After the crucial victory against Southampton, Inter plunges back in the league. Equally important race in Bergamo, where Inter will have to try all three points after two consecutive defeats. Ahead of the match against the men of Gasperini, a press conference was held and here’s what Frank de Boer said:
De Boer: “For me it is important to play with great discipline and I think we proved this against Southampton. We have to improve with the ball, not with the hand brake on. We have to play better with the ball, but in the second half we played better. I want to see them. After the expulsion of Brozovic everything changed. The first step was to play along with great discipline.
Atalanta-Inter? Win helps the confidence of the team. I hope that tomorrow there is the right faith, I want to see a team with confidence. It’s a hard game but when we play with the same idea and better with the ball, I am convinced that we can have a good result.”
Better not to play in San Siro? “No, for me it is always better to play at home with the fans who support the team. It’s a game that has always been difficult, it is important for me to see how the team behaves in a small field with very hot and fans with many duels on the pitch.”
Voices on being sacked? “I can only work hard, with the staff and with the players. And that’s the only thing I can do. And we do. I have great confidence in my technical staff, and the players. For me we improved against Southampton, especially in defense and as a discipline. Obviously we have to improve with the ball but we are in the right direction.”
De Boer is becoming more cautious? “In the first half against Southampton we played very compact. We want to press very high but first we want to play compact. But for me, Southampton are a good team, physically very strong. Right now Southampton is physically very well, so we played with this philosophy but does not mean we always play well. Especially with the ball we have to play better, without the hand brake on. The second half went better, especially after the goal.”
Brozovic? “He played well, he played with discipline. I was happy with how he played with intensity, especially defensively. I know it’s not his favorite work but for me it is the first step. With the ball, he can improve, he has done good things and less good things but they do not interest me. I know he is a good player and can be very important.”
Gabigol? “He needs to improve in many things, especially when we do not have the ball. In Europe, in Italy there is another strength. It can not always wait for the ball on the feet to the play, this is not the European way and it is not the style in which we play. He must adapt.”
Icardi pulling little… “Excuse me how many goals has he scored so far? Lately he hasn’t scored much and you change your mind, for me it is not right. Sometimes it’s better to play with two midfielders, sometimes with only one defensive and two offensive as Medel. Midfielders have to get into the opposing area, especially in the first half against Cagliari we did not. The full backs were not very close. Always have to enter at least three players in the area, if Icardi is alone it’s difficult for him. Icardi has a crack but he needs help.”
Attention… “From the first minute it takes great discipline and attention, from first to last. For me it is very important, we have to play very well but always with very high discipline. And we didn’t always do that. For this, I changed philosophy against Southampton. First I want to see the discipline, then we can improve the game with the ball.”
Are you adapting to a different style? “With Chievo we played with five behind, it is not the first time I change form. Juve also can be said to play three or five. Right now we have to win, Southampton is very strong. If we had left space in midfield, they are physically better than us. Right now, we need to adapt to the opponent but usually want to see the team dominate the match. But it is more important to play with a lot of discipline, together. Not just 20 minutes but always.”
Does the team feel the voices of rumors claiming that you are being sacked? “I think the team is happy with the work we do. It’s obvious that in a group of 29 players there are those who are not happy. It’s normal. I’m working with honesty, only eleven can go on the field. At times it is difficult, the players have no patience, it is normal in football. For me we are doing a good job with the team. I have great confidence that we still do a good job with Inter, we obviously have to improve as a team.”
Problems of approach? “I have always said that we have to play without the hand brake on. Against Southampton I said ‘ok we play so compact but when we have the ball we make our game’. The players have worked more defensively but it’s only a matter of time, players will play with confidence even with the ball. ”
What does not work after two months of work? “Against Cagliari we made many cross through the middle. We made 23 cross, it’s amazing. But when you only have one opportunity to Candreva, it means that something is not right. There can be only one player in the opposing penalty area. When they cross, there must be people in the penalty area. Sometimes the ball will end up on our side in this thing we have to improve a lot. Not only must Icardi score. The goal of our adversaries often come from our mistakes, when we lose the ball is very dangerous because the team is open. We must understand that if we lose the ball in the first ball we create problems for the defense. But we have to play with confidence, the long balls are not our philosophy and are not what the fans want to see.”
Adaption to the opponent and ‘The winning strategy in Italy? How do you see Icardi? “In Italy there are always good players, opponents always have good players especially in front and we must take this into account, we can not lose the ball easily because this is always very dangerous because the opponents are always very good strikers. We have to improve a lot. Icardi? Icardi, for me, has worked very well against Southampton. Gave a signal to the team, the captain is the first who has worked hard. For me it was a good sign. He did very well and I am very happy.”
