Ahead of Interโs Champions League final clash in Istanbul against Premier League giants Manchester City, the Get Italian Football News team had FcInterNews journalist Raffaele Caruso preview the highly anticipated fixture and provide his insight on the Nerazzurri in an exclusive interview.
The Nerazzurri enter the prestigious final with a great deal of confidence as they moved past cross-city rivals Milan 3-0 on aggregate within the Champions semi-finals to secure their spot in Istanbul, as well as clinching their second consecutive Coppa Italia in a 2-1 victory agaisnt Fiorentina.
However, managing City will probably be the Beneamataโs most daring challenge this season as they have immense quality on the pitch and are heading into the final on the cusp of obtaining the treble after winning both the Premier League title and the FA Cup.
Raffaele Caruso was first asked about how sees the match playing out and what the key will be for Inter in order to defeat the European juggernauts.
He stated:โSo certainly on paper, Manchester City are the favorites over Inter as demonstrated by the investment process, as well as the facts on the market from Pep Guardiolaโs team, net of the words of the coach who has relieved the tension despite the immense amount of pressure.ย
โHowever, it is clear that Manchester City are absolutely the favourites in this match, but I believeย Inter have the required weapons to hurt the English club and I believe that a lot will depend on Interโs midfield. I believe that the midfield department will be a fundamental one on the pitch as itโs one of the heaviest ones quality-wise and also in terms of leadership and I think that if Inter want to win the match. they will need their midfield in the best shape.
โInter will require Brozovic, Barella, Mikhitaryan and Calhanoglu to be completely focused in order to break down this City side. If Interโs midfield turns up, then I think they can overcome the equally strong midfield of Manchester City. Inter also have some weapons upfront as they have yet made the choice of Dzeko or Lukaku to start on the pitch, and a great performance will also be needed from Martinez, but I have great faith in El Toro given his excellent run of form.โ
Although Inter went through numerous rough patches throughout this yearโs campaign, the Nerazzurri managed to turn the tables around as they have only lost a single match within their last twelve across all competitions, securing their spot within the top four of the Serie A to ensure qualification within next yearโs Champions League.
Raffaele was then asked to provide what he thought to be the turning point of Interโs campaign this year.
He claimed: โIn my opinion the turning point was the first leg against Benfica away from home and Inter was going through a very very difficult period of fluctuating form. During that stage of the season Inter had lost many points against minnow teams such as Monza, Empoli, Salernitana, and Spezia,ย many matches that Inter somehow failed to bring home despite the fact that they had many occasions in front of goal.ย
โSo I believe that both legs between Inter and Benfica served as a major turning point, and Iโll also add the first leg semi-final within the Coppa Italia against Juventus with a chaotic ending as the penalty-shot that was not converted by Lukaku somehow gave the team a turning point.
ย โWithin the final stretch of the season, Inzaghi was good at making decisions in rotating the squad practically to secure a spot within the top four, win the Coppa Itaia, and reach the Champions League final.ย Iโve always said that winning helps to win the big matches so the squad really took advantage of that concept and thanks to the mental strength and qualityย of the squad, they managed to regroup and end the season on a more positive note.โ
Despite Inzaghi failing to win the scudetto within his first two seasons at the helm of Inter, the former Lazio coach managed to win two Super Coppas, two Coppa Italias, and help Inter reach the finals of the Champions League for the first time since 2010.
Raffaele was finally asked to give his thoughts on Inzaghi as the coach of Inter after having lost twelve matches within the Serie A within this yearโs current season.
He mentioned: โI am a huge Inzaghi fan and we must underline this when it comes to Inzaghi, we must remember that he is a young coach compared to many colleagues. It is important that we must not forget the work he did since 2016 as he brought them back in the Champions Leaue and almost won the Scudetto.ย
โThe only thing missing is the victory of the scudetto. I view Inzaghiโs first-two seasons with Interย was extremely positive because some of the things he managed to do brought a lot of revenue within the club and I believe that this is a fundamental aspect in modern football and above all. for a club like Inter which somehow was forced to go through a very difficult moment especially after the Covid period under Zhang and Suning. Iโm waiting for June 10th because if a victory were to arrive in some way it would be absolutely amazing and I believe that Inzaghi would be set in stone into Nerazzurri history.ย
โI strongly believe he has already made himself a big part of Interโs history because a Champions League final doesnโt come every year, especially after beating Milan in the semi-finals, therefore another prestigious accomplishmentโ.
Julian Faustini ฮ GIFN
