Rafa Benitez believes Sunday can be the turning point for Inter. “The whole world will be watching. I realised in Istanbul what the Milan derby means.”
The Nerazzurri are struggling under their new Coach and go into this weekend three points off the pace of their rivals, who are the current Serie A leaders.
The former Liverpool boss beat the Rossoneri in the 2005 Champions League Final and has never forgotten the unusual reaction.
Rafa Benitez believes Sunday can be the turning point for Inter. “The whole world will be watching. I realised in Istanbul what the Milan derby means.”
The Nerazzurri are struggling under their new Coach and go into this weekend three points off the pace of their rivals, who are the current Serie A leaders.
The former Liverpool boss beat the Rossoneri in the 2005 Champions League Final and has never forgotten the unusual reaction.
“We know it is an important match and the whole world will be watching. I have experiences of derbies in Spain and England too, but this is different,” said Benitez.
“I realised in Istanbul what the Milan derby means, when the Inter fans were close to us, and I found out tomorrow at San Siro there will be Liverpool supporters cheering us on.
“We won't be happy with a draw, as we aim to win every game, especially this one. The derby comes at the right time for us, as it can make the difference.
“We know where we are, but considering how the games against Brescia and Lecce went, we could have an extra four points in the table. We want to win and show everybody that Inter are here, proud of our strength and ready to keep on winning.”
Julio Cesar, Esteban Cambiasso and Wesley Sneijder are back in the squad, though Douglas Maicon is still absent.
“This season is different and much more balanced. Our team is hungry for success and the derby can change everything,” continued Benitez.
“Julio Cesar and Cambiasso are still not 100 per cent fit, but they are available. Will we use the diamond midfield? It depends on the players I can pick.
“I remember after the wins over Werder Bremen and Bari that newspapers said Inter were winning with enjoyable football, now the same media say I am at risk. We want to keep it balanced, forgetting Jose Mourinho and Roberto Mancini to do something different.”
It has been rumoured that Marco Materazzi could be thrown in at the deep end against Milan.
“The derby needs passion and Marco has passion. As for Zlatan Ibrahimovic, I hope he has a bad day.”