moratti zanetti

FC Internazionale honorary president Massimo Moratti covered a range of topics during an interview with Telelombardia.
On Javier Zanetti: “He’s Inter’s history. Not only because of his quality but also for his professionalism. If you ask Zanetti about a game against Milan or Juve from 10 years ago, he’ll tell you not only how it went but also why you should hate both of those teams [laughing]. He’s also a good person, a sensible person, with this side of his character that makes him very much respected by his team-mates.

“With me Zanetti knew for sure that he could even have become president. Because I might have thought about naming as president someone who knows everything, someone who represents Inter, who’s respected and who has the right image. And who could perhaps give interviews instead of me in the morning! There’s been a change for him now, there’s a new person who obviously couldn’t know him as well. But I think he’s sounded things out, also because Thohir is smart. Zanetti will stay at Inter and he’ll definitely have a position which, in my view, must be an operative role and not just a representative one. Because he’s the sort of person who knows how to manage situations, just as he’s managed his personal life well with the PUPI Foundation and other things that are very important. He’s managed his family life extremely well, his investments, his life at Inter. And I think he’ll definitely be an excellent director and that’s what they’ll get him to do.”

On Alvaro Recoba: “He had something intrinsically Inter about him – the fact that he was always capable of surprising you. He was the sort of player that if you put him on in the last 10 minutes he was capable of scoring a hat-trick or producing something you’d never seen before on a football pitch. He was a little lazy so he perhaps lacked the consistency or determination that a player should have, but if you leave aside that lazy streak he was blessed with this class, this talent, that made him a real star in the eyes of anyone who loves the game. So you became fond of him. And the president, just like the fans, the day before the game would be thinking about what might happen. And I would imagine Recoba picking up the ball, taking everyone on and scoring with the first chance.”

On José Mourinho: “He joined after Mancini’s outburst when he said to me, ‘You’re going to get rid of me.’ And I replied, ‘Are you mad? I’m certainly not thinking of getting rid of you.’ But he felt humiliated after that defeat to Liverpool. Thinking that Mancini might come out with the same thing again, I decided to contact Mourinho and he replied with absolute professionalism, because I told him that if Mancini didn’t change his mind then I’d turn to him. He could have got offended but instead he said he was available and that he wouldn’t have talks with anyone else. That confirmed how professional he is. I’d seen him once before and he’d given me an excellent impression. But Mancini was doing well and it wasn’t easy celebrating another Scudetto having to tell Mancini that we were going to bring someone else in. We managed to do it in the end but I was sorry about it.”

Source: Inter.it