Benny Carbone spills the beans on his time at Inter, blaming Roy Hodgson for “doing damage” to the team, admiring “inhuman” Javier Zanetti and his regret at leaving.
The midfielder lasted only one season at San Siro in 1995-96, before moving on to Sheffield Wednesday, Aston Villa, Bradford, Derby and Middlesbrough.
Ironically for someone who spent so much time in England, he blames an English manager for his decision to leave Inter.
Benny Carbone spills the beans on his time at Inter, blaming Roy Hodgson for “doing damage” to the team, admiring “inhuman” Javier Zanetti and his regret at leaving.
The midfielder lasted only one season at San Siro in 1995-96, before moving on to Sheffield Wednesday, Aston Villa, Bradford, Derby and Middlesbrough.
Ironically for someone who spent so much time in England, he blames an English manager for his decision to leave Inter.
“I had always supported Inter, so this was a dream move for me,” he told Calciomercato.com.
“Hodgson is a good man, he has his ideas, but he also did damage to the team. You cannot even think of selling Roberto Carlos because he ‘can’t defend.’
“As for me, he had decided to use me on the left side of midfield in his 4-4-2. This meant going across to close the diagonal passing channel in front of Beppe Bergomi. It was exhausting work and when it came time to show some quality in the final third, I was no longer sharp enough. This is why I scored few goals there, as Hodgson wanted me for quantity, not quality.
“This is why I left, but it was a huge error, looking back, and I let frustration get the better of me. I remember telling Bergomi that with all due respect, I could not spend my whole time working for him only to then pass it to Paul Ince who, great midfielder he might be, but had terrible feet. Obviously, it was a joke, but that was the basic idea.”
Carbone has fond memories of his one season at Inter, especially as his roommate during training retreats was future captain Zanetti.
“He was inhuman. Such dedication, professionalism, physical strength. We’d always look around for him when we were out, but he was always sleeping or training. He did nothing else.”
Antonio Conte is the coach of Inter now and Carbone has concerns for new signing Christian Eriksen.
“Conte’s team was built with a different idea in mind and the Dane risks compromising the balance he had created. Either the system changes or the player has to do hard work to change his approach.”