MILAN – Frank de Boer told the media that he understands fan frustrations after Inter lost 2-0 to Hapoel Be’er Sheva in their Europa League opener on Thursday night.
"First of all I want to say that I’m sorry for the fans who came to the stadium," began De Boer. "If you analyse the game and what we saw on the pitch, I’d say that in the first half we created several chances to take the lead.
"They got their goal from a set piece. Murillo was off the field and there were a couple of blocks in there, plus their free kick routine caught us off guard. That said, I was confident that we’d score and turn the game around. I don’t understand how we can lose our heads after one goal."
De Boer bemoaned his side’s lack of focus after going 1-0 down to the Israeli outfit eight minutes into the second half.
"You can always go behind in football, but I’m angry because it’s happening too often. I don’t think we should lose our heads when it happens, as we’ve done tonight."
The Dutch coach defended his team selection after he made multiple changes from Inter’s 2-1 win at Pescara on Sunday.
"This is a tough period because we’re playing every three or four days and we need to try to manage the players with the medium to long term in mind. Some players need to rest. I thought it was a good chance for those that have played less. I thought we could win with them but it didn’t happen that way.”
De Boer was also asked about his decision to replace Marcelo Brozovic at half time, insisting that the Croatian midfielder can improve.
"It’s really important to be ready and I’m convinced that he wanted to give his all. I know he can do a lot better. He needs to show he’s in good shape when he gets a chance – that goes for him and his team-mates."
Attention now turns to the visit of Juventus on Sunday, and De Boer is convinced his side can secure a result.
"If we focus then we can do well against Juventus. We have a chance."
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