APPIANO GENTILE - Inter travel to Udinese tomorrow after the original fixture scheduled for 14 April was postponed due to the sad passing of Piermario Morosini: a tragic event felt by all of Italian football, something much more important than a game.
Stramaccioni's first remarks in his pre-match press conference were for a colleague who is no longer with us: "We're preparing for a match in what is a very sombre moment for football. And playing it in Udine, a city that was Piermario's second home, gives it even greater meaning. It makes us think, helps us not to forget. And I'm sure that tomorrow the Stadio Friuli will pay just homage to him."
On the pitch things have changed too. "What's different compared to before is that we've taken on board the things that didn't work in Florence," Stramaccioni explained. "The things we weren't able to produce on the field. And we're even more determined to do well because since I arrived we haven't managed to get all three points away from home. Tomorrow the talking will be done on the pitch, against an opponent that is at least as well drilled as Fiorentina, but with even more dangerous individuals."
After Genoa, Cagliari, Siena and Fiorentina, now the Udinese match is defined as the "last chance" for Inter. "I disagree," replied the Nerazzurri coach. "I realise that the press see this as nothing but a negative year for us. We're not hiding from the facts but I don't think we've been doing badly recently. And I'm convinced of that: we've won eight points in four games and made up ground on Udinese, Lazio and Napoli. I've been hearing that it's our "last chance" since we played Genoa but Inter have done well since I arrived. With five matches left to play we're six points behind Lazio and we still have to play them, we're three points behind Udinese and we're playing them, and between now and the end of the season all four teams battling with us for that Champions League spot have to play each other. Why shouldn't I believe it's possible? The lads believe it too, and the numbers back us up. Of course we must try to win tomorrow because a negative result would make it difficult for us. Many people said we should forget about the Champions League after we drew with Fiorentina. Then on the way back from Florence the lads asked the captain for the scores of the matches being played and we found out that Lecce had equalised against Lazio... Inter have missed a series of opportunities, but they were situations which happened before I arrived; we're being punished for what happened before. Let me talk about my four games because otherwise the team will always be carrying a sort of 'original sin'. And this team has earned more points than AC Milan in these last four games."
