APPIANO GENTILE – From the San Siro atmosphere at the derby to next Saturday's visit of Roma, via his recent deployment at left-back and his desire for constant improvement. Juan Jesus covered all of this when he met with reporters at a media conference today.
Speaking about Sunday's game against AC Milan, the 23-year-old began: "The crowd certainly give us a massive hand. The San Siro was amazing. I got goose bumps when I stepped out there."
Asked about Inter's seemingly diminishing hopes of qualifying for the Europa League, he went on: "As long as it's mathematically possible I believe we can do it. It's a shame about the result on Sunday, especially considering Fiorentina's result. We have seven matches left to play, there are still points to be won and we'll just try to get as many on the board as possible."
Roberto Mancini has fielded Juan at left-back in recent outings and the journalists in the Centro Sportivo Angelo Moratti press room were keen to ask about his recent change of position. "I think I've improved and the stats back that up. Playing at full-back is helping me a lot. I had a so-so month and I'm the first to admit it but I'm getting better. I have to try and help out the team wherever I play. If I'm honest, I feel more comfortable playing centre-back but I find it easy to play out wide too. We work well in training, we run through everything that needs to be practised, but maybe this season wasn't to be."
The Brazilian then commented on some of the recent criticism he has been subjected to. "I never get bothered by criticism, only when I see things which aren't true. I want to move on from all this negativity."
Attentions are of course now on next Saturday's match against Roma: "I think we're in better shape now than we were when we last played the Giallorossi. They haven't been at the top of their game for a while and we should try to take advantage of that."
Juan Jesus concluded by talking about his own personal growth and where he sees himself in the future. "I've got a bit of experience now but I'm 23 and I still make mistakes. Everyone does. I need to be more focused, more alert. I'm working hard on it and I think that's shown in the last few games. Next year we must be more consistent.
"I'm never completely satisfied and I want always want to perform at 100%. It gets harder to prove myself every year. I have to keep doing my best - only that way can you perform consistently.
"I'm an Inter player and I feel at home here. I would never change Inter for anything."
