Inter President Massimo Moratti hailed new Coach Andrea Stramaccioni as a long-term candidate, sniped at Diego Forlan and blamed Gian Piero Gasperini for this disastrous season.
Inter President Massimo Moratti hailed new Coach Andrea Stramaccioni as a long-term candidate, sniped at Diego Forlan and blamed Gian Piero Gasperini for this disastrous season.
“Clearly Stramaccioni has talent and proved it again today in his presentation press conference. This opens the doors straight away to new projects,” explained the patron who fired Claudio Ranieri on Monday night to promote the Primavera youth team boss.
“You realise that he has this talent, not just in expressing himself, but also in what he has expressed through football. I have to say he is an option for the future. If he does well, why not have him?”
There are other candidates for the bench next season, including Andre Villas-Boas and Marcelo Bielsa.
“I always spoke highly of Bielsa, just as I spoke highly of Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola. These are the Coaches of a certain level, but I must say that if we have that in house then we certainly don’t need to go searching for them.”
Ranieri was axed late Monday night after Inter lost six of their previous 10 official games, culminating in a 2-0 defeat to Juventus on Sunday. However, it’s reported Ranieri could remain in another role at the club, as his contract does not expire until June 2013.
“He is certainly part of Inter for the moment and is therefore prepared to collaborate,” added Moratti. “He is a good man and a great Coach in my view. It just went badly for him.
“As for Gasperini, let’s just say we started off the season so badly that it was difficult to get back on track after that. I say he can be a good Coach, but with Inter it didn’t go that way.”
Gasperini took over from Leonardo in the summer and lasted only until September, when he was sacked in favour of Ranieri after failing to win a single game.
President Moratti aimed a sideswipe at flop summer signing Forlan, who has struggled to make an impact due to injuries, poor form and tactical considerations.
“Forlan got injured and hasn’t played very much, so he has been disappointing in that he was unable to express himself. It’s not that he disappointed me as a person, or as a player. Hopefully he can now start to show what he can do.”