Inter President Steven Zhang praised Simone Inzaghi saying that he’s the only coach who ‘never asks for players’ while vice president Javier Zanetti warned Lautaro Martinez’s suitors that the Nerazzurri don’t want to part ways with El Toro who ‘feels at home’ in Milan.
Zhang and Zanetti spoke to the media after a 1-0 win over Milan in a second-leg Champions League semifinal which allowed the Nerazzurri to reach their First Final in Europe’s elite competition in 13 years.
Their joy was evident and obvious, but the pair also had time to send hidden – yet clear – messages to former employees and potential suitors of their stars, especially Lautaro Martinez.
The Argentine has netted 25 goals across all competitions this season, including the winner in the second leg against Milan on Tuesday night. The latest reports in Italy and the UK suggest El Toro is a target for Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United who are all on the lookout for a new centre-forward for 2023-24.
Lautaro “is a point of reference for the team and we keep hold of him because he’s too important. For now, he stays here, then we’ll see,” Zanetti told Sky Sport Italia.
“Let’s enjoy this win. He’s happy here, where he has found his home. He is happy in Milan and I hope it will last long.”
It’s been an impressive season for Lautaro Martinez who became World Cup champion with Argentina in December and now has the chance to be crowned European champion in Istanbul. “I don’t even want to think about it,” the striker admitted last night.
The 25-year-old is in his first season at the Stadio Meazza end extended his contract in 2021 becoming one of the highest earners in the team. His current deal with the Nerazzurri runs out in June 2026 and Inter are not planning to part ways anytime before that date, as confirmed by Zanetti.
President Zhang offered more interesting quotes in his post-match interview with Sky Sport Italia praising the ‘calm’ Inzaghi, the only coach he’s worked with that ‘never asks for any player.’
In this case, it was easy to spot the dichotomy with Inzaghi’s predecessor Antonio Conte who won the Serie A title in 2020-21 – the only one in the Suning era – but left the club only a few weeks later in disagreement with plans to sell some of their biggest assets to balance the books.
Juventus, Chelsea and Tottenham directors – and fans – also know how demanding Conte is when it comes to transfer and Inzaghi’s ‘greatest quality’, calmness, is surely something the ex-midfielder fails to show.
Conte may have won the Serie A title with Inter but failed to qualify for the Champions League Round of 16 for two consecutive seasons at the Stadio Meazza. It’s no coincidence that reaching the knock-out phase of Europe’s elite competition for the first time in over a decade was Inzaghi’s main target outside the home soil, as the 47-year-old admitted in his post-match interviews on Tuesday night.
Interestingly, Conte’s successors at Inter and Juventus – Inzaghi and Massimiliano Allegri- followed a similar European trajectory after replacing the volcanic Antonio. Max reached the Champions League Final in his first season after Conte in Turin in 2014-15, while Inzaghi took only one more season, qualifying for the Final in his second season at Inter.
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