MILAN – It was a big day for Stevan Jovetic today as he was officially unveiled as Inter’s brand-new No. 10. Jovetic held a press conference at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, before heading to the stadium ticket office to greet fans renewing their season tickets.
Alongside the Montenegrin forward were Nerazzurri managing director Marco Fassone and sporting director Piero Ausilio, who stated: "We would like to welcome Jovetic to Milan. When we were negotiating with Manchester City, he was very clear about his desire to come back to Italy."
The floor was then passed to Jovetic himself: "I’m happy to have taken on the No. 10 shirt. When I arrived I was thinking of taking No. 8, but that was taken so I chose the number I used to have at Partizan, No. 35. Then Mateo left, so I started to think that No. 10 could be my number."
Jovetic then spoke about his early impressions of the team: "We’ve trained well ever since I arrived, we’re ready and I can’t wait for Sunday to come around. Things are going well with Icardi, I already knew he was a fantastic player. I followed him when I was in England and had a great opinion of him."
The Montenegrin explained that he is not fazed by the pressures of playing for Inter: "There’s always pressure in football. I’ve felt it everywhere I’ve played but I just focus on performing well. I’d say that it adds extra motivation. Despite my difficulties in England it was a very important experience and I’ve come back more mature. I had a couple of injuries at the start, and then when I did play well I’d always be subbed off. And when I was left off the squad list for the Champions League I knew it was time to change clubs."
There was also a word on his new boss, Roberto Mancini: "The coach has told me what he’s expecting of me from a tactical point of view. The fans also have high expectations of me but the most important thing is that I contribute with goals and assists."
Jovetic was then asked about his preferred position: "We’ve spoken about what I can offer in terms of my flexibility. I’m comfortable in a number of positions, but so far I’ve played most often as a second striker."
There was no hiding Jovetic’s excitement at the prospect of playing in the Milan derby: "It’s an important, special match and I can’t wait to play in it. But I hope to score before the derby comes around, there are three weeks to go yet!"
Asked whether Italian football was experiencing something of a rebirth, Jovetic replied: "Having great players join the league is a good thing and I do think that the glory days can come back again."
Jovetic, of course, previously played in Italy with Fiorentina: "I love Florence and I love the Viola fans. I have great respect for them and always wish Fiorentina the best. I hope to get a good reception from the fans there."
Last but not least, Jovetic spoke in confident terms about the future: "We have a lot of very talented young players in the team. They need to develop further, but we just need to have some patience. We hope things go well and that we can be competitive right away and fight for third place."
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