PISTOIA - Massimo Moratti was guest of honour at Monday's event to remember late Inter great Benito 'Veleno' Lorenzi in the town of Borgo a Buggiano in the Tuscan province of Pistoia. Besides the Inter president, who was presented with the Silver Lorenzi award, Sandro Mazzola, Tarcisio Burgnich, Bruno Bolchi, Gigi Simoni, Francesco Colonnese and Aquilino Bonfanti, and Tuscan journalists Sandro Sabatini, Alessandro Bonan and Andrea Ramazzotti also won prizes.
Over two thousand fans attended the event, which also saw the presentation of the book Benito Lorenzi, written by Alfio Pellegrini. After remembering the Inter legend of the 1950s, Moratti spoke to journalists about contemporary matters, including all the recent controversy. "They don't want Inter to talk about the referees and we won't talk about them," he said. "The press blackout? It will end at the right time, and this is not the right time."
Moratti also spoke about Mourinho, adding: "He is a charismatic person, but above all he is a great professional. He is meticulous and takes care of every detail. I see that in the newspapers they talk about him like he's a celebrity, but they forget that first of all he is a great professional. He pays great attention to the work done in training. His future? Mourinho will stay with us. He has a contract with Inter. I am sure he will continue to win and be happy. He deserves what he earns."
According to Moratti, Marcello Lippi has not ruled out the possibility of Mario Balotelli joining the men's national team. "They told me what the head coach said, but more than a closure, I think it's common sense. Balotelli is a special talent. Let's let him mature."
Balotelli staked his claim to a place in the national team with a brilliant goal against Udinese at the Stadio Friuli on Sunday. "We played a formidable first half," said Moratti. "Ours was the reaction of a team that always wants to win. Milan and Roma are still dangerous opponents. They all talk about Milan as the true anti-Inter, but Roma are still in the running."
Inter's European opponents Chelsea went down at home to Manchester City at the weekend after their midweek defeat in Milan. "Mancini pointed out that Chelsea on Saturday weren't the same team that played in the Champions League," said Moratti. "Like us, they were a bit tired. However, to qualify you also need that bit of luck that this team deserves for these years of work."
