MILAN – This morning Claudio Ranieri concluded his telephone interview with "Radio Anch'io Sport", the traditional Monday morning appointment on
Radio 1, hosted by Riccardo Cucchi. The Nerazzurri coach stressed on several
occasions how "it's a pleasure to work with these lads." Explaining:
"Slowly we are bringing Inter up to speed, and that means being near the
top of the table. But we haven't done anything yet, we're still far from the
peak, and we must continue with this humility and spirit of sacrifice. I don't
want to make comparisons with other teams or how AC Milan played last night. We
know the faults we have. We had even played well in matches we lost, giving
Napoli, Juventus and Udinese the possibility to hit us on the break. In fact,
in the derby, having hammered these tactical concepts into them, we started a
little tense and made a few errors because of it. Then we relaxed and played
well as we had done in the previous two matches against Lecce and Parma. To try
to climb higher in the standings we had to string together consecutive
victories. There was no other option. Now I see that the team is gaining
self-confidence. Do we need to make moves in the transfer market? I've always
said we had to wait until the end of the first half of the season, and now
we're just waiting for the match against Lazio on Sunday to finish it. This
team had been written off much too soon and now is showing that they
still have a lot to give. We will evaluate with the president to see what we
have to do and if we have to do anything. Like a true warrior, this team that
had fallen has found the desire deep inside itself to get back on its feet
again. I like this dressing room and this spirit. Tevez? I repeat what I've
already said. There is balance now and the team has become solid. Tevez is a
champion, but he hasn't played for a long time, so we need to understand how
much this lad can give and how much he can take away. These are the assessments
that we'll make. We'll decide together with the president. I haven't known him
for a long time, but I have a very good relationship with him and we understand
each other very well."
Then the discussion touched on yet another extraordinary performance from
Javier Zanetti. Ranieri led the chorus of praise: "He's unique. I have no
words for him. He's always the first to arrive and last to leave. He's always
positive and I've never heard a word of discouragement or criticism from him.
He's always ready to encourage his team-mates. It's fantastic to have such a
captain." The coach, who also discussed some things with the listeners,
stated: "Now comes the good part and the hard part. The good part is to
insert those whom I haven't had yet. Champions like Stankovic, Forlan, Sneijder
and Chivu. It's important that these lads enter into the spirit that the team
is showing. You know, I have always been very meticulous and ordered. I like
balance. Even when I was a player I sustained that the most important players
were the ones who never give up, even if they don't play very much. The
substitutes who come on never feel less important, but want to give their
contribution. This I like very much."
In order to know where you have arrived it is important to never forget the
starting point. "When I arrived at Inter, it was a moment in which
everything was going badly. Gasperini had also been unlucky, having to deal
with so many injuries. My good fortune, however, was that of working with a
historic group that never lost its sense of unity. I tried to transmit calm and
they were the first ones to motivate me in that sense for how they worked in
training and also when we lost games. I tried to bring them back playing in
their natural roles but – I repeat – working with these lads is really a
pleasure. Sneijder? The way I see it he's very motivated. I can see by the way
he's training that he has a lot of desire. I have a tactical plan and the
players are following it. Now it's up to Sneijder and the other players who we
haven't seen much of this season to insert themselves into the plan."
Finally, the prospects in the standings: "For the Scudetto we've lost
precious time. We've managed to climb again but we're still far from the top. I
was the first to say that a team like Inter always plays to win the Scudetto,
but for now we've only managed to make it to so-called UEFA zone. It will be
even more important get into the Champions League zone. So, one step at a time
and brick by brick, we'll build this house."
