MILAN - In the aftermath of Inter v Genoa, a heart-pounding match that ended as a 5-4 victory for the Nerazzurri but one in which Inter conceded three penalties – two of which were thoughtlessly whistled against them – Inter's managing director Ernesto Paolillo spoke to 'Radio anch'io sport' on RadioUno.
"We all enjoyed the excitement, but to be honest there was some anxiety caused by certain questionable incidents. I'd like to see an analysis made at the end of this season on the nine penalties whistled against us, some of which were called much too thoughtlessly. We too have something to complain about, and not just the others. My complaint, which I put in quotation marks because I'm doing so with a sense of peace and calm, is the lack of a uniform measurement; penalties are easily given against us, but at the same time we're thoughtlessly denied them. The negative turning point for us, for example, came in the match against Napoli when we were denied a penalty that was much more clear than the one given."
Despite the thoughtlessness that was shown yesterday that risked heavily penalising Inter, Andrea Stramaccioni's team at the same time achieved the victory and Paolillo spoke about the new coach: "Stramaccioni has great talent, and the youth sector produces great talent just as it produces great coaches. The new coach is very good. Now he just needs to be left alone to express his talent without excessive pressure. His characteristics show a very attacking play and he's always shown this, not just now. He has the idea of laying out his game and this is only one benefit. He showed what we expected from him given the past months in which he guided an amazing Primavera team. He knows how to find the players' strengths and bring them out of them. He's determined, and it's as if he were older than his birth date shows, with a fresh new outlook. He continuously studies. We hope that this might be the turning point."
But then what future awaits Stramaccioni? Might he end up being Inter's coach next season should he do well in this one? "That's the idea and what we would like to see; to let the coach show his value. The president said, should he do well then he would solve many problems for us... Of course he deserves it. He's very good."
What about the league table: can Inter still get back in the running for third place? "If we look at how many points are available we have to say that mathematically it's still possible. But we must focus on one game at a time because there are lots of sides ahead of us."
The chief executive then commented on the performances of two players in particular, Diego Milito, who scored a hat-trick yesterday, and Fredy Guarin, who made his debut: "I'm happy for Milito; he really deserves it. He has always put a lot of passion and dedication into the job and I was impressed by him yesterday – also the affection he showed for his former club by not celebrating despite all the effort he put into finding the net. As for Guarin, he's the player we expected him to be: we knew he was injured but we had the opportunity to pick him up at a lower price and immediately. He played well yesterday, even though he didn't have 90 minutes in him."
So are Inter working to be competitive again as soon as possible? "The team will certainly be competitive," the chief executive replied. "The president wants Inter to carry on winning. We've suffered a little this season with an ageing team on the one hand, and changing coaches on the other, although I would like to put it on record that Ranieri worked well; we thank him for the games he won soon after arriving and for helping us to climb the table. As for future signings, we have to bear in mind financial fair play but we want to be competitive while respecting it."
Paolillo was then asked to give his view on the Scudetto race between AC Milan and Juventus: "It's up in the air and it will go down to the wire. Both teams have been very consistent this year and it's a hard one to predict. But AC Milan also have the Champions League to worry about... I don't know. What I do know is that in football it's usually the hungriest team that wins, and I think Conte's side are very hungry indeed. They showed that last night."
Two other topics were touched on during the programme on Radio anch'io lo sport, with Paolillo again asked for his opinion: the playing surface at the Meazza and last night's arrests in connection with the betting scandal. "Could artificial turf be the answer? The first meeting to discuss this - and AC Milan certainly won't deny it – was held in my office a month and a half ago. It emerged that the most viable option was to employ a synthetic pitch with the addition of natural grass. As for calcioscomesse, I expect the Lega to start talking about this serious matter at last. I'm disappointed these things have never been discussed in Lega meetings before, with certain parities hoping to remove objective responsibility, maybe because they are afraid their team might be involved. I don't like seeing things like that. Football won't change until the Lega changes."
