Erick Thohir watched the last home game versus Empoli and was interviewed afterwards by Class CNBC. Here is an excerpt, read the full interview on inter.it.
Let’s start with Inter’s victory in the last home game which also meant qualification for the Europa League. What were your thoughts after the match?
“I met with the players and Mancini. I said thank you to them. It’s been a good season – not perfect, because we were in first place before slipping down but still a good season. It’s time to appreciate them because they’ve tried their best. If you look at the number of points we have, we have about 15 points more than we did after this many matches last year and more than we’ve had in other seasons recently so it’s a good signal. It’s also good for our core team to have more experience for next season.”
How do you look at next season after this season? How are you going to strengthen the team?
“It’s not an excuse but the reality: we have to bring in players of course but we’ve also signed a Financial Fair Play agreement and we have to respect that. We have to achieve the FFP parameters. I think we’ve passed this year. We’ve been trying our hardest as a management team to achieve the numbers. You buy and you sell but that doesn’t mean that Inter aren’t a top team in Italy and it doesn’t mean we can’t be in the Europa League or even the Champions League. We have to face the reality and as the president and as management we have to work even harder in the future.”
How do you see the summer transfer window? How are your financial resources?
“If you look at our commercial numbers, we’ve grown from 164 to 186 million without European football so our finances on a commercial side are good. We need to balance things in the transfer market but that doesn’t mean we won’t bring in players.”
I assume you also listen very carefully to what the Inter fans tell you when they come together at the stadium or on social media. What’s your final message for them?
“For the fans, I would like to say thank you to them because they believe in the project. Why do I say this? Look at the attendance in our stadium. We have around 45,000 on average, which is the highest in Italy. They come because they believe, so thank you. I think it’s important they believe in the project.
“To my management, I’d like to say thank you. We’ve achieved good numbers commercially and financially but of course we have to work harder.
“And then to our players, some players will stay and some won’t. But I’ve told my management and the coach that if they are staying, make sure they understand what it means to play for Inter and wear Inter’s jersey. They have to have mental strength, we can’t keep going up and down. OK, you get ups and downs in football but we can’t afford to do this in every match. We have to be consistent, we have to fight, we have to give our best. If not then they’re not Inter and it’s better that they go. But anyone who wants to stay should understand what this jersey means.
“The history of the club stretches back 108 years. No one is immortal. I am not immortal as the president. I don’t think I can be president of Inter for the next 50 years because by that time I’ll be 96! But I want to make sure while I’m the president of Inter that I give my best to the club and to the fans. Despite all my weaknesses, I want to give my best. It’s the same for the manager, there are no immortal managers. But the most important thing is that the management, the coach and the players have one vision: Inter as a top team has to qualify but we have to be realistic and understand the other side of Financial Fair Play. We will bring players in again during the summer but in reality we have to balance things. We’ve been successful in this. I think Piero Ausilio is doing a good job so thank you but we have to continue.”
Source: www.inter.it
#!*ł## !!
what a humble yet realistic president we have here. thank you sir 🙂
What about Mancio ?? 10 Lose an 7 draw in 37 games !!! and I don’t want to mention the lucky wins
Just add a stadium to your good work and we wil be able to compete again!
with Roberto Mancini statue in front of it.. LOL
LOL.. i know it’s a joke.. but the only coach that deserve the statue is helenio herrera..^^
his grande inter is a legend.. so sad, i never watch their match… :((
Last yr he said we don’t need an new stadium because it is not profitable 🙂
Haha, how could that possible be true?
if you notice, he said about facing the reality several times.. that’s what we should do.. we maybe not as rich as we were in the past.. but thohir and his management done a great job to make an improvement in our financial side.. they made their transfer market move with realistic target and that’s good.. now it’s depend for the fans to support the team financially too, buy buying the official merchandise or come to the stadium for our home games(if you’re in millan).. i hope we can be a big and rich team again, we’re in the right hand.. Thank you Mr. Thohir..^^
God damn right, massive respect to Thohir for saying this. They need to know the value of wearing our jersey. They shouldn’t take it for granted.
Personality must first start from the club’s top ranks such as you and the head coach. When you keep talking about FFP and the fact that we have to first sell to buy, or when your elected head coach field a team to defend against teams such as Genoa and Carpi, what kind of message does it resonate to the players??!!