Legendary former Inter, Napoli, and Genoa forward Goran Pandev feels that Inter coach Simone Inzaghi is the right man to lead Inter to trophies.
Speaking to Milan-based newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport in an interview published in today’s print edition, Pandev praised the coach and also Nerazzurri striker Edin Dzeko, whilst he also gave the view that they are a strong enough team to make a run in the Champions League.
Inzaghi’s management at Inter has come into question in the early parts of this season, perhaps more than it had at any point before since his appointment last summer.
Early setbacks in Serie A and the Champions Leagues have raised some alarms, although the sense has never been that the 46-year-old former Lazio coach is particularly close to being sacked, and for his part Pandev has faith that the coach has the right qualities to get the best out of this team.
“If he wins in Udine, Inzaghi has everything back in order and the three defeats in the season are forgotten,” Pandev suggest, “but it won’t be easy.”
“This is the most balanced title race in recent years,” he continued, “Roma and Lazio for example have never been so strong. But do you know what I think? Inter have the strongest squad of all, even aside from Lukaku they’ve signed top players, I really like Asllani.”
“And I really hope Simone succeeds where he failed last year,” he added, “winning the Scudetto was the goal.”
Of coach Inzaghi, who he spent time with at Lazio, Pandev said that “I’ll tell you this much, at Formello he could repeat the formations of the C teams by heart, we looked at him in amazement. Yes, I expected him to be one of the great coaches.”
“Inzaghi has an exceptional attack, he’s spoiled for choice,” Pandev said. “The only problem is selecting the right strike pair. I’d take Dzeko.”
The Bosnian, who can reach a hundred goals in Serie A between his time at Inter and Roma, would be one of the oldest players to hit that mark in the Italian top flight, although Pandev is currently still the oldest.
“Me? Really?” he said with a laugh. “Then there’s one more reason to root for Edin. He’s a top player, that’s the truth. Every coach would like to have him in their team.”
“And then there’s Lautaro,” Pandev added, “he could do well in attack for the top eight teams in Europe. I’ll make a prediction that this season he’ll finish as top scorer in Serie A.”
Of the Champions League, the North Macedonian said that “Inter have the toughest group, progression will be determined by the two matches against Barcelona. But if they make it to the next round, Inzaghi and his team can really start to enjoy their football.”
