Mauro Icardi explains his technique as Inter captain: “I don’t need to be nasty, I lead calmly and by example”.
The 22-year-old was handed the armband last summer despite his young age and was asked about his interpretation of the role in an interview today.
“I left home aged 13 and was by myself in Barcelona,” he told Corriere della Sera.
“I’ve always chosen to go along with the greatest. All of this made me mature.
Mauro Icardi explains his technique as Inter captain: “I don’t need to be nasty, I lead calmly and by example”.
The 22-year-old was handed the armband last summer despite his young age and was asked about his interpretation of the role in an interview today.
“I left home aged 13 and was by myself in Barcelona,” he told Corriere della Sera.
“I’ve always chosen to go along with the greatest. All of this made me mature.
“This Inter is a group of great guys, I don’t need to be nasty. I’ve never been able to bear teammates who scream on the pitch, they stress me out. A word said well and calmly is more efficient.
“I do it like this, I take you aside and speak with you. And then what you do and who you are counts. They others watch you, an example matters more than words.”
Icardi also mentioned his wife Wanda Nara, subject of the infamous dispute between the Argentine and former teammate Maxi Lopez, as well as his record of never having been booked for diving.
“Wanda changed my life,” said Icardi.
“She’s one of the most renowned women in Argentina, but helped me to be a father and a footballer, to be more focused on my career.
“Since I was young I’ve done everything I wanted, I’ve enjoyed myself and got rid of all my whims while at Barcelona.
“Then I decided to change my way of living, I met her and everything was different. I like family life, I’m calmer and it makes me stronger on the pitch.
“I’ve always scored goals, I’m a striker. 20 goals? This year I’ve already got 14 and I had an injury at the start that affected me.
“Sometimes I have my shirt pulled, I don’t go down and they don’t give me a penalty even if it was one.
“For this I’m not helping the referee, I don’t deceive them but they don’t see the foul either. I don’t like to fall over to try and get something.
“Against us [Andrea] Belotti of Torino was clever: he realised the ball had got away from him, but noticed [Yuto] Nagatomo crossing and threw himself down. I don’t know how to do that.”