MILAN – Walter Mazzarri met with the gathered media at the Stadio Meazza this afternoon as Inter prepare to kick off the new Serie A season tomorrow.
With 20 teams lining up at the starting blocks, the coach was asked if we could describe this year's title race as a hare shooting off into the distance and the rest playing catch-up, as has been widely reported in the media. "I don't really care much for what people say, just what we do ourselves," he grinned, before sidestepping a question about Samuel Eto'o by reaffirming that, "I never talk about transfer business."
Are the coach and his players unsettled by the ongoing talks between Moratti and Thohir? "I can't tell you what's in the head of each player when he goes home, but from what I see on the training ground they're 100% focused on working hard and following me. Of course we haven't been working together for long so we're still making too many mistakes but the desire is there. I knew all the players individually and there haven't been any surprises in that sense. We'll see what happens tomorrow when we start playing games that matter. The pre-season was good for us to get to know each other better and I think I know much more now, but I've obviously still got lots to learn and lots of assessments to make. We need a bit of time."
The coach was asked if it's true that Icardi and Belfodil aren't at their best yet. "For a start the whole team has had a heavy workload to deal with and at the moment the players are only at 60 or 70% of their full potential. That goes for everyone, not just Icardi and Belfodil. In their case they also need to get used to playing at a different level, as Insigne had to do for example. There's a big difference when you take the step up from a mid-range team to a top team."
Mazzarri was then asked if he'd like to wish Napoli good luck. "I spent four great years at Napoli so I'll gladly wish them well, all the people who gave me their support."
On pre-season targets and predictions: "I'm used to doing my talking on the pitch. Once we start playing we'll see. This is my tenth year in Serie A and I know that lots of people like to talk at the start of the season. I just get on with it, also because it rarely goes the way people say it will. I hope people take into account that we're starting from scratch, we've brought in lots of young players and it takes time, but I think the fans understand that."
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