APPIANO GENTILE – One of Roberto Mancini's assistants on the coaching team Sylvinho has revealed that in coming to Inter he's fulfilled one of his goals from when he was a player.
"My long-standing dream of playing in Italy never came true, but at least now I'm here as a coach."
The Inter Channel programme featuring questions from the viewers kicked off with a query on how he came to Inter: "I finished my playing career at Manchester City and near to the end Mancini asked me what I wanted to do the following year.
"Perhaps it wasn't the right moment or my head wasn't in the right place, but I turned his offer down to stay on as an assistant, thanking him all the same. Once I had moved to Corinthians, Roberto called me again and at the point I knew the timing was right. I caught a plane and headed to Milan."
Sylvinho also commented on the changes he's seen in the Inter head coach, after many years working with him as a player as well.
"When you go from being a player to a coach, your approach and attitude change. Roberto has international experience and has won the Premier League – which is a great achievement for a coach – and the FA Cup. He's very calm as he goes about his day-to-day work."
Next up was a question on how he's finding things at the club: "I'm really happy. I have a good relationship with the club, which is really well run, and Javier Zanetti who was a fantastic player."
Finally a few words on the team, the player who has surprised Sylvinho the most and who he'd want to see in a Nerazzurri shirt one day: "I wasn't aware of how well Mauro Icardi goes about training. He's young and scores bags of goals, but he's still learning.
"I already knew Rodrigo Palacio, he's a professor. He works hard in training and knows exactly where to be on the pitch. I really rate Marcelo Brozovic as well, he's only 22 but has great ability. He might make mistakes sometimes, but that's normal for a youngster.
"Who do I want to see at Inter? Easy question: Lionel Messi! He trains normally like everybody else, but he's a genius, such a talent. He's one of the best of all time."
