Looking out over a packed press room, the new boss started by stressing the need for enthusiasm. From the fans first and foremost.
“It’s up to us to find that spark again, to bring the fans back to the stadium and get back to winning ways,” he explained. “I’m really happy to be here. If I’ve come back it must mean that I’ve done something right elsewhere, that’s all what matters.”
Asked about his previous experience in the Nerazzurri dugout, he went on:
“It’s hard to make comparisons. It’s nice to be welcomed back in an atmosphere like this though, because that’s fundamental in this job.”
On negotiations to bring him back:
“They laid out all their plans and I think we can write another success story. I believe in this club’s plans. We have to knuckle down because if we work hard we can achieve great things.”
As for the squad he’s inherited and differences with the team he had ten years ago:
“It’s difficult to say but I do know that we have quality players here. Ten years ago we had some amazing players and I think we can work well with the lads here now too.”
Answering the journalists’ questions, Mancini went on to comment on specific members of the squad, from Kovacic (“a young lad with fantastic ability”), to Medel (“a great professional”), Nagatomo (“an experienced player, he’ll do well like the rest of his team-mates”) and Guarin (“he can play a key role for us”).
Moratti said he is happy about you coming back, now he is leaving the club. What changes for you? And meanwhile you were gone Inter won the treble, what do you feel about that. Will you return to a back four?
“The Moratti family has written the history of Inter, from Angelo to Massimo and that’s impossible to cancel. He made a decision that should be respected to 100 % and I’m happy that he is happy, he told me that on the phone. He is still in the club and that’s important. We started winning together and I’d like to thank him for bringing me to Inter ten years ago. He was a great president and he is an important person. The treble? We started out a great project in 2004. When you have a good base of players you understand that the way is the right one. Now we have to return to winning.Formations? I don’t yet know, but I have my ideas. I need to meet the players first.”
When was the first time the phone rang for this proposal?
“Every moment lives for itself, ten years ago I was young and it was my first occasion with a great club like this. Today it’s different and I don’t feel the same way. Now it’s Saturday and the first call came last Thursday, I’m very happy.”
How long time would you need to put your mark on Inter? How much do you need on the mercato in January?
“I need to work, I don’t know how many days. In football there’s not a lot of time, we need to improve quickly and I need to talk with the team to understand what they think. We need to work and win quickly and starting from today we need to think about working well. The mercato? It’s hard to respond about it now.”
What have you learned from your experience abroad and what can you give Inter?
“We’d need to ask the president about why he wanted me. The players are different from what you have abroad and the way you live football is also different, in these six years I’ve felt very well abroad. In the Premier League, the best league in the world it went well. Also in Turkey I had an important experience and now I return to Italy and Inter believing that what I’ve done for the last six years could be very helpful.”
Would you like to become Inter’s Ferguson?
“I don’t think I’d remain at Inter as long as Ferguson did at United, 27 years. Then it’s a totally different football. I’m happy to be back at Italy and I really hope I can bring Inter back to winning.”
Comparing with six years ago, what do you think about Inter, Milan and Juventus?
“I’ve always thought that Inter, Milan and Juventus are the three most important clubs and now Napoli and Roma have joined them. I think that we’ll have to fight against them. Juve are doing very well and Milan will return to greatness because that’s their target, and we will have to fight with them.”
Can you say that Italian football is in crisis? And you will be coaching your third Chilean in Medel, where will he play?
“I think that the Chilean football is going through a great moment, it’s filled with talent. I know Medel from England, he is a great midfielder and a great player but I need to get to know him. Chilean football is growing and I’ve always went on well with the Chileans, I’ve worked with Pizarro and played with Salas and the Chileans are very serious. The crisis is everywhere and Italian football is feeling the crisis of the Italian country, we’ll hope to return great because we’re Italian and love this country.”
What’s your opinion today on Calciopoli?
“I’ve always been honest and don’t have to hide from anything. I said what I said because it was the reality. I think that today we just need to think about the field, I think that we need to improve this in Italy where we always live with controversy. If we improve in this, our football can improve and we only need to think about the matches because the most important persons are the football players. The other things aren’t that important, who will go abroad will understand this.”
You will play Milan and Roma straight away, would you have liked an easier start?
“To be honest Thursday I only knew about the derby, though when I was at Galatasaray I played Juve two days after starting. IT’s nothing you’d think about, we only need to think about our own team. All the games will be hard and we’ll think about working.”
Could Nagatomo’s characteristics be usefull?
“Yes, all Inter players will have usefull characteristics. Nagatomo is one of the most experienced players in this group and he is also a very important player for his national team.”
From when you left Inter has had seven coaches in six years. Will the crisis make more clubs have to think about projects or will we always be thinking about the results straight away?
“It will always be like this, but not only in Italy. Here it’s worse, we sack more coaches. And it’s normal that when things aren’t going well, the coach is who pays. We know what we are facing, and we need to work hard not to get sacked.”
Your wages makes us think that you need to win straight away and that there will be investments..
“When you start playing football as a kid, just for fun you always want to win, that’s inside of us. Therefore we have to do the maximum to obtain this. First uf all I want to get to know the team, also because in January it’s not easy to make a great signing and integrate the player to the team. Normally in January you can buy a great player, or he won’t integrate into the group. We will see the next few months what will happen, my first target is to make who is already here give his 200%”
Is fact that you have to educate young players in their personal growth an intriguing challenge for you or will it make your work harder?
“For me it’s a great thing, a great challenge and one of the reasons I accepted the proposal. It’s a young team, we can work together and working well, and having the same targets with enthisuasm, we can have both a young and a great team at the same time. That’s very intriguing for me, I hope that the team will play well.”
What do you think about the whistles against Mazzarri? Would you like the make Balotelli return to Inter?
“I’m sorry for Mazzarri, we are colleagues and sometimes things go well. It’s not always the coaches fault. Mazzarri has always done well and I’m sorry for him being sacked. Mario is feeling great at Liverpool, it’s a great opportunity and he has to do great at Liverpool. He has had this lucky chance and need to make the best out of the occasion.”
What did Thohir tell you?
“As I thanked MAzzarri in 2004, I thank Thohir for this opportunity. We talked on the phone and he was happy, but also sad for Mazzarri. It seemed like a good person and together we want to return to the top.”
Could the starting formation be a three man defense? A three man defense or a four man defense?
“To be honest I don’t have big problems with the three man defense, even Zanetti will tell you that we played with a three man defense at times and I did it both at Galatasaray and City. There’s no problem with either formations. Now I want to talk with the players to understand what they think about it and what’s the best solution. If I don’t have offensive wingers, I can’t play with certain formations.”
Could Guarin prove his worth with you? Could Vidic return to greatness in a four man defense seeing his difficult start?
“About Vidic, coming from the outside I don’t think it’s easy to change championship and teammates after a lot of time. You’d need some months to settle, that’s how it is for everyone and it was so for Platini as well. It’s not easy to integrate straight away. Guarin is a great player, he did great at Porto for some years and I’d like to talk to him to understand what his best position is. He will be an important player for us.”
Source: Inter.it and Fcinternews.it