Salernitana sporting director Walter Sabatini has said that Suning Chairman Zhang Jindong is not human and has taken responsibility for the signing of Alessandro Bastoni, according to a report in the Italian media today.
Speaking during an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport, Walter Sabatini opened up about the time that he spent as Director of Football at Inter in 2017 and 2018.
“It was a dream to have been there. I missed the real influence, though. I accepted an internal request to stay out of the organisation chart. I never should have done that.
“You don’t go to Inter to hide, at Inter you put your elbows on the table and you do things firmly. It’s a deep regret, I didn’t put myself in a position to do my best: leaving Roma, there was no other club that I would have moved for.”
In his short time at the club, there is a player that Walter Sabatini takes responsibility for signing. He said: “I have a lot of responsibility for the signing of Alessandro Bastoni. I strongly supported the operation.”
Walter Sabatini is one of few people to ever have a regular dialogue with Suning Chairman Zhang Jindong. He describes him as a demigod rather than a human.
“He is not a human. He is a demigod. I remember opulent dinners in his residence, him and Capello. Once Fabio and I were at the table with Lippi. Jindong came down from the upper floors to greet Marcello, like a divinity on earth. Nobody saw him, never, he was a mythological figure.”
Walter Sabatini was also the Director of Football at Lazio when Simone Inzaghi was still a player for the Biancocelesti. Talking about the now Inter manager, he said: “He was a pain in the ass like you’ve never seen.
“He had a great ability to read things: he dictated them to others, he often could not put them into practice. I suspected he could become a coach.”
Inter are currently being heavily linked with Sassuolo duo Gianluca Scamacca and Davide Frattesi. They are two players that Walter Sabatini has had involvement with in the past.
“Scamacca’s departure from Roma surprised me, I was saddened, I did everything to keep him. I promised to take him to the first team immediately, I would.
“Frattesi? I spoke to him when he was still in the Allievi. I told him: “If you don’t make a career in Serie A, I come to look for you, to beat you.” Frattesi is the prototype of the modern midfielder: if I were at Inter, I would take him immediately. But here in Salerno, I have a similar one.”
Speaking about Inter’s recent decline in form, Walter Sabatini feels that it is a physical issue.
“It seems to be a physiological decline. I don’t expect them to struggle, I expect an aggressive Inter.”