Former Inter defender Massimo Paganin has warned the current Nerazzurri team not to focus too much on European competition at the expense of their league campaign.
Speaking to Turin-based newspaper Tuttosport in an interview published in today’s print edition, via FCInterNews, the former defender noted that there are some parallels between how this season is going and the 1993-94 campaign when Inter won the UEFA Cup but struggled badly in Serie A.
During the 1993-94 season, Inter found that almost nothing was going right in the league, particularly over the final weeks of the campaign.
Fourteen losses in total left Inter on the brink, finishing just one point above the drop zone to keep themselves in Serie A.
In Europe, however, the Nerazzurri chased glory and got their reward as they won that season’s UEFA Cup, beating Austria Salzburg 2-0 on aggregate in the final.
If this sounds a lot like the current Nerazzurri season, seeing setback after setback in the league but a brilliant adventure in the Champions League, former defender Paganin notices this as well.
“I see the similarities,” he said.
“We lost no less than fourteen matches in Serie A, nine of which came in the last twelve.”
Paganin looked back that “We asked for nothing in the league and were totally focused on the cup competitions, it was a team under construction.”
“Today’s Inter have dropped too many points, against teams who are fighting for top flight survival,” he noted.
“The Nerazzurri must not think about going all-in, betting everything on the Champions League, they also have to fight for fourth place, which is crucial,” Paganin went on.
“And then we have to remember that Inter are also in the semifinals of the Coppa Italia,” the former defender added.
The second leg of that semifinal tie is against Juventus next week, and Paganin made clear that “That’s never a trivial match.”
“There are no friendlies between the Nerazzurri and the Bianconeri,” he said of the Derby d’Italia. “That will also be a match that drains energy from them.”
As for the blame for the current situation at Inter, Paganin said that “It has to be shared around with everyone, the directors, the team, the coach.”
“There can’t be any excuses,” he continued. “If you want to write history, you have to give everything.”
“These are moments in a footballer’s career that they may never experience again,” he continued.
“The aftermath will be massive, and a consequence of what they do between now and the end of the season.”
Paganin closed message that “You have to make change happen, not wait for it to fall from the sky.”
