< ![CDATA[

KIEV – Fredy Guarin was the man to accompany Walter Mazzarri at today’s UEFA press conference, and after coming off the bench and scoring against Sassuolo on Sunday the Colombian was asked if he considers himself to have made a new start at Inter.

The 28-year-old admitted: “The Sassuolo win was very important for me and the team. It’s the start of something new.”

He then revealed his delight at receiving the backing of the San Siro faithful: “I could really sense the fans’ support for me on Sunday, it was a great feeling. But now we have to focus on Dnipro and on producing the goods again.”

Asked about playing in a more advanced position, Guarin replied: “It gives me the chance to set up my team-mates and get into scoring positions. I like playing behind the strikers.”

]]>

< ![CDATA[

KIEV – Walter Mazzarri opened the media conference on the eve of tomorrow’s Europa League game against Dnipro by stressing Inter’s winning mentality: “We always go out there to give our all and win the game and we’ll do the same tomorrow, though whatever happens we’ll accept the result with dignity.”

Having previously tasted defeat with his former clubs, the Nerazzurri coach is well aware of the threat posed by Ukrainian sides. He explained: “They always make it tough for you. I lost to Dnipro with Napoli and to Metalist at Sampdoria. They play good football and we must be very wary of them.

“Dnipro are in great shape fitness-wise. They’re a strong, aggressive side but I enjoy pitting my wits against them. We played a good game on Sunday. Now we need to be consistent. This is a big game for us to see where we’re at.”

Given that this European fixture is sandwiched between Serie A games against Sassuolo and Palermo, is the coach thinking of rotating his men? “Of course you have to bear lots of things in mind when you’re playing two games a week and it’s normal to rotate the team.

“Jonathan and Campagnaro? They’re both ok, one of them will play from the start but not both because they don’t have 90 minutes in them.”

The boss was then asked which he would choose between Serie A and the Europa League: “We’re going to give it our best shot in all three of the competitions we’re involved in. Come the end of the season we’ll see how we got on. We have a squad capable of challenging on all three fronts and we’ll try to go as far as possible.”

There was also a question about the current situation in Ukraine: “My club and UEFA have made all the necessary enquiries to be sure that eveything is calm enough for the game to go ahead. We received guarantees and we’ve seen no problems.”

]]>

< ![CDATA[

MILAN – Two weeks after inflicting a crushing 7-0 scoreline on Virtus Lanciano in their league opener, the Nerazzurri Under-19s beat the same opponents again this afternoon, albeit in the Coppa Italia and by a more modest margin.

Federico Bonazzoli broke the deadlock eight minutes in before Dylan Romney came off the bench in the second half to seal the win and book Inter’s place in the next round.

The Primavera thus racked up their third straight win of the season and now look ahead to the visit of Udinese on Saturday.

Inter 2-0 Virtus Lanciano (HT 1-0)
Scorers: Bonazzoli 8, Romney 79.

Inter: 1 Costa; 2 Yao (Crosato 57), 5 Popa, 6 Donkor, 3 Miangue; 8 Steffé, 4 Dabo, 10 Rocca (Ventre 80); 7 Appiah, 9 Bonazzoli (Romney 64), 11 Baldini.
Subs not used: 12 Radu, 14 Pinton, 15 Gyamfi, 16 Sciacca, 17 Bonetto, 18 Gomes Delgado, 19 De Micheli, 20 Camarà, 22 Puscas.
Coach: Stefano Vecchi.

Lanciano: 1 Rossetti; 2 Console, 5 Caruso, 6 Cerquetti, 3 Paudice; 8 Serafini (Scoglia 82), 10 Di Prisco (Di Biase 63), 4 Albanese, 7 Ricucci; 9 Ascione (De Rentiis 67), 11 Napolitano.
Subs not used: 12 Di Tollo, 15 Fanelli, 16 Paolucci, 18 Chiarini.
Coach: Salvatore Alfieri.

Booked: Di Prisco 47, Crosato 69, Rocca 75.
Referee: Luca Massimi.
Assistants: Marcello Rossi, Riccardo Locatelli.

]]>

< ![CDATA[

MILAN – Inter face Virtus Lanciano in the U19 Coppa Italia this afternoon looking to register another victory over the side they beat two weeks ago in their opening Primavera championship encounter.

Here are the line-ups named by Stefano Vecchi and Salvatori Alfieri for today’s cup tie at the Centro Sportivo Giacinto Facchetti:

Inter: 1 Costa; 2 Yao, 5 Popa, 6 Donkor (c), 3 Miangue; 8 Steffé, 4 Dabo, 10 Rocca; 7 Appiah, 9 Bonazzoli, 11 Baldini.
Subs: 12 Radu, 13 Crosato, 14 Pinton, 15 Gyamfi, 16 Sciacca, 17 Bonetto, 18 Gomes Delgado, 19 De Micheli, 20 Camarà, 21 Ventre, 22 Puscas, 23 Romney
Coach: Stefano Vecchi.

Lanciano: 1 Rossetti; 2 Console, 5 Caruso, 6 Cerquetti, 3 Paudice; 8 Serafini, 10 Di Prisco (c), 4 Albanese, 7 Ricucci; 9 Ascione, 11 Napolitano.
Subs: 12 Di Tollo, 13 Scoglia, 14 Di Biase, 15 Fanelli, 16 Paolucci, 17 De Rentiis, 18 Chiarini.
Coach: Salvatore Alfieri.

Referee: Luca Massimi.
Assistants: Marcello Rossi, Riccardo Locatelli.

]]>

< ![CDATA[

]]>