Felipe Melo insists he has “changed,” yet the Inter midfielder admits he had to “beat up Mario Balotelli.”
The former Juventus and Fiorentina bruiser was signed on deadline day from Galatasaray and made his debut in a 1-0 Derby della Madonnina victory.
“I am very happy, as this was an important match and we must continue along this path. Roberto Mancini has faith in me and he is a world class Coach, so I thank him for that.
Felipe Melo insists he has “changed,” yet the Inter midfielder admits he had to “beat up Mario Balotelli.”
The former Juventus and Fiorentina bruiser was signed on deadline day from Galatasaray and made his debut in a 1-0 Derby della Madonnina victory.
“I am very happy, as this was an important match and we must continue along this path. Roberto Mancini has faith in me and he is a world class Coach, so I thank him for that.
“There are many strong teams in Serie A, so we have to take it one game at a time and try to win all of them.”
Melo told reporters he has “changed” and his reputation as a hard man is undeserved.
“I was booked, but I don’t think I deserved to be. The derby is always a physical game and if I had to get a second yellow card for the good of the team, I’d do that without hesitation.
“I don’t think it was even a foul and Balotelli made a meal of it. He can be one of the best in the world if he gets his head on straight.
“He’s a great player and to stop him you have to also beat him up a bit, like we did tonight.”