APPIANO GENTILE – It's time for Juventus v Inter again, one of those "great games meant for great players". That is what Dejan Stankovic was told as a boy and what he can analyse first hand now that he is great player and a winner himself. He does that while looking back at the ups and downs of a season, Inter's, that could yet get back on track in Turin.
Here is the second part of the Nerazzurri midfielder's interview with Sky Sport 24's Andrea Paventi:
President Moratti has tried to explain the team's difficulties and said the problem may be more in the head than in the legs. Is that something you have felt too?
"When the results aren't coming, the problem is in the legs, the head, the football, the fitness; we can put it all together because whatever the cause is the results haven't come. But it's not that we have a huge problem at the moment, you get spells like this. In some games we've been excellent from a physical point of view, others less so, and when you have alternating performances like that, when you have an off day, when you're not at your best fitness-wise, that's when you can get a demoralising defeat."
Does having a season where you've never been protagonists affect you mentally?"Some players have hidden it well, put a mask up, but I can only speak for myself and say that I've never felt so exhausted inside. We've always challenged for the big prizes and now we're in a period when Inter are not where they should be. I have to be honest. You just have to accept it."
Is there anything in this period that you've been unhappy with? Anything that has annoyed you? There's been talk of the veterans, of rejuvenating the team... Did you expect that?
"Yes, they couldn't wait to talk about us because we've won so much in the last five or six years. Every so often I hear people talking about 'doing the treble' - that's something that won't be achieved by an Italian team again this year. When people talk about the treble maybe we don't even realise ourselves just what we did two years ago, the results we managed. Other teams can try to imitate us, to win as much as we did, but for the moment no one is able to repeat that."
What does Juventus v Inter mean? Or what could it mean?"Let's put the game on the scales and see what Juventus could win or lose and what Inter could win or lose. At the moment the team with the most to lose is Juve because they are fighting for the Scudetto as we have for years and the pressure will certainly be on them. They are playing well, they're in the Coppa Italia final, but the Derby of Italy always carries its own weight; then there's the importance of a big game and the home points available. Inter are looking to bounce back and get things back on track yet again. We want to win, we're going to Turin to win the game. It won't be easy but I think Inter will play with a little less pressure on them.
For a player like yourself, who has a certain type of adrenaline, is the Juventus Stadium the ideal ground for your first goal of the season?
"When I was a kid, I was told that great games are meant for great players. We'll see. It would be nice because I've never ended a season without scoring a single goal."
