Inter coach Antonio Conte held press conference ahead of tomorrow’s Serie A clash against Lecce with Italian media outlet FcInterNews present to report his statements.
“Before starting I wanted to offer my condolences to Pietro Anastasi’s family. I had the pleasure to meet him personally, a great person.”
The 50-year-old Italian started by detailing what he expects in tomorrow’s game.
“I think Lecce are going their own way. They started off to fight not to go down and I think they have had some good games. They’re always trying to express a good type of football and get to the result by playing in a positive way.”
“If the league were over now, Lecce would be safe. Now they’ve got a good coach and a good team. I wish them all the best myself, certainly after the match against us.”
He spoke about how it felt to return to Lecce.
“Returning to Lecce for me is always a great feeling. I was born, raised and became a man there. I’ve got everyone there, Mom, Dad and relatives. Returning to the Via del Mare is always a great feeling, with Lecce I made my debut and played so many years. But I coach Inter, tomorrow we’ll be opponents.”
Conte touched on Jose Mourinho’s comments that he’s talked to players who aren’t at Inter.
“I think that’s normal management. Me and Jose know each other, there’s no problem.”
The Nerazzurri coach discussed the importance of tomorrow’s game.
“This game isn’t easy. We need to show the same drive and focus as the last few games. We know we’re going up against a team that want to earn points and are playing at home. We need to raise the bar and keep it high. I’m always talking about stability and giving signs of concreteness in everything. I expect that tomorrow too.”
He revealed that Ashley Young won’t be playing tomorrow.
“He’s just arrived, I can’t bring him with me. He’ll train today and tomorrow, next week he’ll start working with us. Then he’ll be available for the game against Cagliari.”
Conte highlighted what he expects in the second half of the season.
“The same concentration, the same desire I saw in the first half. Repeating the results in the first half of the season will be very difficult. The only way is to train even more, to do things with the same enthusiasm, desire, predisposition. We’ll go to Lecce with the players you know.”
Conte revealed the difficulties of the transfer window for a coach.
“It’s the most difficult period for a coach, you have to manage so many situations that come out in the newspapers between the real players and the others. It’s not easy, you have to trust in the skill of these guys, in their professionalism. Right now they just have to think that they are playing for a team, without getting dragged into other situations.”
He spoke about Matteo Politano and Matias Vecino, two players who seem destined to leave the club this month.
“Vecino is not available. Politano and Spinazzola know that a technical choice had been made, the players agreed, and then ended up staying. For all other matters ask the club.”
The former Chelsea and Juventus coach discussed why he signed Ashley Young.
“We’re talking about a super experienced player. He’s 34 years old, he’s had an important career. At United he played sometimes on the left and sometimes on the right. He’s a flexible player.”
“He’s born a winger and he’s a full-back, he’s been a number five many times. We need reliable players who can complete the squad and create less anxiety and stress if there are any injuries or if someone doesn’t recover.”
He touched on the difficulty of dealing with situations like Politano’s.
“I confront the technical discussions with those who come to ask me. My door is always open. Sometimes you also have to accept some situations. In Matteo’s head he was already in Rome. He had gone there, he wanted to. There are twelve days in which we’ll see. There are those who take care of the market and will try to resolve the situation.”
Finally, Conte spoke about how difficult it would be for a player like Young to adapt to the Italian game.
“Given his role, the difficulties will be practically zero. In my head it’s perhaps the simplest role. He has characteristics and experience. He comes here with great enthusiasm.”
“More than anything else, since he didn’t play so much at United, the problem is to get him to the right position. But the guy is here, he’s enthusiastic and willing and that’s the most important thing.”
