetto-winning coach Antonio Conte, and the challenge of replacing the former coach without key players in the team looked to be imposing.
However, the 45-year-old has worked calmly, and has made the situation look far more encouraging at the Nerazzurri, at least in terms of performances and results on the pitch.
A big part of this is down to the Italian tactician’s willingness to lend the team his own ideas and brand of football, and Ferrara is a fan of the vision that Inzaghi has given the team.
“He must be given credit for how he came in and immediately puts his stamp on the team, gave it an identity,” the former defender said of Inzaghi.
“For me Inter were always favourites,” he added, “but I know how difficult it was to go again without Lukaku, Hakimi, and Eriksen.”
“Now this is clearly Inzaghi’s Inter, he has given them character,” he continued. “He has forty days in which he can shake off the most dangerous competitors, by which I mean Napoli and AC Milan who could really be hurt by AFCON.”
He concluded that “Inter are still the team to beat, as they were in August and as they have proved again, but there is still life in the race.”
