MILAN – Inter vice president Javier Zanetti was interviewed this morning on the radio channel Radio Rai: "Football will always be a part of my life because I spent 23 years playing the game professionally and it will never cease to be important for me."
There was evidence of the progress Inter are making week after week at the Marassi. "We had to bounce back after the home loss against Fiorentina and we knew we were going to play against a team that plays very well at home. Sampdoria sat deep and were patient before launching counter-attacks with their pacy attackers. It was a tough match, but Inter did well to react and draw level."
Can this Inter side coached by Roberto Mancini compete for the title? "It is proving to be a hotly-contested championship this year and it's too early to talk about the title. Our objective is to be back among the contenders. I want us to fight until the very end, but we still have some growing to do as a team because there have been a lot of changes in the squad."
One of the new signings scored Inter's goal against Sampdoria. "Ivan Perisic played really well yesterday, not only for the goal he scored but also the shift he put in helping out the defence as well."
The vice president also had a few words to say on the head coach's progress. "We are a team that can improve even more and Mancini is doing a fantastic job. The defence is very strong and only conceded one goal in the first five games. Felipe Melo is a great character and we've got numerous options up front that can change a game in an instant. We have a lot of faith in what Roberto is doing."
Building a team in the transfer window and then giving them time to gel on the pitch can be tough and there may be difficult times head. "Yes, when so many new faces arrive some of them need time to adapt and some have come from different leagues. We need to work together and when things don't go our way, we must keep our cool and trust in the work we're doing."
As well as foreign signings, some players in the first-team squad have been promoted from the youth set-up. "We pay a lot of attention to our youngsters, many of whom train with the senior squad. If there's an opportunity to bring one of our youth-team products into the first team, then we'll happily do that."
The Inter legend wrapped things up with a comment on Stefan Jovetic's call-up to his national team: "Montenegro won't want to risk that Jovetic gets injured, for the future of the player and his country but also his club."
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