SHANGHAI – After the fervent welcome that Roberto Mancini’s Nerazzurri squad received on their arrival in China yesterday, it was down to business today as the Inter coach held a press conference alongside midfielder Hernanes to preview tomorrow’s match against Bayern Munich.
"Right now Bayern Munich are ahead of us in terms of physical condition because they started their season three weeks ago. For us, the most important thing is to play at a high level in order to improve quickly," began Mancini.
Hernanes then gave his take on the match: "We want to play well. The coach’s philosophy is to play with a high tempo and lots of movement, creating chances with as few passes as possible, keeping the ball down low and exploiting space in behind. That’s the style of play the boss is asking of us. We hope to improve as quickly as possible so we can play the way he wants us to.
"Last season we grew a lot. I think we can keep improving but we need to test ourselves against the best teams, like we’re going to be doing here in China," explained Hernanes.
The match will be a chance for Hernanes to meet up with an old friend: "Douglas Costa can do well at Bayern. I’ve not played with him all that much but I will say that he’s a very good player and I’m sure he’ll succeed at Munich."
Mancini then spoke of a project that is sure to get the fans excited: "I’m working on an app that’ll be ready in December of January. It’s a service for fans and young coaches, who’ll be able to see what I’ve done in the past and what I plan to do in the future. It’s for everyone, not just the fans but Chinese coaches too."
The Inter boss also gave his reaction to the welcome the Nerazzurri delegation has received in the Far East: "We’re really happy to be here in Shanghai. I played here in 1994. The passion for football and for Inter has always been here and always will be."
There was also some team news ahead of the Bayern clash: "Xherdan Shaqiri won’t play tomorrow. He’s had a calf problem but he’s here with the group and he’ll be available for the match against Real Madrid."
Finally, Mancini spoke about the history behind the fixture: "Inter and Bayern Munich have played each other many times. We won a Champions League final against them. We have masses of Chinese fans here and we hope they want to come and see the match. We want to do our best to repay the warmth we’ve received from them over the last couple of days."
