Marcello Lippi sees five sides fighting for the Scudetto – Juventus, Inter, Milan, Roma and Napoli.
The former Italy CT – who has Coached Juve, Inter and Napoli – has given a long interview to Corriere dello Sport, and offered his predictions for the title race.
“Inter are among my five candidates for the Scudetto,” Lippi explained.
“Along with Juventus, Napoli, Milan and Roma. In this context, after losing a lot in pre-season, [Inter Coach Roberto] Mancini has done well to prepare the team to win.
Marcello Lippi sees five sides fighting for the Scudetto – Juventus, Inter, Milan, Roma and Napoli.
The former Italy CT – who has Coached Juve, Inter and Napoli – has given a long interview to Corriere dello Sport, and offered his predictions for the title race.
“Inter are among my five candidates for the Scudetto,” Lippi explained.
“Along with Juventus, Napoli, Milan and Roma. In this context, after losing a lot in pre-season, [Inter Coach Roberto] Mancini has done well to prepare the team to win.
“Of course, he could work calmly, enjoying the credit he’s built up after what he won in his previous spell at Inter. He arrived last season, he could see everything and analyse it and then make his demands.
“To another Coach they [the club] would have said no, instead he’s built his team made up of force and fighting for centimetres.
“They’ve won four games without shining, but that becomes a positive thing. If you know you’ve played at 40-50 per cent of your ability and taken maximum points it can be an injection of confidence.”
Lippi then gave his opinions on some of his former players, with a large number having gone on to Coaching careers themselves.
“The best of all is [Zinedine] Zidane. In the past 40 years [the best player] was Maradona, in the last 20 it’s Zidane.
“You saw what he did on the pitch, we couldn’t figure out what he would do in training! He was a showman, a special person and a great lad, well beyond his headbutt on [Marco] Materazzi in Berlin.
“The Coaches? Someone counted them recently, it’s reached thirty, the number of my players who have now become Coaches, or a CT like [Didier] Deschamps and [Antonio] Conte.
“Obviously I’m just getting old, but maybe it’s something I transmit.
“Who has asked for advice? [Paolo] Montero, [Gianluca] Vialli… Luca in London, at Chelsea would phone me up at one in the morning saying ‘but was I right to do this? Or would it be better if I did something else…’
“Montero will call me up from Montevideo going ‘boss, tell me something’ and then ‘I’ll tell you!’
“Paulo Sousa? I don’t know him as a Coach, but as a player he had a great personality, and we talked a lot in Turin.
“From what I’ve seen he has a great attitude, his Fiorentina gets the ball forward a lot, compared to [Vincenzo] Montella’s. It’s been a promising start.
“Will Buffon follow them? No, I don’t see him as a Coach, he has to stay there [at Juventus], he’s a phenomenon.
“With parents like his, he could hardly not be a top athlete, but he’s strong in every way. He’ll always find an engaging sentence, perfect for the moment – he’s a born communicator.
“Is he the best ever? It’s true, only the best can be so tough!
“He talks as well as he makes saves. To everyone. With the fans a couple of weeks ago he was perfect – ‘after four years, we need you, what are you going to do?’
“A phenomenon.”