Inter head coach Simone Inzaghi doesn’t believe that there’s any reason for the team not to dream of winning the Champions League.
Speaking to Italian broadcaster Amazon Prime ahead of his team’s first knockout match in the competition of the season, via FCInterNews, the coach expressed the view that the Nerazzurri are capable of not just moving past Porto to the next round but lifting the trophy in the end.
There is a long way to go before Inter can concretely start thinking about winning the Champions League this season.
This evening’s round of sixteen first leg match against Porto will be enough of a challenge on its own, as will the second leg of the tie, and this would only be the beginning.
However, this doesn’t mean that the team can’t have a sense of ambition.
For his part, Inzaghi feels that if Inter take it one match at a time, they can do something special in Europe’s top competition.
“When I choose my starting eleven I factor in everything, including the last few matches of the opponents we’re up against,” he continued.
Inzaghi then noted that “It’s the coach’s job to make decisions and I will always make them based on what’s best for Inter.”
Of Lautaro Martinez’s growth as a leader for Inter, Inzaghi said that “He’s shown incredible consistency for the past year and a half, and wins with Inter and the Argentine national team have only made him stronger and more mature.”
“This can only be a good thing for Inter,” he said of the striker’s growth.
Of Inter’s chances of winning the Champions League, Inzaghi said that “We always have a path forward, it’s a possibility.”
“Last season we played very well against the two who eventually were in the final,” the coach noted, “this season I’m thinking about the matches against Bayern and Barcelona.”
“These are the kinds of matches that can push you to grow, they have to be approached in the best way possible.”