Mateo Kovacic welcomes Lukas Podolski to Inter, aims to beat “special” Juventus and assures he’s “already at a big club.”
Their first match of 2015 kicks off on Tuesday at 20.00 GMT, click here for a match preview.
“We are coming off a good draw against Lazio, even though we deserved victory,” said Kovacic in his Press conference.
Mateo Kovacic welcomes Lukas Podolski to Inter, aims to beat “special” Juventus and assures he’s “already at a big club.”
Their first match of 2015 kicks off on Tuesday at 20.00 GMT, click here for a match preview.
“We are coming off a good draw against Lazio, even though we deserved victory,” said Kovacic in his Press conference.
“We hope to win and we know that we can beat Juventus, but only if we play at 100 per cent. I can say we are ready for this challenge. All the games are important, but those against Milan and Juve are special.
“Mind you, it’d only be worth something if we also did well against Genoa a few days later. What we need is consistency.”
The Nerazzurri hope to have Podolski in the squad for that game, but are still waiting for the international transfer to come through from Arsenal before he can begin training.
“I am happy that Podolski has arrived. I’ve been speaking to him in German to help him settle in,” added Croatia international Kovacic, who was born in Austria.
“You can see straight away he’s a big character and wants to do well with us. He can help Inter, because he has won it all and is still only 29 years old.
“What advice did I give him? We talked about Inter and where it is best to go and live.”
It has been widely reported that Inter will also sign Croatian Tino-Sven Susic from Hajduk Split.
“He’s a very strong player with excellent feet. He’s doing well and is still young, but you really should ask the club about transfers, not me.”
As for Kovacic, his Croatia teammate Luka Modric recently told reporters that he deserves to be at a top club.
“I am already at a top club. I want for nothing at Inter. As I’ve already said, I want to stay here and am talking about a renewal. Inter are a big club and, although right now we’re not doing that well, with Roberto Mancini and new players we can become great again.
“Mancini wants consistent high pressing. We can really grow and develop with him. I expect good results from 2015 and hopefully in the Europa League too.
“Would I sign a lifetime contract with Inter? That’s a loaded question and I prefer not to talk about my future too much. I can say we are close to a renewal, but I am also still very young.”