Inter’s Federico Dimarco revealed that he was in attendance at San Siro when Inter and Milan last met in the Champions League almost 20 years ago and is looking forward to the ‘incredible’ opportunity to play in the European derby himself on Wednesday night.
The flying full-back joined coach Simone Inzaghi at the pre-match press conference ahead of the first leg of the Champions League semi-final at San Siro, where he also spoke of his confidence in the Nerazzurri camp.
Dimarco also believes that Inter ‘deserve’ to feature in the final four of Europe’s flagship competition after proving themselves in one of the toughest groups in the tournament against Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Viktoria Plzen.
“It’s always nice to play a derby, I’ve played many and I want to enjoy this 100 percent,” he told the press. “We knew we had a tough group, but we showed what we’re worth. We deserve to be here.
On Wednesday night’s opponents, Dimarco added: “Milan have shown that they have gone through two difficult rounds, we will try to prove to ourselves what we are worth. For me all goals are important, I want the team to win.
“They are a team we know well, we know that we still face the reigning Italian champions. It will be a good match.”
Dimarco was also asked whether the semi-final clash is seen as an opportunity for revenge among the squad after they lost out on the Serie A title to the Rossoneri in the back-end of last season.
He responded: “I wouldn’t talk about revenge, it’s been a long time and let’s think about the present, about tomorrow, trying to achieve a positive result and that’s it.”
As a self-professed Inter supporter, Dimarco knows what the tie means to Nerazzurri supporters across the world. Aged just five, he had been a spectator at the Giuseppe Meazza the last time the two sides met in the Champions League semi-final.
Recounting his memories from that game, Dimarco added: “I was at San Siro. I don’t have wonderful memories as an Inter fan. But to think that I was at it twenty years ago and today I have the opportunity to play it is an incredible feeling.”
On his personal contribution to Inter’s attacking output this season, Dimarco noted: “I think the six goals and six assists are thanks to the team’s performance. For two years now I’ve felt that I’ve grown mentally and also physically, because getting used to playing important matches makes you grow anyway.”
Kick-off at San Siro is scheduled for 20.00 UK time on Wednesday night.