Ahead of tomorrow’s Serie A fixture against Carpi at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza in Milano’s San Siro district, Inter coach Roberto Mancini held a press conference talking about the transfer market as well as the dispute with Napoli coach Maurizio Sarri.
Can we consider the feud with Sarri closed? Do you miss England?
“The club has published a statement in the past hours so the issue is to be regarded as closed.”
What is Guarin’s situation?
“I preferred to rest him against Napoli because he seemed as if he had a lot on his mind, but he has trained well and is available to be selected against Carpi.”
Jovetic and Icardi together, at least for now are they a viable alternative?
“The important thing is to win, it doesn’t matter who plays.”
What have you worked on these past few days?
“Matches like the one tomorrow are the worst, Carpi is enjoying s great run of late. It will be difficult to play them but we have to win.”
Are you thinking about changing personel in the starting lineup?
“We have many matches left, I will surely change things around and everyone will play. Then we will see what happens in each situation but nothing changes with a suspension.”
Have Inter gathered a greater sense of security after the win against Napoli?
“We made mistakes against Lazio and Sassuolo recently, we could have a few points more. Now we have to recuperate, but no-one was clearly superior to us, except for Fiorentina.”
Are you on the right track now?
“If we were able to have more balance when playing with more attacking players then that would be better, but the team is new so we have to pay attention to our defense too.”
Mourinho asked Eto’o to sacrifice himself in playing as a full-back, could you ask the same from one of your players today?
“Samuel is Samuel, he’s an incredible player who we don’t have. We have Ljajic who’s doing very well but also sacrificing himself and let’s not forget about Perisic.”
Are you a bit tired of Italy? Could you leave this country at the end of this season?
“Now I’m close to beating Herrera with regards to being an Inter coach so I would like to overtake him. For the moment, I’ll say no.”
Could Yaya Touré once again become an objective in the transfer window at the end of the season?
“I don’t think you can talk about this even if anything can happen on the transfer market. He is a great and he will remain a great for a lot of time, but I think it is impossible.”
Do Tavecchio and Lotito represent a preclusion on your part from coaching the national team?
“I’ve never been close to the national team and I don’t know Lotito and Tavecchio. So any preclusion would be a mistake.”
Has Felipe Melo recovered completely?
“In Napoli he was back for selection and he was doing well. Also from a psychological aspect which ahs never been a problem for him.”
Could you rest Miranda tomorrow?
“We will see.”
If an offer from Chelsea were to arrive would you take it into consideration?
“These discussions are premature, there hasn’t been anything. Now we have to focus on the present, then when the contracts expire we will see.”
Is Lavezzi an immediate objective? What does he give to the squad?
“We tried in the past to sign him, both with Manchester City and with Inter but he chose Paris. I think we can sign him only at the end of the season. He is a great player but until his contract with Paris expires it will be very difficult.”
Are you looking to bring in another central defender?
“If Ranocchia goes to Sampdoria we will see, if we had to find a valid player a new player would arrive. If not we have alternative solutions like D’Ambrosio who we have played as a central defender.”
Is Rolando an option?
“I don’t think it is possible, we’re looking for a free loan.”
If you could, would you prevent a sale of Guarin?
“I have a soft spot for Guarin, but not everyoen thinks like me. Some players, at a certain stage, think that they have finished their time at a club but if he leaves we can’t do anything but wish him the best. If he stays he will without doubt give his all for Inter.”
Why do you consider Guarin to be so important?
“Fredy is extraordinary, he’s different from all other players. If he were to leave it would be down to his will but a replacement would arrive. Whilst things are different for Ranocchia, we have replacements for him. With the money from a sale of Guarin we can intervene in the market.”
What can this squad improve?
“The team has improved match after match, after wins as well as defeats. Then it is clear that if players that are ready today were to arrive to this young squad then that would be great for us. However I think it will be difficult to get big players.”
