TURIN – Danilo D'Ambrosio says all is not lost despite a bad day at the office for Inter in the Coppa Italia semi-final.
Speaking after the Nerazzurri's 3-0 first-leg defeat against Juventus, the Italian full-back pointed to Sunday's Milan Derby as the perfect opportunity to bounce right back in the league and insisted that Inter will fight to the death in the return leg even if the odds are stacked against them.
"It was a difficult game and we knew we were facing a very good Juventus side enjoying a great run of form,” he explained.
“Our situations have inverted since the start of the season: back then they were struggling and now we are. The psychological factor is important. They've won back-to-back league titles whereas we come from a season when we didn't even qualify for European football.
“We're having a hard time of things now but we just need a couple of good results and we'll pick ourselves up again.
"There are individual mistakes in every match. We made more than they did and we panicked a little. It's not just about scoring; it's a team game.
“We need to find the calmness we had at the start of the campaign. You get ups and downs in a season but the head commands the rest of the body and sometimes it only takes one chance in a game to change things.
“We have to stay focused, understand that we're going through a rough patch and react to it. We're not going to give up. We know the return leg will be extremely difficult but we'll have a go.”
Quizzed about the rumoured arrival of Sampdoria forward Eder Citadin Martins, D'Ambrosio replied: “It's not my place to talk about transfers. Obviously Eder is a Samp player at the moment and all I can say is that he's a great player with pace and technique. If he were to join us, he'd obviously be a useful addition.”
Next up is the small matter of the Milan Derby. "The derby is a chance for us to get going again but there's wrong with this squad. We're humble and compact and we just need a couple of results to go for us.
“It's annoying any time you lose and a bit more so against Juventus but we have to fight to the end in the return leg.
“We have a big game coming up in four days' time which can set us on our way again in the league. I just want to get on with my job. We have to knuckle down, lift ourselves up again and try to knock out a series of wins as like Juventus have done.”
