APPIANO GENTILE – "Yes, I'm proud to be the youngest coach in Serie A," replied Andrea Stramaccioni at the start of his press conference after being provided with a long list of figures. He says that all the other things – a better points average than the coach who is top of Serie A, the unbeaten run, the points and positions made up in the league, the football – can be summed up in a single concept: "I'm pleased that Inter have made clear progress over the last six games: in our performances, our football, our stability. I mean in all aspects: set pieces, concentration, the team's balance, short passing, shots on goal, the way we limit the opposition's attacking moves. The good results have done the rest and today, more than my first day here, I can say that Inter is united, from the president to the last of the fans."
You never stop being tested in sport but it's easier to pass the tests if you've done the groundwork: "Our last two games were certainly the best two, though for different reasons. The Inter we saw in the first half against Cesena is not far off what we're working towards – a team capable of producing good attacking play and creating chances, continuously and not just in bursts. If we had scored early on we probably would have found it a lot less difficult to win games. But since things are going well I want to stress that you need time to introduce a certain mentality; it takes more time than, for example, when you want to create a side more inclined to destroy play than create it."
The coach was also asked about Diego Milito and Giampaolo Pazzini: "They are both great centre forwards but with different qualities. The way I see the game, and I can say this quite honestly having first spoken to the players and then in public, is that they aren't suited to playing together from the start, though they might be later on in the game. Pazzini has very specific qualities and he played well on Sunday; if he'd scored a goal we all would have rated his performance very differently, but it's always like that with strikers. Compared to Pazzini, Milito is more cut out for link-up play in close quarters, inside the box or just outside it. He might seem more suited to the type of football we're aiming for, which means having at least two skilful players behind a target man, but we're talking about two great outlets, who in their different ways are both good for Inter's cause.
You can read more from Andrea Stramaccioni's press conference shortly, here on inter.it.
