ROME (ITALPRESS) – “I have to say that it is Inter has returned to being one of the most influential players in European soccer, in the sense that the history and the palmares of this football club tell us that the trophies won are many, the Champions League won are many, the Scudetti won are 20 and therefore we are back in that stage more in keeping with history. Right now, then, with the new ownership we are giving continuity to this situation.” Inter president Giuseppe Marotta said this in an interview broadcast yesterday on Christmas Day on Sky and streaming on NOW. “Simone Inzaghi has shown himself to be a great professional and a very intelligent person,” the Nerazzurri number one explained, speaking of ‘his coach. “He arrived on tiptoe in Inter, made no proclamations, adapted to a very important role and grew as he got results, especially in that awareness of his own abilities that he then managed to transmit to the players as well. One of his key aspects is the recognition of being a leader of the group of this team and instilling what are the winning concepts: the culture of work mainly, the sense of belonging, the great passion towards this work. All these components that were then supported by the work of the corporate management so by Ausilio, by Baccin, by Zanetti, by the whole company, made it possible to create a symbiosis that brought us, I would say, quite far.” Marotta remains convinced that a block of Italians, or players who know our league very well, is an advantage: “Absolutely, and I think the results achieved also prove it. In Italy the league is something unique, something special, the pressure that there is in Italy there is not in any other European country, and so it is important that those who come to Italy, who are in Italy and who play soccer must know their habitat. And so Italians know their habitat, they know what it means to go to Lecce, to Cagliari, to Empoli and find difficulties and try to overcome them. So the hard core of Italians has this advantage and then it is also pride of our nation to make players available to our national team.” As for an ownership such as Oaktree, “it has arrived on tiptoe and in a very silent way but very concrete and participatory in the life of the club and so the confrontation, today, is daily with them and it is positive, all aimed at ensuring continuity for the club in the search for sustainability, which is to finance the economic part, and this sustainability happens through guidelines that they have indicated to us, that we have agreed together and that we have to put into practice.” Among the responsibilities Marotta has had to face this year is the curves investigation: “The investigation is ongoing and I can only express gratitude and thanks to the judiciary, to the police for the work they are doing. We have made ourselves available and we are cooperating in order to eradicate this phenomenon that is extraordinary in the negative and has to do with the world of sports and that is perhaps one of the first times it has occurred. These are criminal activities that have nothing to do with the values of sports.” Returning to current football news, the Inter president talks about rivals for the Scudetto: “We are at the end of the first round, or almost, and the favorites are always the same. There is a small leading group that is composed of Atalanta, Inter and Napoli, but Milan and Juventus are ready to catch up, so we are really in an interlocutory phase. Instead, I think one of the big favorites this year is Atalanta because they have achieved that maturity, that credibility, that conviction that they never had. I think it is a great model to follow, certainly not in the big clubs because it is difficult, but it has shown that it can win without spending a lot of money. I am referring for example to the Europa League.” Marotta, finally, says he is in favor of the return of the Growth Decree: “It just so happens that the moment we implemented the Growth Decree our teams managed to get to the bottom in all competitions in one year, Champions League, Europa League and Conference League. I believe that by taking away this facility we will go back again in our ranking.”- Photo Ipa Agency -(ITALPRESS).
