APPIANO GENTILE - Mateo Kovacic was introduced to the press earlier at the Centro Sportivo Angelo Moratti. Speaking in German, the young Croatian midfielder gave his first impressions of the club:
"I'm very happy to be here, I'm proud to play for such a big club. Who do I aspire to? Robert Prosinecki is my favourite footballer of all time, but I like being myself. I'm honoured to wear the 10 shirt, but it's not about the number, I need to play well."
What did Kovacic think when he found out he was on his way to Inter, aged just 18? "Nothing in particular, I was a bit surprised and, I must confess, I still can't believe I'm here."
He joins from Dinamo Zagreb, one of the best academies in Europe, where other talents coming through include Alen Halilovic: "I'd be delighted if talents like Halilovic were to join and I hope others will come in."
In Croatia Kovacic played both in defensive and attacking midfield. At Inter he thinks he "can play both."
"I'm good at both but it's not up to me. That's the coach's job. What matters is that I give it everything. I really like the tactical side and I think I can offer a lot through the middle," he explained.
Learning Italian will take a while longer but Kovacic feels "very lucky to have team-mates who speak my language. Yours is beautiful, I'll try and learn it as quick as I can. I know Italian football is tough but I'll get used to it."
He'll let his feet do the rest of the talking: "I must admit that we played badly last Sunday, but we'll get back to winning ways and make those three points up."
