Antonio Conte names his Champions League favourites, has some revelations about Achraf Hakimi and shows with a slip of the tongue that he still loves Inter.
The former Nerazzurri coach is now working as a pundit on Sky Sport Italia for their Champions League coverage.
He is at Anfield this evening for Milan’s trip to Liverpool and made the most of the opportunity to visit the Cavern Club, where The Beatles made their first performance.
Asked to pick his favourites for the Champions League trophy, Conte pointed to Manchester City, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain.
When asked about Inter, who host Real Madrid this evening, there was an interesting slip of the tongue.
“I wish Inter all the best, in the last two years we were a little unlucky in the Champions League. I retain great affection for the club and hope Inter can do better this season than we did last time.
“We signed a good player in Denzel Dumfries,” said Conte, realising he was still referring to Inter as ‘we’ and laughing to himself.
“They signed a great player and an excellent replacement for Achraf Hakimi. He can become a top player in his role.”
Conte had some revelations about how Hakimi, who was sold to PSG for €70m including bonuses, had done in the Champions League last season for Inter.
“He did struggle in the two Real Madrid games. He worked hard after that error he made in Madrid, realised he needed to do more, that just attacking wasn’t enough for a wing-back.
“Sitting on the bench a few times also did him good. He’s a great professional, and if he improves in the final ball, he becomes a star.”
#Conte si sente ancora dell’#Inter: ‘Sfortunati in #Champions. #Dumfries? Abbiamo preso un ottimo giocatore. #Hakimi soffre il Real’ https://t.co/Ip0hjk8F25 pic.twitter.com/6v2YvvCq4V
— calciomercato.com (@cmdotcom) September 15, 2021
Thanks for 19th scudetto, mister.