Walter Mazzarri “could not have asked for more” from Inter despite their 1-1 draw, as he accused Chievo of being negative.
Walter Mazzarri “could not have asked for more” from Inter despite their 1-1 draw, as he accused Chievo of being negative.
Yuto Nagatomo cancelled out an early Alberto Paloschi goal, then had another strike incorrectly ruled offside.
“I could not have asked for more from my team. We knew Chievo were organised in defence and physically strong, but we had scored to go 2-1 up and had a great chance with Rodrigo Palacio,” he told Sky Sport Italia.
“If we had taken the lead, then it would’ve been a more entertaining match with more spaces. We know that to play good football it takes two teams, but Chievo came here to defend and hope for a mistake to hit us on the counter-attack.
“I changed system tonight, as I wanted to help the lads find some more spaces with a 3-4-3 system. We did create some scoring opportunities, but missed the final ball and Mateo Kovacic got between the lines but didn’t get the right pass.
“Sometimes the ball just doesn’t go in and your opponents score at every shot. You just have to keep working. The lads believe in themselves, we just need a little more luck, which is crucial in sport.
“When the opposition is focused only on defending, you are forced to play the ball and move it around to find spaces. They can sit back and wait for our errors. Our mentality is always to go for the victory, but naturally there are going to be occasional errors and some of the less experienced players can be too generous in pushing forward, leaving gaps at the back.
“For numerous reasons we have fewer points than we deserve to. If it’s our destiny we’ll get them back before the end of the season, but if not then we’ll just have to see where we end up.”
This week President Erick Thohir released a video message praising Mazzarri and warning the club’s growth would be gradual.
“I have to compliment the new President, as few would say those things openly. I hope the fans have patience. I already knew all this, but I was pleased we are all on the same page and are working on this project.”
As well as Nagatomo’s incorrectly disallowed goal, there were some doubts over a stoppage-time challenge on Ruben Botta in the box.
“When I say something, I mean it. I won’t talk about referees again until the end of the season.”
With Mauro Icardi injured, Ishak Belfodil on the verge of joining West Ham and Diego Milito still recovering, do Inter need a new forward?
“It depends. First of all, to buy someone we need to sell first. A Coach tries to do his best with the squad at his disposal. I work on Ricky Alvarez and Kovacic to ensure they cover each other when changing position. All this means growing up, gaining experience and learning the tactical moves.”
Finally, Mazzarri was asked for his opinion on today’s news Milan had sacked Massimiliano Allegri.
“The Coach always pays. A Coach going towards the end of his contract is always going to have every result weighed heavily on his shoulders. I just hope people remember all the good work Allegri did, as they forget so quickly in football.”