APPIANO GENTILE - Destined to be a footballer. That's how Marco Benassi felt and that's why, from a young age, he did everything in his power to convince his parents to let him play football: "I had to fight my mother," he tells Prima Serata, tonight on Inter Channel. "She had me try every sport there is apart from football, she didn't want me to, she was scared. Volleyball, gymnastics, swimming, she made me try everything. Then, in the end, I convinced her to let me play football, I was 7 and I've not stopped playing since. I supported Modena as a kid, I used to go and watch them. Then I played for them, but before that I started with Polisportiva Gino Pini. To think I play for Inter now..."
An Inter side where, when he's had his chance, he's managed to show what he can do. Now, after the January transfer window, new players have joined and he acknowledges that, "there's more competition for places, but that's a good thing. I'm just thinking about working hard."
"We need to find consistency. The cups, the league, we're still involved on all fronts. We just need to become more consistent. And we'll do that with the coach. He studies every last detail, he has always done. It was the same in the Primavera."
Among the many fans that have written to Benassi, one asks him to comment on new signing Mateo Kovacic, who trained for the first time earlier: "He's a great player given his age."
From football to fashion. Benassi styles his hair in an unmistakable quiff, which the fans have now taken to liking. At least that's what it appears, looking at the messages sent to the midfielder. "I tell the hairdresser to keep it a bit long, and to cut the sides... I like it. Will I cut it off if we win the league? We'll see!"
