NAPLES – "There were two cast-iron penalties; they saw only one of them and it decided the match. Then there was Maggio's sending off for a last-man foul on Milito..." That was Claudio Ranieri's impeccably precise summary of Napoli v Inter as he spoke to Rai Sport after the match. "It's true, at the end of the game I went over to the referee, I spoke to him and told him what I thought. It's a shame because we played well, especially in the second half. Never mind, the same thing happened when we met them in the league: we're clearly not very lucky against Napoli. Rocchi in Serie A, Celi here..." The coach expressed his disappointment at the different interpretation given to the penalty (rightly) awarded to Cavani and the stonewall penalty denied to Milito. It was what tipped the balance.
Ranieri continued: "In the first half we waited for Napoli because we knew they are good on the counter, but we found it too hard to create things and get our own moves going. That's why I put Alvarez on for Obi and after the restart we were more in control of the game. They exploited a mistake of ours that led to Cavani's spot-kick, and that decided the tie."
The coach was asked about Sneijder? He's coming on quickly and getting back to his best. We mustn't forget he's been out for two months. I hope, and I'm sure, that he'll soon be 100% again. Yes, Wesley was worked up at the end of the first half; I told him to keep his cool because with Alvarez on the pitch he would find more support to create things. That's what happened and Sneijder had a great second half. He was very intelligent and put into practice his coach's suggestions. He realised that he was in the thick of it, he made a nasty challenge and there was too much tension on the pitch at the end of the first period. I'm sure that we'll have Wesley firing on all cylinders for the Champions League."
The Nerazzurri coach managed to smile: "On Sunday I said that I wasn't happy with the performance but we won. Today I say that we played better, particularly after the interval, but we lost. I preferred the first scenario..."
The topic returned to the episode that altered the game and decided the Coppa Italia quarter-final: "Motta wins lots of balls, provides balance and finds angles for our game; he played very well here against Napoli too. You can make a mistake. Was it his last match for Inter? I honestly hope he doesn't leave. He said he wants to play and he always gives 100%, even in training. I believe and I hope he will stay. He's an important player for us."
And on Alvarez: "He did well and showed more determination and desire than in the first half against Lazio. He created openings and chances for his team-mates; he needed to be a bit more clinical in front of goal, like against AC Milan, though this time he tried to shield the ball with his body, so he didn't have the best balance to get his shot in."
After eight wins in a row (seven in the league and the Coppa Italia victory over Genoa), Inter fell in Naples and will now have pick themselves up and to get going again without the national cup, which Inter have won in the past two seasons. "We have to respond on the pitch because words get carried away with the wind, but I do believe we have found some stability now and so we'll get back to winning ways, although we have a tough game on Sunday at Lecce. They don't give anything away and they have excellent attackers."
