APPIANO GENTILE – It was a question that was bound to come sooner or later and it was put to Andrea Stramaccioni during his press conference ahead of Parma v Inter: Do you think you've done what Massimo Moratti asked of you? The Nerazzurri coach, aware that it was a question about the future, was cautious in his reply: "You'll have to ask the president whether I've done well. I can say that in this period I have done what I wanted to and what I could, and perhaps even a bit more than that, something I hadn't imagined. But if this has been possible it's thanks to the players, their professionalism and their ability. I want to underline that once again because these players have been unfairly criticised in the past." Can too much praise be a bad thing? "If it comes from the president, as I've said, it motivates me even more. But I'd be lying if I said receiving compliments from footballing greats isn't nice."
Returning to the pitch, there's a team to pick for tomorrow's game against Parma. Will Stramaccioni's selection be influenced by Sunday's derby, with some players one booking away from a suspension, others returning from injury and others still who have being working overtime lately? The coach replied: "Yes and no. You can't rotate at this point of the season with the way things are at the moment. There's too much riding on every game. It's about looking at the form and fitness of each player and considering all the different factors. I might be a virtual newcomer to Serie A but I don't remember there ever being so many league matches all so close together, so you have to look at everything, even the minor details." And at this point the coach reiterated the importance and the difficulty of tomorrow's match at the Stadio Ennio Tardini, against a Parma team that "have no pressure, are on a winning run and have quality, morale and enthusiasm on their side."
You can read the fourth instalment of the coach's comments from his pre-match press conference here on inter.it soon.
