Former Juventus president Giovanni Cobolli Gigli discussed this evening’s Derby d’Italia between the Bianconeri and Inter in an interview with Italian media outlet TuttoMercatoWeb today.
“If they hadn’t done the whole postponement and the various arguments and decided to play behind closed doors, it would have been better.”
Cobolli Gigli then discussed the comments made by Inter president Steven Zhang on Instagram earlier this week, which publicly criticised Lega Serie A president Paolo Dal Pino and called him a “clown.”
“Inter have a great coach and a great manager like Marotta. Zhang has got the tone wrong, you can think some things but you shouldn’t say them. This good Chinese billionaire guy obviously didn’t understand some things. But Marotta was good at reporting Inter’s needs. I didn’t become an Interisti all of a sudden, but Marotta deserves praise for the way he has handled Inter’s affairs since the Icardi case.”
The former Bianconeri president then discussed whether the Turin based club miss Beppe Marotta.
“A lot. Forcing him to leave was a big mistake. Just as it was wrong to replace him with a still good but number two Paratici.”
Finally, Cobolli Gigli spoke about this evening’s league clash between the two sides.
“There’s no fan factor. Inter have an extremely tenacious coach who is followed in the short term but then the players get stressed in the long run. Handanovic’s return for the Nerazzurri is important. The match for Juve, having seen their last few games, is risky. If I had to make a prediction, in an optimistic way I’d say fifty-fifty.”
Juventus are currently second in the league table after playing 25 games, sitting two points behind league leaders Lazio, who have played 26 games. The Turin based club have been experiencing a period of rocky form as of late, losing two out of their last five league games, as well as losing to French side Lyon in the Champions League.
