Inter CEO Beppe Marotta admits he expected ‘more difficulty’ adapting to Simone Inzaghi after losing key players, but doubts Antonio Conte ‘regrets’ walking away now he is at Tottenham.
If Milan lose against Napoli this evening, then it will automatically crown the Nerazzurri as Winter Champions of Serie A with a round to spare.
It would be another remarkable improvement on last season, because while Conte crashed out of the Champions League in fourth place, Inzaghi has taken them to the Round of 16 after a decade-long absence.
“I did expect Inzaghi to have more difficulty setting in, but in reality it has been very easy and he’s been able to show the real work he achieved, becoming a real added bonus for this club,” Marotta told RAI Sport.
Everyone expected Inter to crash and burn after a chaotic summer in which Conte, Romelu Lukaku and Achraf Hakimi all left, while Christian Eriksen was ruled out by his cardiac issues.
“The club went through violent summer storms, but we found our lode star, the path to follow and rediscover our balance after the departures of Hakimi, Lukaku, Eriksen and Conte.
“The objective now is to secure our second star.”
Inter currently have 19 Serie A titles and a club can have a ‘star’ permanently on the jersey for every 10 Scudetti.
Conte is now back in the Premier League at the helm of Tottenham Hotspur, so Marotta was asked if the coach regretted his decision to walk away from Inter after just two years?
“I don’t think so. It’s not good to dig into the past. I think he made an important contribution to our growth, both tactically and mentally. He did great work and so is Inzaghi.”
#Marotta: “#Conte non credo si sia pentito della scelta di andare via. Credo che abbia tracciato un solco importante in questo processo di crescita di mentalità e di carattere. Questo processo evolutivo lo sta proseguendo #Inzaghi” #90Minuto #Inter pic.twitter.com/PyVSrvos9x
— RaiSport (@RaiSport) December 19, 2021
Beppe 6 GRANDE!