MILAN - Walter Mazzarri spoke to the press following his side's draw against Sampdoria. Here's what he had to say:
"In terms of the way I see football, it's the worst game my team has played this season. We've always taken the game to our opponents, attacked them, like at Bologna for example. Today though we were a bit off-colour. Alvarez? His performance was conditioned by the booking, but in general we didn't go and meet them high up the pitch as I like us to do normally.
"Samp played very well against us and deserved a draw. We had a number of chances, we just needed to be meaner and more clinical, more experienced, just come up with something extra to put the game to bed. I didn't like the intensity we showed both with and without the ball. Obviously well done to Samp, but today's match was the worst we've played since I've been in charge, at least in terms of our football.
"A draw is a fair result. But, in any case, I always look at our progression and our performances, even though this time it wasn't the sort of Inter I like to see. We mustn't let our guard down. We've done a great deal since this summer, look at Bologna for instance, we played a great game there, but every now and then we slow down a bit. The lads need to figure things out and grow, especially those not used to being starters that are now: they have to adapt and play well.
"If we want to go back to the top we need to be on the same footing as our opponents and then let our quality come through as the game wears on. In other matches we've played a certain type of football for 60-70 minutes, but today the line didn't push up, our attention and concentration differed from the other games. That's OK over the course of a season, but we mustn't do that anymore.
"It's not that yesterday I saw signs of our concentration dropping, it's that I'm experienced and I know that it can happen. Sampdoria seemed to have cooler heads, in the challenges too. Ulivieri said that I don't praise our opponents? [smiling] Today I would have said the same even after a win. He made that joke because at times when we lost I said that we deserved it and at other times you need to be more diplomatic. But I see that when I lose, no one helps me out. Today we could have been helped by a bit of luck, to make up for what's gone on in the past but hey...
"Did the team pay in terms of how much energy they expended mentally in the first 13 games? Sampdoria were in good shape both physically and mentally and to be honest they had less to lose than us. Today there were too many players who did less than they have in previous matches. This should make us think and make us improve. Today's game was not in line with the performance levels we usually show.
"What's my biggest expectation for the January transfer window? Our aim this summer wasn't Champions League qualification but to go back to being competitive. But, as I've said, either someone joins in January who can make the difference, or if not...
"Our performance? Today was a backward step. I'm going to leave aside the result for the moment. Today's draw was different. Overall our other draws came by playing a certain way, but I didn't like the way Inter played today.
"Zanetti? He pushed forward well for as long as his stamina held, the reason I played him was because he was my strongest option for this game. Nagatomo? I don't know if he'll be back for Parma. Kovacic isn't finding a spark? His attributes make him perfect for this sort of match. Plus I didn't ask him to do any more defensive work than he felt he could. Today I weighed things up based on how I wanted the team to play: we need to be more aggressive and more slick when we have the ball. Then when it comes to penalties, we've realised that for them to give us one they need to be glaring. Just like bookings after one second... they only give them to us."
The coach was asked his thoughts on Erick Thohir being at San Siro: "It was nice to see him alongside Moratti, I could say that this didn't leave us hugely focused, but we certainly can't cling to something like that. It's just a shame we couldn't give him a win, it would have been great to have dedicated it to the new president and also good in terms of the league table, because we've dropped two more points after those we let slip against Torino, Bologna and Cagliari. Anyway, the president clapped us at the end. That's a great sign. But it hurts more to throw away points like this. We hope the president stays cool and calm as he is now. Then, of course, to have a good league season you need investment and good organisation. We'll see."
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INTERVISTA WALTER MAZZARRI POST INTER-SAMPDORIA
