MILAN - Inter Primavera coach Andrea Stramaccioni was interviewed live on Sky Sport 24 today, answering questions from the journalists in the studio. The topic was of course Inter's progress in the NextGen Series, the "U19 Champions League". After beating Marseille at Griffin Park in London last night, Inter will compete with Ajax for the trophy on Sunday. "Reaching this final is a huge satisfaction for Inter, for our youth academy, for the club and I think I can say also for Italian youth football as a whole, which we are representing in this competition. People often say we don't pay enough attention to youth football in Italy, but yesterday Inter proved that we're as good as anybody."
Stramaccioni was asked what real benefits this international tournament can have for his young players. The coach replied: "Our youngsters have proved they can cut it and given a great showing of themselves. Lots of the teams we've come up against in this "Champions League" had many players with first-team experience, like in Marseille's line-up yesterday for example. I think we've succeeded in sending out the message that there are plenty of promising youngsters in Italy too."
After joining Inter at the start of the pre-season and taking his place in the dugout for the first time on 31 August, against Tottenham in this very competition, did Stramaccioni expect to have made such a mark after just a few months? "I hoped to be successful," the coach replied. "I wanted to live up to the expectations of those who were so determined to bring me here, from president Moratti to Mr Paolillo and Piero Ausilio. What has really surprised me, and I think this is one of our strengths, is how close the president and the chief executive are to the Primavera team, and the youth academy in general. As soon as I turned my phone on after the match yesterday evening, the first person who called me was president Moratti. And not only to congratulate me; he also analysed and commented on the game from a technical and tactical point of view. That's just to give you an idea of how much support he gives us."Stramaccioni was then asked what his 'trademark' is and whether he has a preference for one playing system over another: "I've always been lucky to coach teams that were aiming to be successful and I'm working with some top-quality players for youth level, but the mentality and the trademark are Inter. I'll never forget what Mr Paolillo said to me when I arrived at this club: that we would be expected to impose our own game regardless of the pitch we were playing on. Inter must take the game to their opponents, or at least try to, at every ground in Italy; and now we can say in Europe too. Obviously it's the players who have to carry that out but there isn't exactly a transfer market where you can you can go and find whatever you want for the team; you work on each player's individual qualities to prepare them for top-level football. A good coach must take all the individuals into account and put out the best line-up possible."
The Inter coach was asked to indicate, beyond the merits and the strength of the group, which players he considers more mature than others: "Who is ready for first-team football? This competition is a great showcase for these lads and if they're involved it's because they have the ability and because they deserve it. It's my job to create the right conditions for the players to be able to express themselves to the best of their abilities, and to help those who make the choices in deciding who to promote. I have 18 extremely good players, some of whom are obviously more ready than others: people like Crisetig and Longo are already on the fringes of the first team while others will have time to develop further. The names are obviously the players who were on the pitch last night. I think whether they actually make it or not then depends on the needs of the first team and football in general at the time."
The coach was asked to comment on what the future might hold for Inter and on what path the club should take to overcome this difficult moment: "Whatever president Moratti decides will be the right choice. Our job is to concentrate on improving and developing these lads. The hardest thing is knowing when to introduce a player in our league. Serie A and San Siro are one of the highest stages there is so it's crucial you insert them at the right time. We have people whose job it is to do just that but the most important thing is to ensure that the work carried out by Inter is always first class, from the Primavera right down to the Esordienti [U-12s]. If Inter decide to dip into their youth academy we must guarantee top quality."
Stramaccioni was also quizzed about future projects and on his own career progression. "My future? I'm not thinking about what comes next. The Primavera is my first team. I've worked my way up through the amateur youth ranks from one age category to the next. I always try to do my best for the team; that's a promise I always maintain."
Because of the general strike in Spain, Barcelona will stay at the Centro Sportivo Giacinto Facchetti and have a light training session there on Thursday 29 March after their Champions League match against AC Milan. Stramaccioni was asked what he will say to Pep Guardiola: "First of all, I'll introduce myself," the coach grinned, "because he won't even know who I am... Then as a fan I'd like to satisfy my curiosity and find out why he wasn't a huge success at Roma: he was an amazing playmaker but he never managed to prove himself as a Giallorossi player."
What about the opponents Inter will be up against at the Leyton Orient Stadium on Sunday at 14:30 CET? "Without doubt Ajax have one of the best youth academies in Europe. I've read that some of their players are already worth a fortune. It will be a huge challenge but we're Inter, we're a match for anyone and we'll go there with our heads held high."
