APPIANO GENTILE - Walter Mazzarri is doing a great job but, as he is always quick to point out, he couldn't manage it without the help of his trusted staff, among whom is Giuseppe Pondrelli. The Nerazzurri's fitness coach has worked alongside the man from Tuscany for 13 years.
In an interview to Sky Sport 24's Massimiliano Nebuloni, Pondrelli first of all explained what sort of team the new staff found: "A very professional group with a serious approach to work. They took very little time to adapt to our way of working."
Pondrelli spoke about how much the team needed to work on fitness to bounce back: "It wasn't that the team didn't work hard. It was simply a case of the players needing to adapt to a different way of working, which varies from one coach to the next."
And how difficult has it been to start a season given the lengthy list of absentees last term? "It's not been particularly difficult, the only problem were long-term injuries like the ones Milito, Zanetti and Mudingayi suffered. That meant those players couldn't begin work with the squad immediately. We still expect to have everyone back as quickly as possible."
On the subject of Milito, the fitness coach was asked if El Principe might be fit for Inter v Juventus: "This is something you need to ask the doctor. I can tell you that he's already played for the Primavera and on Saturday he'll be involved in the friendly against Lugano as we try to give him more playing time. Diego's better, he's still not quite there physically but he's doing well. As for Juventus, we'll see, that'll be a decision for the player, coach and the doctor."
Pondrelli has spent years working with Mazzarri, putting him in a good position to assess his colleague's work: "From a professional perspective he's an excellent coach who doesn't leave anything to chance, he looks at everything both on and off the pitch. I believe this is one of the secrets to his success. Someone said his fitness coach was one of the secrets of his success? I'd love for that to be the case, but it isn't. The other members of staff and I are lucky to work with him. Does Inter remind me of other places I've worked? Everywhere's different, we've joined a prestigious club and we're working in a great environment."
Is it easier to prepare a squad that's not playing in Europe? "They are two different ways of working. Teams that play in midweek have less time to prepare for games and work more on recovery."
His final word was for Inter: "A number of players in the squad have surprised me athletically, but I don't like to name names. Is it easier to coach a physical player like Guarin or someone like Nagatomo? It's easier to coach players who want to work. Could the squad be firing on all cylinders come October? 'Could' means nothing, what is for sure is that the team are doing well physically and mentally, something which is often overlooked. We need to keep working like this."
