Inter legend Beppe Bergomi has said that whoever loses out of Inter and Juventus on Sunday will no longer be in the Serie A title race, according to a report in the Italian media.
Speaking during an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport, the former defender explained that Juventus have got a very favourable run of fixtures if they can beat Inter on Sunday.
“Allegri’s team must win because they are further back in the standings and if they beat Inter then they can win them all. They have a favourable calendar, with Lazio and Fiorentina at the end, but perhaps no longer decisive for the opponents.”
He then explained that Inter must win not only because AC Milan are likely to beat Bologna but also for the psychological benefit of the team who have been in bad form for some time now.
“Inzaghi cannot lose not only because Milan will beat Bologna on Monday, but above all because he needs to find certainties. They no longer play with the joy of November and December, when they brought six or seven players into the opponent’s area. He needs to win in Turin, especially on a psychological level.”
One of the reasons for Inter’s decline in form, according to Beppe Bergomi, is the sale of Romelu Lukaku in the summer. He revealed what Simone Inzaghi said to him about the Belgian forward.
“In Italy he was the best. I keep thinking that with him Inter would be another team. With all due respect for Dzeko and the others, Lukaku made a perfect impact on our league in terms of intensity, power, speed and leadership.
“He had that Inter in his hand. If the conditions were right, I would absolutely bring him back to Milan. Inzaghi confessed to me that, even if only for those ten days in which he had him in Appiano at the beginning of the retreat, he had never coached such a strong striker.”
Beppe Bergomi then explained that Simone Inzaghi has a different personality to many previous Inter coaches.
“The team always reflects the manager, for better or for worse. Simone has a different approach to players, he prefers dialogue.
“He doesn’t try to make friends with them, because he has a great personality anyway, but in a place like Inter where, as Trappatoni said, when things don’t go well you end up in a centrifuge, a little more experience would be useful.
“In the squad I see many good guys, but perhaps a little leadership is lacking. Inter have historically won with the coach’s charisma, I am thinking of Bersellini, Trappatoni, Mancini, Mourinho, Conte. Inzaghi has character, but he expresses it differently from those just mentioned.
“The only thing I could hold against him is that when he lost Brozovic, around which the whole game revolves, he did not think of a new tactic. For the rest, he’s just paying for doing too well in the beginning.”
