CLUJ – At the press conference on the eve of Cluj v Inter, Andrea Stramaccioni
analysed the first leg, which ended as a 2-0 victory for Inter: "I think
our 3-man attack of Cassano, Palacio and Guarin caused problems for Cluj. To a
certain extent this was the key to the first leg. Tomorrow is the second half.
The Cluj players that impressed me? Ivo Pinto and Rui Pedro."
The Inter coach was then asked if the first leg result has allowed him and his
team to relax: "I think Inter will have to take to the pitch very focused,
and most of all we can’t go out there to defend, but rather to play as if the
match had finished 0-0. Scoring a goal could make everything easier."
Stramaccioni was then told about the existence of Inter fans in Romania:
"We’re proud that there are Inter fans in Romania as well. Tomorrow we’ll
try to make them happy by advancing."
Then the discussion turned to last weekend’s defeat against Fiorentina: "I
believe fatigue played a big part on Sunday, apart from Fiorentina’s excellent
performance. You only need look at what happened to Lazio on the following day
to understand how much the Europa League can affect you in the league. Since we
began the competition in August we feel it even more. If we continue to pay for
it in this way then we’ll have to make some evaluations; we want to move
forward but we need to find the right balance between a competitive team and
showing up for the derby in shape. The problem is the reduced squad that gives
you fewer possibilities of rotation."
The coach was asked if he was thinking again about the transfer market: "I
think Inter are working a lot on our future. This is the first year of a
change, a renewal. Right now the transfer window is closed and I’m only
interested in discussing the present, which means Cluj."
On the subject of managing energies, Stramaccioni explained that, "Palacio
is the player who must be managed with the most care; with his type of game and
way of playing he’s important for attacking spaces. In Europe we only have him and
Antonio for that role in our attack. They provide our offensive threat, so it’s
clear we have to keep this in mind, but they represent the level of danger that
our attack can pose. If one of them is on the pitch, or both of them, it
changes the level of our attacking threat. We need to do a good job finding
some alternatives."
Finally, Stramaccioni was asked if Ricky Alvarez’s moment has finally arrived: "I think two types of reasoning have to be made regarding Ricardo, and I’m not about to emphasise the respect I have for him and the fact that he doesn’t show his great qualities in matches that he shows in training. I’ll just say that after last summer’s surgery he hasn’t managed to show consistency and that the attacking trio has taken away a bit of his visibility. Now with a bit of luck staying healthy he’ll be able to show his worth. He has to show in our matches what he shows to us during the week."
