APPIANO GENTILE - Claudio Ranieri is going back to Turin. And he'll be doing it at the helm of Inter, to take on the Bianconeri in their new stadium, with a quarter of the season left to play and the two sides 15 points apart in the league table. "With things as they stand," explained the Nerazzurri coach during his pre-match press conference, "this game means more to them than it does to us. It's a derby, I know that because I was on the other side and I know what this game means, but Juventus have more to lose. If they lose they risk seeing AC Milan pull away at the top. They're also afraid that Inter could be the first team to beat them in their new home."
Ranieri hopes the Nerazzurri will be able to play as if they had nothing to lose because, "We've been a little better in recent weeks, we've managed to win and draw our matches. Now we're ready to take on Juventus, a team that is doing very well. But it's not exactly true that we have nothing to lose: you always want to win big matches like this. They do have more to lose, but I'd have preferred to be in their place. As president Moratti has said, let's hope tomorrow can be the game that provides the spark for us finish the season strongly."
The coach was then asked to compare the Juventus side he steered to second place and the current team coach by Antonio Conte. "I took over a side that had just come up from Serie B, a side that didn't have many top players. Four or five years have passed since then and everything has changed: they are working on a new project, there is a totally different philosophy and certainly a different budget, which was very limited before. I can't compare the two situations because they have different weights. There was a five-year restructuring programme in place and I think I did my job well, achieving a third place in the first year and a second place the year after. Am I sorry I couldn't remain in Turin? Each of us has our own karma, our own history. I've always rebuilt wherever I've gone, but I've never compromised and I can look everyone in the eyes. There were supposed to be three people deciding on players; when I was excluded from the decision-making I left."
Read more from the Nerazzurri coach's press conference before Juventus v Inter shortly, here on inter.it.
