The double ex: “Esposito needs Inter’s crosses, Milan must keep the Croatian”. And again: “I like Chivu because he is in charge of the team. Allegri knows that to win the derby he must attack”
All in one adjective by Christian Vieri: very many. “The ten point advantage that Inter have, and can still have on Sunday evening”.
So, getting straight to the point: if Inter wins or draws this derby, have they won the Scudetto?
“No Inter fan says anything because they don’t want to bring bad luck, but at minus ten with ten games to play, there would be no team capable of catching this Inter. Who, among other things, practically always wins with the ‘small’ teams. And when you lose a scudetto, it’s because you lose points here and there with the small teams.”
A team like Inter is forced not to make certain arguments
Widespread impression: this year Inter had the championship as their priority over the Champions League.
“Never thought about something like this: a team like Inter is forced not to think about things in certain ways. I was just talking about it with Paolo Maldini: do you play an entire season to get to the Champions League and then in Europe you think ‘No, but I have to concentrate on the championship’? Come on… Or do you look at the advantage you have in the standings and start making calculations? I’ve never given a damn about what my opponents did.”
Leao said: for Milan it is a question of life or death. Exaggerated?
“There are other problems around the world that have to do with death, but he said it to energize everyone: the team, the environment. But these are not the matches for which a president, a coach or a teammate needs to say something: you energize yourself. Certain things are needed when you play ‘easy’ matches, not for these here.”
Inter haven’t won a derby for two years: six games, to be precise. Can it weigh?
“I don’t understand why it should, if it’s so strong: it’s random.”
Is it also a coincidence that against the other top six teams in the table, Inter have so far only scored 13 points, losing three times, and Milan have scored 16 points without ever losing?
“Random in the sense that it may have depended on the moment in which they faced certain matches: on how they and their opponents were. But it’s a bit like when they say that Lautaro doesn’t score in important matches, I don’t see any mental burdens: if it’s Inter or Lautaro, what problem must I have in my head?”
What must Inter do to not think about what match the first leg derby was? Twenty shots, two posts, zero goals.
“And Milan won with a counterattack, because they are stronger on the counterattack than Inter. Inter knows how Milan plays; therefore, Chivu will work hard on defensive transitions: if necessary, even with a good tactical foul, as the pundits who graduate in football who love to invent new expressions like to say. I say: if you lose the ball, even a good tackle if necessary.”
Chivu said: “It seems like nothing we do ever goes well.” Too criticized? Or did he take something from Mourinho?
“He knows it: if you are Inter and you win a lot, and for a long time, you will be annoying; if you lose a match, you will start to live among controversies. Chivu is young but I like him, because you understand that he is the commander of the team, for better or for worse, and he decides: he takes away who he has to remove, he puts in who he has to put in, he makes turnovers without problems and gives space to almost all the players, which is something that ultimately weighs.”
Allegri’s Milan so far: practically always 3-5-2, possibly 4-3-3 during the current match. Even on Sunday?
“These are numbers, we only talk about them so much in Italy. If they want to win the derby, Milan will have to attack: how to do it in the best way with the players they have, no one knows better than Allegri.”
Leao must play as many balls as possible and go to goal as much as possible
But what if you were Leao and had to almost be a center forward?
“Do you know what Leao has to do? Play as many balls as possible and go to goal as much as possible. Ball, goal, goal: he doesn’t have to think too much.”
But do you see it as a little more continuous?
“Not much, but this is who he is: either he has everyone against him, or everyone is crazy about him. When I watch him take over the pitch, I almost laugh and say to myself: ‘It’s a shame he doesn’t do it in every match’. He would have everything to do it, but Leao is like that, and that’s fine too.”
A year ago, before the return derby, you told us: “If I were Inzaghi, I would remove Leao from Milan; if I were Conceiçao, I would remove eight-nine from Inter”. And today?
“Today I say Leao, Modric, Rabiot and Maignan. And at Inter seven-eight, because Lautaro has already taken care of him due to injury.”
Will his absence or those of Gabbia, Loftus-Cheek and Gimenez weigh more on Milan?
“Lautaro is the strongest center forward in Italy, he is Inter’s turbo: whatever he does during a match you miss, and he can solve it at any time. Only Hojlund is as strong as him, but he plays too often from the back. But this year Inter have what they lacked in the past: ‘non-starting’ strikers who are up to the task.”
And Pio Esposito is now practically a starter.
“But it hasn’t changed the fact that, unfortunately, in Italy we don’t know how to manage young players: one day he’s very strong and the next day it’s disappointing ‘because how can you not score that goal?’. Pio isn’t even 21 years old and the journey from Spezia to Inter is too, too long: not many people have done it.”
“Yes, otherwise at such a young age he wouldn’t be able to hold his own on a physical level even in Europe. And then I see him as ‘softer’: if you train with the strong ones, you get better. And they tell me he has a great desire to improve. Now when the ball comes to him he plays it more than before, he has the little touch that is also needed to send his teammate towards goal. Then it’s clear that, with that structure, he needs to be used for his characteristics: you only see everything Pio Esposito if you also get him 7-8 crosses in time.”
Speaking of crosses: is Dimarco the best player in the championship?
“More. With a performance and consistency like that, he is the best crosser in Europe: as he puts it, as many as him, no one. And this year he also scores more, because Inter attack a lot and with many players.”
I expected more from Barella. But Calhanoglu is also struggling to find continuity
Does he still have one of the best midfields in Europe?
“I expected more and a little from everyone, not just from Barella who we’ve all seen a little down for some time: he’s there, he’s already played almost 40 games since August. But Calhanoglu is also struggling to find continuity, and it’s more noticeable: when he’s there, Inter changes face.”
Milan stronger between the posts, right?
“Sommer is always a solid goalkeeper, but Maignan is doing things out of the ordinary.”
Amazed by Modric?
“Only in Italy is there so much talk about the age of players. He was at Real Madrid, and played, only last year, not ten years ago: if I were at Milan I wouldn’t renew his contract, I would give him a five-year contract.”
For Milan today, is he or Rabiot more essential?
“Why only one? They are perfect together. And well done to Allegri in making the most of the relationship he had with Rabiot to have them both.”
They boo him everywhere and on Sunday 70,000 of them will do so: is it tough for Bastoni?
“Everyone does what he did, come on. The cameras don’t forgive and social media are terrible, they take anything out: we’ve seen videos of those who celebrate, those who pretend to die on the pitch, those who get up as soon as the opponent is booked or sent off. Bastoni went to the press room, apologised, he knows he made a mistake: that can be enough. And the Milan fans will all boo, not just him.”
Let’s suppose that Milan win and go to -7: can the calendar of the last ten matchdays have an impact?
“I don’t speak with maybes, buts, ifs. The seven-point margin would weigh: Inter would have to lose three and Milan always win. And then Inter must play with Atalanta, Roma and Como; Milan with Napoli, Juventus, Atalanta and even Sassuolo. We’re there, aren’t we?”
The latest: would you have preferred to be coached by Allegri or Chivu?
“From Klopp. But he doesn’t coach anymore and I don’t play anymore. So, fantasy over.”
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
