Andrea Ranocchia complains “I feel a prejudice against me”, as he’s been scapegoated for Inter’s poor recent seasons.
The centre-back was Nerazzurri captain until last season, but has been criticised for his errors and even spent the second half of last season out on loan at Sampdoria.
“I feel a prejudice against me,” Ranocchia told Corriere della Sera.
“It’s as if Inter didn’t win just because of me, but the negative period wasn’t down to me and me alone. It was down to Inter.
Andrea Ranocchia complains “I feel a prejudice against me”, as he’s been scapegoated for Inter’s poor recent seasons.
The centre-back was Nerazzurri captain until last season, but has been criticised for his errors and even spent the second half of last season out on loan at Sampdoria.
“I feel a prejudice against me,” Ranocchia told Corriere della Sera.
“It’s as if Inter didn’t win just because of me, but the negative period wasn’t down to me and me alone. It was down to Inter.
“In six years I’ve seen the passage of 100 players, in addition to three Presidents and owners. All this will change though.
“The captaincy? There’s a reason I lost it, but I’m not going to get into it now. Maybe at the end of my career.
“I don’t blame Mancini, I never argued with him. He was very good with me, we always talked a lot and he gave me the green light to go to Sampdoria when I wanted to play, but then he was happy for me to return to Inter.
“His departure? You could sense in pre-season that something was broken.”
Ranocchia was then asked how he handles the criticism which has often come his way from fans and media.
“There’s someone I talk to, he’s not a psychologist he has a degree in physiotherapy but he’s also a mental training expert.
“Talking to him made me realise that nothing in life is hopeless. You can suffer criticism, insults, slurs, but if you work hard and are committed, you’re wearing a shirt that millions of people dream of wearing – and you’re paid for it – your family is fine…
“If you realise all that, it’s less difficult to turn the negative things into a positive. I, for one, with all the things that have happened in my career, now know how to help others.
“I know I can lend a hand.”
Finally, the centre-back was asked how new Coach Frank de Boer has changed things.
“He’s introduced strict rules,” Ranocchia explained.
“Those are things like we all eat lunch here [the training ground], all of us together, before matches. Or we have breakfast here if we have a morning training session. Then we come back here to sleep after the game.
“They seem like small things, but they make a lot of difference.
“The new style of play? It’s a way of moving on the pitch that’s automatic, because we want to attack from the beginning.
“With this way of playing, technique is more important than the intensity in the game or even in training. We can see that in the exercises De Boer has us do in training.”