Inter director Beppe Marotta agrees with Antonio Conte that they ‘must honour the jersey’ and not use absentees as an ‘alibi’ against Milan today.
The Derby della Madonnina kicks off at 17.00 UK time (16.00 GMT), click here for the line-ups and LIVEBLOG.
“It has been a difficult week due to the COVID tests, but even more so those who had to return from international duty,” the director told Sky Sport Italia.
Inter director Beppe Marotta agrees with Antonio Conte that they ‘must honour the jersey’ and not use absentees as an ‘alibi’ against Milan today.
The Derby della Madonnina kicks off at 17.00 UK time (16.00 GMT), click here for the line-ups and LIVEBLOG.
“It has been a difficult week due to the COVID tests, but even more so those who had to return from international duty,” the director told Sky Sport Italia.
“As the coach said yesterday, we must not use this as an alibi, we must above all honour this jersey and give our best. In the history of football, a derby is always special, regardless of the city or the positions in the table.
“This is one of the only derbies ever played without fans, and that really does feel surreal. It is going to affect motivation, because the crowd does have an influence on the players, but the coaches prepared well and I hope we can give the fans of all football a moment of great entertainment today.”
Inter were one of the only clubs who increased their wage bill over the summer, whereas other giants sliced into the expenses post-COVID-19.
“We are up against an economic situation that is uncertain, including today when we would’ve brought in an impressive sum from ticket sales. Having said that, we are all in the same situation, the plan we drew up last year had to be adjusted, but we still picked up targets that we were pursuing.
“We have more consistency now, as the coach is starting his second season on our bench and we hope to build on what we did last term to continue growing.”