APPIANO GENTILE - Twenty-four hours after Inter v Sampdoria and 48 hours before Juventus v Inter. When speaking to Sky Sport 24, Javier Zanetti was looking back at yesterday with his thoughts on tomorrow: "Saturday’s match is one that everyone will be up for. It will always be the Derby d’Italia. Second place is already an improvement and we hope to continue in this way. Eight wins in a row? We were confident of being able to play a leading role and we’re hoping we can be up there to compete for important things in a decisive month."
The captain commented on whether Juventus v Inter will be a challenge for the Scudetto: "Not yet. It’s an important game for the standings for both teams and it would be lovely if we could win in Turin. It will be a lovely match and a difficult one, and we’re heading up there to go for it."
"We hope the refereeing is relaxed. We know that mistakes can be made and we hope all the action takes place on the pitch, and that all the talk is of that alone," continued Zanetti in regards to the controversy surrounding the recent Catania v Juventus match.
An analysis of the opponents, specifically Andrea Pirlo. "He’s a humble guy who continued to improve until he became a great champion," said Zanetti, before returning to the subject of his own team-mates, like Rodrigo Palacio and Diego Milito: "They’re both great players who rarely miss when the chance is there. Cassano? He’s a lad who’s always cheerful and friendly and we have a great rapport."
The discussion turned once again towards the comparison between Andrea Stramaccioni and José Mourinho: "There’s no use comparing them. We won so much with José and he’ll always remain in our hearts. Andrea is doing very well and he’s just starting. There’s every reason to believe that he’ll have a great career. Hopefully it begins with us."
Finally, Zanetti concluded on his future: "We’ll see. At the end of the year I’ll talk with the club. Right at this moment I feel fine on the pitch and I hope I can stay there for a while. Then the club and I will evaluate the possibilities of my continuing, and it really doesn’t matter whether it happens on or off the pitch."
