Simone Inzaghi confirms he ‘received many offers,’ but had no qualms about signing a new contract with Inter to 2026 and plans something to make them ‘less predictable.’
The coach replaced Antonio Conte in 2021 and was given a much reduced budget compared to his predecessor, but won six trophies in three seasons, including the Scudetto, and reached the Champions League Final in 2023.
“The biggest challenge will be to keep improving,” said Inzaghi in a press conference.
“Looking back over what we achieved, the lads did something extraordinary, but now everyone is waiting for us and we must all improve from training sessions to the matches.
“It has been wonderful over the last 80 days meeting Inter fans who thanked me and the team. The second star belongs to everyone, we are one entity and must stay like that for next season too. We want to repeat this wonderful journey.”
The negotiations for the new contract dragged on for longer than expected, but Inzaghi insists he was never tempted to walk away.
“I had many offers, not just this year, but I never thought of leaving. I feel appreciated here and don’t even want to listen to other proposals. I feel in sync with the club, the players, the fans. I am pleased to be appreciated by other clubs, but it’s never in my thoughts.”
Inzaghi ready to revamp Inter
In his press conference, Inzaghi confirmed that Inter are looking for a replacement for Tajon Buchanan, who fractured his leg when playing for Canada in the Copa America and will be out until Christmas.
Otherwise, they have already reinforced with Genoa goalkeeper Josep Martinez for €13m plus bonuses, then free agents Piotr Zielinski and Mehdi Taremi.
“I reminded my lads that the last two Scudetto winners then did not qualify for the Champions League the next season and I will keep telling them that.
“Our opponents have reinforced, two great coaches returned to Serie A in Antonio Conte and Paulo Fonseca, so we need to be ready.
“We want to go as far as possible in the Champions League too. There are big teams with huge budgets, but that must not be an alibi, just look at how far we got two years ago. Real Madrid and Liverpool were not superior to us when they reached the Final, it’s about hunger too.”
Inzaghi has a very specific style of football using the 3-5-2 formation, but he acknowledges Inter have to keep opponents on their toes.
“We did change our approach a few times, we always try to do something different and have new players to get settled Without doubt, we are ready to create something that can make us less predictable for our opponents.”
Olympique Marseille are targeting Valentin Carboni, though Inzaghi seemed to suggest he would be welcomed back to the Inter fold after his loan spell with Monza.
It is going to be the longest season in history, because along with the Euros and Copa America this summer, Inter have qualified for the Club World Cup in 2025.
“This is modern football. Coaches would rather have fewer than 70 games in a season, but we have to adapt and that also means making changes to pre-season training too.
“I am fortunate to have players who want to win, like me, and know that they’ll get to play in some games and others not. A coach is paid to make his decisions, the secret of our success is the great unity. If there were some who were unhappy, they never let it show and instead continued working with the objective of the Scudetto.”