APPIANO GENTILE – "Rubin Kazan are certainly the best-equipped side in our group," Andrea Stramaccioni opined as he spoke to the press ahead of Inter's UEFA Europa League Matchday 1 fixture against the Russian outfit tomorrow.
"Their coach, Berdyev, is an icon. Five of their team are the same as those who played against Inter in 2009. I've watched their games, including those against Inter, and they are set out the same way. Inter are taking this match very seriously, we're ready and fully focused. We want to win every game and go all the way in this competition."
Will there be any changes with Sunday's Serie A encounter with Siena in mind? "I'll rest a few players because the fixture list doesn't get any easier after Sunday. Afterwards we have Chievo then Fiorentina. If we need to recharge anyone's batteries we have to do it between Thursday and Sunday."
Stramaccioni also explained Rodrigo Palacio's exclusion from the squad for tomorrow's game. "Palacio is a bit of bad news for us. It would be risky to field him tomorrow but we hope to have him back for Sunday because he's a key player for us. He doesn't feel right so we decided to leave him out."
The coach also took a sideways glance at the Primavera team, who begin their defence of the NextGen Series this afternoon: "It's a competition that looks to the future and provides academies with the opportunity to test their mettle against others. It was an incredible experience for Inter's lads last year. There's huge interest in this tournament. Good luck to the boys out there today and try not to give away as many as I did in my first game. That shouldn't be too hard though - I conceded seven..." the coach smiled.
