Newly-arrived Inter wingback Raoul Bellanova has a long history of personally supporting the Nerazzurri, and joining the club feels like the fulfillment of a lifelong dream for him.
Speaking to Italian broadcaster DAZN, the 22-year-old gave his thoughts on his first couple weeks as an Inter player and also named legendary Nerazzurri treble winners Javier Zanetti and Maicon as his idols in his position.
Bellanova arrives at Inter having impressed in his one season with Cagliari, but with plenty to prove and much of his career ahead of him.
The wingback sees the likes of Zanetti and Maicon as models for what to aspire to, however, and feels a particular admiration for the duo because of the role that they played in major success in the Nerazzurri’s recent past.
The 22-year-old grew up watching and rooting for Inter, and now he wants to be able to write a new important chapter in the club’s history, as well as in his own.
Of the players who have done the most to welcome him to the club, Bellanova stated that “D’Ambrosio has been very close to me, he’s a great professional and apart from being a great player he’s a great guy.”
“And then there’s Darmian,” he continued, “who also lives near me. So they were among the first, also because not everyone was in training during the first few days, now that the players who were delayed because of their national teams are back I’ve gotten to know everyone.”
Of his favourite Inter memory, Bellanova stated that “The best memory was undoubtedly the Treble, it was incredible. I’ve been an Inter fan since I was a child, despite having worn the Milan shirt for several years.”
Asked about what he remembers of the match in which Inter won the Treble, Bellanova replied that “I was at home.”
Asked who his idols are, he named “Maicon and Zanetti are the main ones, especially since they played in my position.”
When shown a picture of himself aged six wearing an AC Milan shirt, Bellanova noted that “I remember that photo well, I was six if I recall correctly, when you do things without thinking about it.”
He then went on to say that “Even though I was an Interista when I was at Milan, I have to thank them because the only reason I’m here is because they placed their faith in me when I was young.”
Of his move to the Nerazzurri from Cagliari, Bellanova said that “It was a decision I made with a snap of the fingers, because to go from a club relegated to Serie B to a team with such big ambitious is a big leap.”
“I also thank Cagliari because in any case they helped my development a lot,” he content, “they gave me my first taste of Serie A. Obviously this is another much bigger club with much higher ambitions.”
Of his new coach Simone Inzaghi, Bellanova noted that “He’s a coach who focuses a lot on young players, he works very well with us, he knows my position very well and has done well with players like Lazzari, Perisic, Dumfries, and Darmian.”
“They’re all players who always give a big contribution and they’re great examples from whom I hope to learn a lot,” he said.
Asked what aspect he’d like to take from the game of his new teammate Denzel Dumfries, Bellanova replied “Definitely his header, because he has great timing and has in fact scored several goals, but I have to steal a lot from everyone because they’re all top players with more experience than me.”
“It’s already an honour to be here for me,” he added, “every day I’ll try to take something from the game of one of my teammates.”
Asked what he considers his best trait, Bellanova didn’t hesitate and named “Speed and explosiveness for sure. The first few meters of acceleration is my calling card.”
Of the quality of his crossing and the possibility of providing service for Romelu Lukaku, he said that “I’ve talked about with him yesterday already, and then when there’s time we work to cross, cross, cross, even after training.”
“After the game we were talking about a cross I’d made and he told me that we’ll certainly have plenty of time after training to be there to train and work on the timing and things like that,” he said of the Belgian.
Regarding his decision to leave AC Milan to join Bordeaux aged 19, Bellanova explained that “Let’s say that at Milan I didn’t see much of a place for me to establish myself.”
“I left on a free transfer and decided on France as my destination, things didn’t go as I’d hope for me but I think this experience helped me to grow as a person rather than as a player,” he reflected.
