APPIANO GENTILE - Walter Mazzarri held a long and absorbing press conference today, giving a clear indication of just how much passion he's going to put into the job.
What's the target for a team that finished so far behind Juventus last season and which has a number players who might not be capable of training at the intensity you ask of your teams?
"To be honest, I'm pretty confident because I know my working methods. Especially when you've got a new team, that's an advantage for a new coach coming into a big club. Nobody can deny there were problems last year but you have to be confident. I'll tell you about a lad I once trained, someone I have a great relationship with and who is now working as a sporting director: Nicola Amoruso. He was a player that everyone thought was past it. He was 32 when he joined Reggina. After he'd been training for a while in the way that a player should train he was a totally rejuvenated player – he went on to beat his own goals record that season at a team that was fighting to avoid relegation. And he'd already played for Juventus and other clubs, that says a lot. I'm utterly convinced that if you work the right way and if these Inter players believe in our ideas and they buy into them, at least 90% of them are capable of enduring everything they should be able to endure to then produce top performances on Sunday."
Before it was official that you would join Inter, the president said that coaching a football team is one thing but coaching Inter is another. What do you think about that?
"That's something I'll have to figure out. I'm working night and day to learn everything there is to know about the world of Inter, and I'm getting help from all sides. But I do know a few things about myself. You might have heard me say this before, that when you coach Napoli for four years you get your licence upgraded and you feel you can coach at any club. That might offer some sort of guarantee, we'll have to see. But joking aside I believe I have what it takes to coach a club like this. The president chose me because he was looking for certain qualities for Inter, so he must think I have the ability and the qualities needed to be successful at a club with a set-up like this."
Is there a Napoli player you'd have liked to have been able to put in your suitcase and bring with you?
"Even if there were, I'm very fond of the lads I coached because they helped me get where I am and I'm grateful to all the players I've coached in the past. On the last day, when I said goodbye to the Napoli lads in Rome, I got quite emotional and I'll tell you the truth, this is what I said to them, I told them I wasn't going to phone them again, that if they wanted they could call me, and I said that out of respect for their new coach. I think I have my own moral code and I don't call any of my players even though I owe them a lot. I thanked them but from this moment on I'm no longer the coach of Napoli and I won't phone them. What I'm saying is, even if there were a player at Napoli who fitted my technical requirements and could be useful to Inter I certainly wouldn't tell you guys or the player himself; I'd tell our directors Ausilio and Branca. If they were then able to sign him, fine. But this is neither the time nor the place to be talking about these things because I don't want to discuss transfer business."
You’ve always been at the forefront in controversies involving refereeing, and last season Inter had some problems with refereeing decisions.
"You might have noticed that in recent years I’ve stayed out of refereeing controversies. It was quite a while ago that my attitude changed. I was only critical in one press conference, which was after the Super Cup in Beijing. But my aim was to contribute something, because after 33 years in football I believe I’m able to have my say, and that was an unusual game. Having said that, I haven’t spoken about referees anymore since then apart from very trivially when asked for a comment, I didn't get involved in any controversy last season. So it's certainly isn’t a problem."
If Massimo Moratti were to ask for something more than simply being competitive, would you be prepared?
"I have confidence in the club and evaluations have to be made based on certain parameters, since football is always a business. There are some very good players here who earn a lot. I have no problems taking on my responsibilities based on certain kinds of logic and objectives. There shouldn’t be any problems for me since I chose to come to Inter because I want this important team to become competitive again as soon as possible, and to compete as they always have historically with the teams that are always at the top of the table."
Have you spoken with Walter Samuel? Can he still be important for Inter?
"Samuel is such an excellent, serious and important player that I don't need to speak to him. At any rate, I’ll take this opportunity to tell you the way I work: when we all meet up at the Pinetina I won’t even set foot on the pitch for the first two days, but rather I’ll hold individual meetings with every player in the squad before making my first speech to the team. This has always been my way of doing things, so now it wouldn’t be right to talk about Samuel or any other player in the squad. I do this so things are equal for everyone. If we want to be following rules then I can’t break them myself. So everything will begin when the team I take departs for the camp. I’ll also say that those two days at the Pinetina will also be utilised by our fitness coach to do every kind of test under the sun so we start off on the right foot in the mountains."
Today it was announced that Andrea Ranocchia would face no charges in the betting scandal. How important is this for his peace of mind?
"It’s certainly great news for the lad, but most of all he’s a fundamental part of this club so we’re all happy. "
Could Inter play with your preferred three-man defence? How well equipped for that do you see Inter’s squad from last year?
"I wouldn’t want to get too much into what happened last season. I’d rather reset everything and start from zero. As I’ve done in the past with other teams I’ve coached, I don’t need reference points from the previous season, and my rapport with the players in the new team begins as soon as we meet and talk face to face. That’s how I’m used to working, so I’d rather not get into that. My way of playing? I have certain mechanisms that are quite established and that I let sink in within the first couple of weeks. Certainly I start with a concept of a shape for when we’re in possession, with a three-man defence. This is how it’s always been. Then over time I’ve changed many things. For example, when I was at Reggina I fielded a 3-5-1-1 when Nakamura was there with Bonazzoli in front of him. In another of my three years there I played a 3-4-3 because it seemed that I had players more suited for it when we were attacking. Then without the ball, you saw last season at Napoli for example, I would play a four-man defence according to what the opponents did. So I have certain methods that I wouldn’t simply state as ‘playing with three at the back’. What matters is that the players know these things, that you explain them well in training and that they acknowledge them so as not to start improvising during the game. I’ve changed a lot, without the players being aware of it, because over time the other coaches have studied my game. So I’ve had to change to keep them guessing."
Beyond the formation, flank players have always been fundamental for you. Are you pleased with the ones currently at Inter?
"They’re all good players on paper, with characteristics to suit my game. And I’ll say it again: I'll make my evaluations on the pitch. Without going into what happened last season, because it was a one-off, I believe the squad is already equipped to compete at a good level. And then if the team understands my methods and concepts and trains in the right way, we have players with all the right characteristics. But there are certain assessments I'll only make within the club."
What do you think of Yuto Nagatomo?
"He looked excellent as an opponent. And what I said earlier still stands: I’ll have to see him on the pitch, then I’ll tell you more, like for example if he’s able to do what I ask based on my ideas. It’s clear he’s a great player."
In the past two seasons Inter’s results weren’t up to the same standard as in the past. According to some, the reason is that the team is a bit long in the tooth. How do you feel about that?
"I’ll tell you a story. In my first experience in Serie C2 with Acireale I took over the team and was told that the older and younger players couldn’t play together. I said the older ones couldn’t play football because they couldn’t get to the ball first. It all depends on whether an older player is still capable of training at a certain level. Further along we can assess whether the players that won the treble three years ago still have the desire to sacrifice themselves for the team. You need sacrifice for this sport at the highest level, where the opponents won’t give you an inch and go at 100 miles per hour. We’ll see along the way, and I believe I know the right buttons to push to motivate certain players, should they still be part of this squad."
So then you’ll evaluate lots of things in Pinzolo, and no transfers will take place until certain assessments are made?
"Beyond my evaluations, the transfer market depends on many things, and the policies of the club. I’m a coach, and any coach would like to have the best players in the world. But that’s always easier said than done. We’ll have to see if the club will sign them and if they sell anyone. Which is why there has to be someone that deals with transfers."
Is there a certain youngster you’d like to see on the pitch? For example, Italy’s U-21 defence is practically all Nerazzurri.
"We’re evaluating things, and yesterday we held a meeting until midnight. I arrived yesterday and we’ll be here for two more days to make evaluations with my group and the club. They’ll be continuous with the objective of being in some way prepared to do certain things by 8 July. It’s too soon to ask me about all the Primavera players. However, I’d like to say that it’s difficult to play with a lot of youngsters and bring them along, knowing they lack experience when it comes to top clubs like Inter or the Napoli side of the past four years. It’s not easy to have a lot of young players and make it to the top spots in the standings. You need experienced players to win games because younger players can make naive mistakes. I like young players and if, for example, you asked me to reach 50 points in a season playing only youngsters I believe I could. But it would be different it you wanted me to be competitive with Juventus, AC Milan, Napoli, Lazio and Fiorentina. Certain evaluations have to be made with full knowledge of the facts."
You seem to be someone who puts a lot of fire and passion into the things he does. How important is passion for you in a team?"Extremely important, it's crucial. If you want to win in the modern world of football, where the values are levelled out, you have to want to go the extra mile. And you do that by tapping into the emotions that are in all of us, though if you find the wrong person you'll never draw it out. To gain an edge you need to have that extra element. A coach, as well as convincing his players by the way he prepares for games, needs to galvanise them and convey the right temperament."
Looking at Inter's squad at the moment, are there any mainstays for you in there?
"Every coach has mainstays. I'm not going to tell you what they are but yes I have some."
