Legendary former Inter midfielder Wesley Sneijder feels that the Nerazzurri fully deserved their win against Barcelona last Tuesday.
Speaking to Milan-based newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport in an interview published in today’s print edition, the Dutchman emphasized that the team will not have any fear ahead of the return fixture this evening.
Inter got a massive result in the context of their season by beating Barcelona 1-0 last week.
The narrow and hard-fought victory was enough to give the Nerazzurri a real foothold in their Champions League group.
Making good on that win with a result at the Camp Nou this evening will be anything but easy, however.
But for his part, Sneijder has no doubts that the team will be able to do it.
The treble-winner believes that Inter will have the right mentality to come to the Camp Nou and prove that the victory at the San Siro was hardly a fluke.
Sneijder called the win at the San Siro “A beautiful, exciting match, it was the real Inter. And there was nothing accidental or lucky about it.”
The former midfielder feels that the Nerazzurri played “A very intelligent game.”
“They defended with great concentration, but they never parked the bus in front of the goal.”
“On the contrary,” he continued, “they had several chances on the counter that only didn’t turn into goals due to small details or mistakes.”
Regarding comparisons between himself and current Inter midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu, Sneijder said that the Turk “Has a lot of quality, but do does the entire Nerazzurri midfield, from Barella to Mkhitaryan.”
When it was pointed out that he was the idol of young Nerazzurri midfielder Kristjan Asllani, the Dutchman replied “I didn’t know that, how lovely!”
“Inter have made a real signing for the future with him,” he added.
Sneijder argued that Inter’s rough patch in the form was predictable due to “All of the changes to the team and then the injuries.”
He then praised Inter coach Simone Inzaghi, stating that “You can see that the players love him, and also last season the team played very well which is hardly a coincidence.”
Sneijder also had words for his Dutch compatriots at Inter, starting with Stefan de Vrij, stating that “I think Stefan had a great match against Lewandowski.”
Of Denzel Dumfries he said that “Denzel has shown constant growth, both physically and tactically.”
“Inter have given the Netherlands an even more complete player,” he said of the 26-year-old.
Regarding the intimidating atmosphere of the Camp Nou, Sneijder said that “A team like Inter travels to any stadium without fear, regardless of the atmosphere around them.”
“I think that, after the victory in the reverse match, the players have lost a lot of their anxiety and can play with more freedom.”
Sneijder said that “Barcelona are a very strong team and have Lewandowski, but they know that Inter are also scary in attack.”
“Lautaro is now a global star, and Edin Dzeko is used to evenings like this.”
And of striker Romelu Lukaku, Sneijder said that “When he’s able to to return, it will be a blessing.”
