Federico Dimarco is excited to sign his contract renewal with Inter and believes Simone Inzaghi deserves a lot of credit for his work in Milan.
The 24-year-old Italian full back has featured regularly under the 45-year-old Italian coach this season, appearing in all but one of the Nerazzurri’s games this campaign.
Speaking in an interview with Tuttosport, Dimarco first discussed whether he would prefer to renew his contract or score his first goal at the San Siro. ‘I don’t want to choose. I prefer to stay focused on the pitch and not distract myself from the things that matter. I can’t wait to sign it.’
The Italian left back then touched on how he could have scored already at the San Siro against Atalanta, but his penalty sailed over the crossbar. ‘It won’t happen again! I looked calm that day, but the truth is that the world had fallen apart on me. Then, as the days went by, I got over it.’
The former Hellas Verona full back commented on the importance of dead-ball situations. He is the team’s second choice to take free kicks after Hakan Calhanoglu. ‘In today’s football, free kicks are really important, both for and against.
‘I’m thinking of big matches where sometimes a single moment is enough, or against teams that face us that are very closed in defence. We work hard at it and you can see the results.’ He said.
He touched on how much he wants to bring Inter the second star on their shirt. ‘Very much, but I don’t really want to think about it.’
Dimarco noted how things could have gone differently following the departure of Romelu Lukaku in the summer, noting that ‘Romelu did very important things here, however Inter were not just Lukaku and they are showing that with new players like Dzeko and Correa who have done very well so far. I’ve always believed in this team, even when we were seven points behind Milan and Napoli.’
The 24-year-old Italian left back looked ahead to the Champions League clash against Liverpool. ‘We’ll be facing one of the three strongest teams in Europe, it will be tough. We’re underdogs, but we’re Inter and we’ll try.’
He noted how much credit coach Simone Inzaghi deserves for his work this season, saying ‘a lot. The coach makes us feel really good. On a human level he has a great relationship with everyone, the squad is very united.’
Dimarco spoke about the differences between Inzaghi and Antonio Conte, detailing how ‘they have a different way of playing football. For example, with Inzaghi we rotate a lot. I was very impressed by Conte’s way of working, the relationship he created between him and the players.’
The Inter full back believes that Ivan Juric has significantly impacted his development as a player during their time together at Hellas Verona. ‘When I started playing consistently, the coach really changed me. Sometimes he started playing me as the third man in defence, something I never thought I’d be able to do.
‘He managed to get it into my head that it was right up my alley. In the end he was right and the defensive phase, one of my weak points, has improved a lot. They’ve given me a lot, Juric and his staff, I’ll always thank them. Juric is good, he brings results, it won’t be easy for us.’ He highlighted.
He noted how it was always his desire to return and make his name with Inter. ‘Ever since I went to Ascoli in 2016 I have always had the goal of coming back and staying for a long time.’
Dimarco believes that former Inter Primavera coach Stefano Vecchi was a key figure in his development as a player, highlighting that ‘he made me grow a lot, making me believe more in my potential.’
Finally, Dimarco commented on how he’d love to play with his brother Christian some day. ‘It would be nice, a dream, but now he has to think about playing, having fun and improving.’ He concluded.
A tutto #Dimarco: il ritorno, i tecnici del passato, il futuro
⚫️🔵👇🏼https://t.co/lTdUBobsal— FcInterNews.it (@FcInterNewsit) December 21, 2021