Inter coach Stefano Pioli was a guest on RAI Sport’s classic TV show, Domenica Sportiva, late last night answering questions on a wide variety of questions starting with the great form the team are in after he took over.
“We’ve done a lot of hard work and I think we’ve done it well. That said, we’re only at the start of our journey and we have to look to overhaul some great sides who are performing well. We need to take it game by game and try to win as many of them as we can. Unfortunately, third place is not just down to us. It will be difficult because we have a a lot of teams ahead of us who are very competetive, but we have to try to win many matches given the quality we have.
Then Pioli was asked about being an Inter-supporter since he was a child and how close he was to actually signing for Inter as a player: “I got into Serie A by watching and supporting Inter. It’s always been an ambition of mine, a dream. Now it’s come true. I was close to signing for Inter too as a player. I was playing with Parma in Serie C when our Sporting Director Sogliano told me that I would go and sign for Inter. We celebrated that night, whilst we were on the motorway Sogliano called me and said that Juventus had made a higher offer and so things have changed.”
Pioli asked to reveal what happened when he was appointed Inter’s new coach, namely how he convinced Suning to choose him: “I was very clear about my ideas on the team and on the potential I believed the squad could live up to. I was myself and I’m very pleased that they chose me. We’re getting to know each other better and better. The owners are right behind us and make sure we can feel their support every day, with Steven Zhang and Jun Liu around every day at Appiano Gentile. The structure is also very important and they are very ambitious. I think it’s right to think about an important future, but now we’re thinking about the present. Inter has to win a lot and we’re trying to do so. We’re in constant contact with the other directors too. Jindong Zhang has great charisma and always puts important ideas across. He motivates us and we hope to have him here more and more often. It is great for a coach to have a club that supports him and a group of players who take responsibility and show willing. I have both of those things here and that makes my job easier.”
“We’re currently looking to find the right balance, everyone attacks,defends, sacrifices themselves and this approach can bring us to become the competitive team that we wish to become” Pioli said before replying to questions about specific players starting with Antonio Candreva: “I’ve always thought Antonio is a great professional. He’s extremely motivated and performing very well. The idea is to be an unpredictable team and to look towards to exploit our entire attacking strengths. There were problems at Lazio with Antonio but that year the expectations were very high due to our potential and the Champions League elimination turned the atmosphere surrounding us into a negative one.”
Pioli was asked to give his impressions of Gagliardini stating: “he is full of energy, he’s got good physical presence and a great sense of positioning. I’m convinced he can become a complete midfielder and an important player for both Inter and the Italian national team. If it’s true that I want everyone to speak Italian? Yes, on the pitch there has to be only one language spoken. If everyone speaks their language it will be hard to move forward. But the group is very easy. The transfer window? We’re going to do a few things in terms of outgoings, but then we’ll be set.”
Pioli was asked to give his thoughts on whether or not the criticism against Icardi is too harsh: “I know that a lot of the times strikers are only judged on the goals they score. Icardi is working very hard and is our defensive player on the pitch and as a captain sends out an important message to his team-mates. If he is the best Serie A player? Undoubtedly he has to grow and develop because he is young but his stats speak for itself. He’s a fantastic centre forward. Kondogbia has the potential to be a complete midfielder. He can take important steps forward in thinking and seeing the play before it happens, but he’s improving. He needed that bit of confidence and he made himself availabe as soon as I took over.”
The Nerazzurri coach was asked to give his thoughts on Jovetic’s great debut at Sevilla scoring twice in two matches against Real Madrid: “I’m happy for him, he needed space to play which I couldn’t guarantee him. He’s a quality player and I wish him the best. Joao Mario is a great player but the first year in the Serie A is always difficult for a foreigner. He has the legs to spark a change of tempo in a match, but he can improve on his final ball and shooting. He’s working on it and I’m sure that he’ll achieve big things.”
In conclusion Pioli was asked to comment on Fiorentina’s win over Juventus stating: “They are celebrating in Florence now, it’s a very important game there. Juventus change of formation? Allegri and his players can play in many systems, compliments to Fiorentina had a great game.”
