A week of Interviews for the Nerazzurri

The world's press has been focused on Inter in the last week or so with the Sneijder transfer saga & the Calcioploi accusations against Facchetti, but the squad at the pre season training camp at Pinzolo have been concentrating on building their fitness & adapting to new coach Gasperini's tactics.  Although the main point of the camp is to get the players and staff ready for the upcoming season there has been a very fan friendly feel to the whole thing with Intersta flocking in their thousands to get a glimpse of their heroes training & also there has been various evening events around the camp to entertain and enthrall the fans present including various appearances by Nerazzurri stars & Gasperini it has just emphasised the whole Inter family philosophy that we are so proud of.

Gian Piero Gasperini

In the mid week the Inter channel did a live interview with Gasperini during one of these night events, during which he admitted that he is very excited about testing himself & his tactics in the Champions league stating that he will not be held back by his lack of experience at the top level.

“I dream of the Champions League, although at this moment Serie A is also very important,” he told Inter Channel.

“I aim to bring the style of football that served me well at Genoa. That means a solid defence and an attack that works well.”  I'm a big fan of an attacking style of football but the all out attack that Leonardo was trying bring to Inter was a step too far so hopefully Gasperini will be able to bring that perfect balance between the attack & defence that was sorely missing towards the end of last season.

“My football has always been very attacking and I’d like to bring my ideas to Inter too, seeing as they always brought good results.”  I for one believe that Gasperini's tactics could be a good thing for us & maybe for Italian football in general as the rest of Europe do prefer an attacking performance in football matches, and even though many people have critisised his infamous 3-4-3 formation, he insists he will adapt his tactics to suit the game (unlike Benitez & Leonardo) “We play with three at the back when our opponents have two strikers. If the other team has a trident, then we have a four-man defence. This whole issue about the 3-4-3 is a cliché, as everyone in the squad will be able to play in at least two positions.” If there's one thing that Inter has it's a wealth of adaptable players so the line ups and formations available for Gasperini will give us a great advantage across all competitions.



Javier Zanetti

Our legendary captain was interviewed by ANSA just hours before the kick off for the Copa America Quarter Final tie between Argentina & Uruguay, the game that would see Zanetti's national team knocked out of the competition.  The questioning inevitably focused on the Calciopoli report "I'm proud to play for Inter" was his reaction regarding the 2006 Scudetto and Stefano Palazzi's report. "I know Massimo Moratti well and I had the good fortune to have known Giacinto Facchetti, and that's enough for me,"

"I'm surprised that this is still being talked about after five years. Fortunately the end of this issue is in sight. Let's hope it's once and for all and that we can look forward to seeing a better brand of football in Italy," added Zanetti. "It's clear that this league title is the same as all the others," said the Inter and Argentina player as he made it clear that was all he wanted to say on the subject.

When asked for opinion on Ricardo Alvarez playing for Inter, 'Pupi' replied that this was a "wonderful signing for Inter: he is a talented player and Italian football will help him develop his skills even more and the great Nerazzurri family will benefit from this" And as i said about Gasperini's tactics i also believe bringing in talented players like Ricky in to Italy will be a good thing for Italian football in general.

Dejan Stankovic

Stankovic talked about everything in the interview conducted by Sky Sports Italia 24.  First he spoke about the pre season training now he has recovered from the fatigue of the past few days after a few weeks holiday "Now my legs are moving again," he said. "The sensations I have now are the same ones I have every year in every pre-season camp. I've felt at home at Inter for quite a few years now and I'm used to it. The work is hard and we all want to play well." When asked about the changes in formation introduced by Gasperini 'Deki' smiled & replied "The formations are generally used by the press and television when they talk about football. On the pitch the spaces you attack or defend are always the same. Gasperini is attentive to detail, he explains things and talks a lot to those of us who have experience. We are getting to know each other and now, for him too, it's important to pump fuel into legs." As we all know formations are just acedemic when it comes down to it the result depends on how well the players do the job they are given.

The fans greeted Stankovic with great affection like an old friend when he spoke of aspirations for the coming season & also the mistakes of the last one "We want to do well this season even if we shouldn't forget that last season we won three trophies. Then we had a really bad week, losing in the derby and the Champions League, after putting in a great effort to recuperate the points we had lost in the league. There's no point trying to analyse what went wrong in those seven days. Let's just turn the page, start all over again and build a new future. It will be a difficult season. All the teams are reinforcing their squads, not just us and the other big names: it'll be a tough battle and we have to prepare well for it." As i've said on Twitter a lot of clubs in Serie A have been spending on good players this summer as we have, and i can see the upcoming season being a great battle from start to finish.

The talk then switched to the transfer market & the main point of interest was Wesley Sneijder. Dejan stunned the interviewer when he replied: "Massimiliano, l bet you a pizza, a beer and a coffee that Wesley won't leave." He threw down the challenge & at the same time cheered up Interista across the world with this vote of confidence that Wes will stay, he then went on to praise Ricardo Alvarez: "I honestly didn't know who he was, but these days he has really shown what he can do and he'll be a great help to us this season." Even important Nerazzurri players agree with my opinion that Ricky will become a very important player for us both this season & in the future.

Finally came the topic that has covered the news for weeks: "I read that the Scudetto 2006 story is over and done with. ok. That's enough. It's good news for Inter, the past is of no interest to us. These are matters for presidents and directors and are over the heads of us footballers."

Samuel Eto'o & Yuto Nagatomo

It was another big Nerazzurri night at the Piazza San Giacomo last night with the venue bursting at the seams with Interista, all of which had no idea which Inter stars would come on stage until 21:00, after chanting pretty much every player's name, it was Samuel Eto'o & Yuto Nagatomo who joined Roberto Scarpini on the stage.  Yuto greeted the fans with a bow & a promise that we all believe possible "This year we're going to win everything. I love Inter." Eto'o looked on amused, but then became serious again as he interrupted the endless chanting and called for a moment's attention. "I'd like to thank a person who has been a team-mate but first and foremost a friend, and who won't be with us anymore from next year: Marco Materazzi. He was the one who first suggested I should come to Inter when I was having problems at Barcelona, and I owe him a debt of gratitude if I'm a Nerazzurri player today." I would also like to take this opportunity to say Thank you to a great Inter player, we salute you Matrix.

Yuto & Samuel were then asked questions by the youngsters that had won competitions & tournaments throughout the week at the Inter village, one of which spoke about the Super Cup we'll be competing for on 6th August in Beijing and demanded "We must win it", to which Eto'o replied "It will be a great game in Beijing and we're going there to win it, but more important than the match is remembering that over the last few years we have won things because we have all stuck together, and we must do the same again this time."

A girl then asked Eto'o what it felt like when he pulled on the Inter shirt for the first time. He asked if he could reply in Spanish because "that's the only way I can really express my feelings properly. I've been fortunate enough to have worn the shirts of some of the world's biggest clubs," the 'Lion King' said, "but when I put on the Nerazzurri shirt I immediately realised that it was the start of a love story. The support of the fans and the president is important and I have to work hard to earn that support and to win more."

The evening came to a close with applause and smiles, but only after Nagatomo had satisfied the request of a young fan who asked how you say "Forza Inter" in Japanese. "Gambare Inter!" replied the Nerazzurri full-back. Who was then echoed by the square of Internazionale fans.