Legendary former Inter midfielder Nicola Berti feels that taking three points away from Juventus in Turin is never straightforward partly because of the tendencies of refereeing decisions.
Speaking to Milan-based newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport, Berti suggested that the aura that the Bianconeri have with officials can be the decisive factor which makes the away Derby D’Italia such a difficult fixture for the Nerazzurri.
Inter travel to Turin knowing that only three points would be a fully satisfactory result in the context of keeping pace with AC Milan and Napoli at the top of the table and putting the Bianconeri behind them in fourth.
The team look potentially capable of doing it on the pitch, but they also know that the last time that they beat Juventus away was almost a decade ago.
This has almost always been the case for Inter, and Berti identified the refereeing as part of the reason for this.
The Derby D’Italia has always been a fixture with high drama regarding refereeing decisions, and even last season the edition of the fixture was coloured by several controversial decisions.
“Calciopoli confirmed what had been known for some time,” Berti said, “that there was a system that ‘conditioned’ the referees. Power has always been in Turin.”
Reflecting on the significance of the match, he said that “It’s the most important match of the season. For both sides, one last resort.”
On his prediction for the result, the former midfielder said “Dybala scores for them, but we score three and win 3-1.”
Asked whether the Nerazzurri should sign Dybala on a free transfer this summer, he suggested “If Lautaro leaves, why not?”
On whether the fact that Inter have already drawn and won against Juventus this season could be a good omen, Berti stated that “Those two matches no longer count for anything.”
“Inter were wonderful for six months,” he went on. “Despite losing three key men and their coach, they managed to achieve crazy things.”
“Then came the derby that changed everything,” he went on. “We had to be 2-0 or 3-0 up at half-time, but we managed to lose.”
“Now it’s not easy to overturn the inertia,” Berti reflected, “but with how Inter broke down after dominating for a long time, now they must put the most recent period behind them, remember that they’re champions of Italy and that when they fully expressed their game they were superior to everyone.”
On his prediction for the Scudetto, Berti said “Inter if they win in Turin, otherwise Milan.”
He also analyzed the Nerazzurri’s struggles without Marcelo Brozovic in the team as arising “Because he doesn’t have a deputy.”
“And those initial months had also deceived us significantly regarding the quality of Inzaghi’s squad,” he went on. “Now it is clear that if Brozo and Barella are missing there are no replacements up to par.”
