Inter coach Simone Inzaghi admits his target is to imitate Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp and remain at his club for as long as he can and confirms he will rotate his squad against Real Sociedad tomorrow.
The Nerazzurri have already qualified for the Champions League Round of 16 but must beat Real Sociedad at San Siro tomorrow to win their group and have, on paper, an easier path in the knock-out phase.
“We know it will be a tough game against a quality opponent,” Inzaghi said at a pre-match press conference on Monday.
“We know it doesn’t change much for Real Sociedad to play away or at home. They won twice away in the Champions League this season, so we’ll need an important performance to win.
“The path will be long and with many obstacles so we are glad these four months have been good,” continued the coach.
“However, we have a demanding game ahead. The team knows what it means to win the group, we respect what Real Sociedad have done so far.
“To win the group would be prestigious for our club and important to have an easier draw even if we know all Champions League games are tricky.”
The Nerazzurri coach reportedly tried Juan Cuadrado, Carlos Augusto and Alexis Sanchez in the starting line-up during a training session on Monday, while Benjamin Pavard, Stefan de Vrij and Denzel Dumfries are out of action due to injuries. How many players will Inzaghi change tomorrow after Saturday’s 4-0 win over Udinese?
“I will change something but we are struggling a bit with rotations in some areas because a few important players are out,” he replied.
“I’ll make my assessments today; I must see the stats from this morning’s training session; we watched some videos. There will be some changes. We could afford to rotate in Lisbon [against Benfica], knowing that the lads were ready.
“I have trust in the team. Real Sociedad and we have been excellent so far, but it wasn’t an easy [group stage] draw. We got Real Sociedad from pot four. We didn’t have two top clubs like last season [Bayern Munich and Barcelona], but I knew it was a tricky group. We have made it easier than it seemed.”
Inzaghi confirmed that two between Cuadrado, Matteo Darmian and Yann Aurel Bisseck will start and one will go on the bench.
Inter hired Inzaghi in 2021 to replace Antonio Conte and the Italian tactician and has recently extended his contract until June 2025. Therefore, he was asked if he aimed to imitate Guardiola and Klopp and remain at the club for many years.
“This is the target. I think this is true for every coach,” he admitted.
“I spent several years at Lazio, and I hope I can stay here for as long as possible, but the pitch does the talking. We know we are judged in every game, in every step. We must work with this group of players, knowing that there are different moments in football, so we must be good at facing them