Inter defender Andrea Ranocchia feels that the month and a half of poor form that the team had between February and March is ultimately the reason why the team missed out on the Serie A title.
Speaking to Italian broadcaster DAZN after the 3-0 win against Sampdoria that ultimately wasn’t enough to secure the Scudetto, Ranocchia highlighted those dropped points as being costly for the team’s season, and also said that he is not yet sure of whether his future is at Inter.
Ranocchia already won his first Serie A title with the Nerazzurri last season, but this time around it wasn’t to be as they were pipped to the Scudetto by city rivals AC Milan in a title race which went down to the last day.
Both teams had periods where they looked imperious during the season as well as slumps in form, but it was the period in which Inter took just seven points from seven matches which Ranocchia feels was the primary reason for their finishing behind the Rossoneri.
“I was hoping to end the season in a different way,” he said, “considering the work we’ve done d it was a great shame.”
“But this is football,” he added. “I have to thank everyone, from the Curva to all the fans. All the guys, my family. I’m satisfied, it’s okay to end like this sometimes.”
Looking back to when he joined Inter in 2011, Ranocchia said that “I was a young man with a lot of hope and a lot of ambition, who then grew a little older. But I still want to do more, first there will be some rest and then we’ll think about the future.”
Asked where the team’s season went wrong in terms of the Scudetto, the defender gave the view that “We didn’t take enough points in that month and a half. We feel great regret for that, but football is like that and we have to accept it.”
As to his future, Ranocchia said “I don’t know yet, I have no idea. I’ll evaluate it with a cool head.”