Today at 12:00, Inter’s new coach Walter Mazzarri was officially presented for the assembled press at Inter’s training facility in Pinetina.
Welcome, mister. We have known it for some time, how would you summarize your ten years in Serie A without having been fired? And is there a secret to your leadership?
(Mazzarri makes a superstitious gesture ed.) “I don’t know any secrets, I have based my story on respect for the rules and a reciprocity with the players and the staff I have close to me. Success in football comes from an accuracy to details, from work culture., it is a sport, but at a high professional level and therefore I have confidence in these components, which for me are essential, such as the ability of the coach and the players. The players know me, I think I’m a coach who wants to put my imprint on my team. There have been times when things have gone well and times less successful, but perhaps better in the end as there was a mutual understanding. In today’s football, in addition to technical ability, it is important to be physically and mentally prepared . The training is holy, if you skip a workout if it is not absolutely necessary, you will not go all the way.”
Why did you leave Napoli and decided to go to Inter instead of Roma?
“I’ve heard some inaccuracies. The decision to leave Napoli was born as early as last summer’s training camp when I did not want to renew the contract because I thought I would leave Napoli due to lack of stimulation. From that time I could also have remained there because there were no proposals that attracted me. There have been other proposals, the Inter from I liked. I felt ready to start a new path, I hope that this version doesn’t change.”
On changes in the team:
“The coach has to work with the players that are available. The squad Inter had last year was superior to the results that were achieved and this is without saying anything about who was here before. I have an obligation to make an assessment of all the guys who will be available. After that, based on what they show on the pitch, and I want to see great sacrifices in training camp, I will do the evaluations and report to the club.”
The ending and the relationship with President De Laurentiis:
“I spent four wonderful years in Naples, but like in any marriage, there may be a beginning and an end, but I don’t want to hear about the word treason. I did a good job in Naples, I left for the reasons already mentioned, there is no controversy.”
What was your impression of Moratti?
“Moratti is a real gentleman, I have been told that he also got a good impression of me. I told him what intentions I had and he was determined to bring in a coach like me, and explained that to me. For this I am very happy, I think I know what he wants to do.”
Has there already been goals set for this Inter?
“Inter are, considering what happened three years ago, obliged to return to being a winning team. The concept is wide and in the meantime, the fans have to be proud of a team that never gives up, that’s the first goal. Then, I believe that through the way we play we will achieve results, The closer to perfection you get, the closer you will get to the results. The supporters want to see a tough team, a team that can play against anyone, and will return to winning on its own arena and limit the losses.”
But what questions did Massimo Moratti ask you? And why did he choose you, was it for technical or emotional reasons?
“I think that Moratti was already aware of how I work. Then, I am a unifying coach, a reference point for other employees. Moratti wanted a coach with personality, who wants to assume full responsibility for all components of the club. I had a distinct feeling that Moratti wanted a coach like me.”
Can you tell us something about your coworkers?
“Ok, in addition to Giuseppe Baresi, who will remain with me because I wanted someone from Inter’s history and I wanted him to better understand certain aspects of the club, I have brought with me people who have followed me in my career: from physics coach Prondelli who I had in Bologna’s Primavera and thanks to him, I have had few physical problems in my teams, Nicolò Frustalupi will also be there to help me with changes and organization on the pitch, he and I will get support from Luca Vigiani, while Nunzio Papale will be the goalkeeper coach, I know him from the time at Acireale. Off the pitch, there will be scouts and other individuals, from Concina to Claudio Nitti and finally Giuseppe Santoro who will keep me bound up with the various components of Inter. With Branca and Ausilio we will evaluate other people. ”
You said, in relation to the football field, you want to evaluate the players already in Pinzolo. But Inter’s squad is huge and you want to have a core of players, isn’t there is a risk that you will have the final squad too late?
“Some evaluations I have made with Branca, Ausilio and Moratti. Then, the coach doesn’t talk about the transfer market: I relate to what I have in mind and it will be the club that will give explanations I work with dual roles, I want 22 players ready, 4-5 players ready to take over. But I am convinced that many of the players who will be in Pinzolo will remain.”
Have you spoken to Moratti concerning the negotiations for the club?
“I say as I told him, if it’s good for Inter, I support it. I am interested in everything that happens that is good for the club.”
What strategy will you use with young players?
“I will be very careful, we are monitored by the Financial Fair Play and resources also comes from the youth section. From Ausilio I have learned that Primavera play with the same formation as the first team. Then I have my priorities, I try to follow other aspects of the future.”
Why have you extended the training camp?
“Because I want people to believe in the work. I want double passes continuously, with Prondelli I have a schedule with careful work. I want 14 days of important work to start off well.”
A question from fcinternews.it: What was your first impression of Kovacic? And how do you see him in your football?
“Mateo is interesting, I’ve seen him play. But I will not speak until after he’s trained, maybe after a month.”
Do you like the comparisons with Mourinho or do they bring increased pressure?
“Every coach has his own personality, and personally I think that the best is yet to come. I want to do something significant, so far I’ve always been able to do that and I want to do that even at Inter. I have a great esteem for Mourinho, of course, we had our skirmishes when we were opponents, but the esteem remains.”
What will this Inter need to work from the beginning?
“I think that I want to work a lot with confidence, because when negativity gather as one season ends badly, there is a risk that the players feel it again. I want to do a really good physical preparation to be able to run as much and more than the other , but I also want to provide an organization that provides players with safety and confidence. ”
What is the minimum time to be able to call this a project?
“There are words that don’t really fit in football, I always think that every game could cost me my job. Project will develop, through that which you already are working on, but the important thing is to start with some collateral. At Napoli, I came to a team that finished in fourteenth place, it was concluded that we just missed the Champions League. thus Mazzarri may have had a part in having built up amazing years.”
What are the basics to give Inter the right spirit?
“To show the right spirit means to put the team first. Players are individuals, but if a player scores three goals and the team loses, it’s the club and the coach who takes the loss. What is needed is to get everyone to understand that the personal interest goes beyond the individual and that Inter come before everything. If we can achieve that the road will be easier, otherwise we go against tough years.”
How is your relationship with Cassano who you already know?
“The relationship with Cassano is very good, he came through and visited me during a game against Inter. I have good relations with everyone, but first and foremost we must think of Inter’s best and not personal relationships.”
What do you think about the players’ ability to take in your training methods?
“I believe a lot in my methods, it is enough to remember that one of my former players Nicola Amoruso, who was said to be finished for three years, was reborn with me at Reggina. It says a lot, if the players believe in what we are proposing to them 90% of them will have everything to play big games.”
Is Inter the most difficult of all the tasks you have been given to date?
“I am trying to understand the reality of Inter, then, the fact that I coached Napoli a guarantee for me. I have the right qualities to coach Inter, if Moratti chose me, it’s because he thinks I can do it.”
Would you have liked to bring any Napoli player with you?
“I want my players well and when I took farewell to them, I was moved, I told them that I would never call them, it’s about the moral correctness towards the new coach. If I then find that a Napoli player would be good for Inter, I will not say it to you, it will be Branca and Ausilio who will try to buy those and make me happy.”
After the controversy with the referees, do you feel that you have gone over to ‘the other side’ when you went to Inter?
“I’ve still changed attitude the last few years, I just did a press conference where I put the referees in focus after the Super Cup in Beijing and since then I have not talked about the referees or I’ve done it without being part of polemics. Coming to Inter viewed from this angle, no problem.”
Have you talked Walter Samuel? Can he still be important for this Inter?
“I have no need to talk about it. Once we have re-assembly, I will have individual meetings before we go into the collective meetings and I will not talk before to make sure it’s not unfair, and because I have to respect the rules.”
How important can Ranocchia be for you, a player who today got a court case filed and that comes from a little difficult years?
“I’m happy for him, he represents the future of the club.”
You have always played with a defence of three, will you re-introduce it again at Inter? How do you value it in terms of the output from last season?
“I don’t want to talk about last year anymore, the relationship with the team starts from the first time I meet with my players. I have a couple of patterns that I get the players to take in during 15 days, I always used the defence of three before, but then I can change to different systems from 3-5-1-1 to 3-4-3, in Naples, we played even with a defence of four. the important thing is that the players are aware of their duties without having to improvise anything. I have changed a lot because other coaches have studied me, which means I have tried to become more unpredictable.”
In your style of play the wingers are vital, here’s Nagatomo, Jonathan, Schelotto and Pereira. Can they fit your tactical ideas?
“The players are good, but I will evaluate them when I seen them on the pitch. I think this squad can make a championship at a high level if you buy players with certain characteristics.”
What do you think about Nagatomo?
“A very good player, then I will understand more when I saw him. Hopefully I can see if he can do things that no one has asked of him.”
After two years of poor performances one of the explanations has been Inter’s high age average. Is it, in your opinion, a value worth working for?
“I can tell you about Acireale in Serie C2 that was my first job, I was told that the old and the young people did not agree. I said that those who are old could not play because they could not run. We’ll see if they oldest players still can sacrifice themselves for a sport like football. However, I think I know what points I should press to motivate the players again.”
Will the mercato be blocked until you do your evaluations?
“The mercato is influenced by the club’s selection. I’m the coach, I would like to have all the best players in the world, but then many other things are evaluated. This is why I think it is right that there are some who take care of the mercato.”
Of the young people who have left, would you like to see some of them already in Pinzolo?
“I come in these days along with my staff and the club make continuous values to get to Pinzolo July 8 with clear ideas. Having many young players and reach the top of the table, is not something that always go together. I like young people and asking me to take 50 credits a championship, I could make a team with only young players, but for me it’s another thing to fight for the top places with the most important law. ”
Mazzarri then answer SempreInter.coms question, addressed by Thomas Salme, if passion and attitude are important for a coach beyond the tactical and technical?
“A man must always give a little more to distinguish between a coach who is one in the crowd, and one that will be admired. If you manage to convey the right character, players will commit to the coach. It can make a difference.”
Do you have a clear picture of which players will be the starting point for your Inter?
“All the coaches have starting points, therefore I can say yes, but I will not give any names.”
Source: fcinternews.it
Translation by Danny Hansen & Siavoush Fallahi
