APPIANO GENTILE – Fredy Guarin is the special guest on InterNOS this week, tonight at 21:00 on Inter Channel. With a big smile on his face and always ready to answer any questions, El Guaro explained: “It’s been a hard season, but we’re slowly working our way back and things will get better. I live life with passion, a lot of passion. There are lots of things I want to improve: the first is my consistency on the pitch so I can play a whole game at a high tempo with the right focus.

“I always look at it as something positive, it’s great to see the strength our fans give us, both when they do positively and indeed negatively, because it’s always added motivation for me. Although obviously I’m never happy when they’re not,” revealed Guarin when asked what’s it like to play at the Stadio Meazza.

Don’t miss Fredy’s full story on Inter Channel at 21:00 and on inter.it

MILAN – More than 3,000 Interisti have put their star on our Nerazzurri world map since Sunday – 3,098 to be precise. The number of non-Italians is on the rise and the race for your favourite avatar is hotting up!

José Mourinho is the second-most popular avatar picked by fans, hot on the heels of pacesetter Javier Zanetti, chosen by 20% of people. Diego Milito and Ronaldo remain in third and fourth place respectively, while Marco Materazzi is currently fifth and fellow Treble hero Dejan Stankovic sits in sixth.

Another legend from a different era is the seventh-most popular avatar: Lothar Matthäus, who we remembered on inter.it on Monday 10 March. That was the date 23 years ago when he received his Ballon d’Or award at the Stadio Meazza before Inter v Juventus – a memorable day capped by the German star’s goal in the Nerazzurri’s 2-0 win.

Slightly closer to modern times in eighth is Ivan Zamorano, the much-loved Chilean who won the fans over with the grit and determination he put into every game. Walter Samuel makes an appearance in ninth place and Roby Baggio, a universal footballing icon, rounds out the top ten.

All the Inter Clubs appear on the map and every Inter fan can join them. All you have to do to light up your own star is register on inter.it. Then you can take your pick from the best players and coaches to have defended the black and blue stripes in our history, choose your nickname and put yourself on the Nerazzurri globe. You can opt to place your star over your address (and perhaps discover that your neighbours are Interisti too!), where you watch the Nerazzurri or anywhere else you want.

Together we can paint the world black and blue: join us on inter.it and add your own dab of colour!

APPIANO GENTILE – Esteban Cambiasso spoke to Sport Mediaset about Inter’s forthcoming league game on Saturday: “The Verona match is important because we’re on the back of two tricky away trips where we’ve come away with a win and a draw, and winning in Verona would be a good way of consolidating our recent form. We mustn’t look too far ahead, just take things one game at a time. It’s important Inter get into Europe because that’s where the club belongs and history means you always look to achieve that: some times you manage it, sometimes you don’t.”

Cambiasso still doesn’t know whether he will be a part of Inter’s future project but El Cuchu explained: “One thing I do know is that I’m 33 and I still want to play football, I don’t know where, but I do know I want to play. Would I sign any contract Inter offered me? We need to look at the timeframe but these quotes just make headlines. One thing that is for sure, is that Inter and Cambiasso will always have a great story to tell.”

MILAN – FC Internazionale wishes to announce that all
accreditation requests from journalists, photographers and TV/radio
representatives for Inter v Atalanta, the Week 29 Serie A clash of the 2013/14
season scheduled for Sunday 23 March at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza (kick-off at
15:00), must be sent by e-mail to press@inter.it without fail no later than 13:00
on Wednesday
19 March 2014.

Please note that:

– requests should be sent on company-headed paper along
with an identity document (including the O.D.G card);

– requests for accreditation will be assessed in
accordance with the number of places available at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza;

– requests sent via fax will not be considered;

– requests sent after the deadline will not be
considered;

– the F.C. Internazionale press office will notify any
unsuccessful applicants via email, by replying to the address through which the
request was made;

– the issuing of accreditation will take place, as is now customary, at
entrance number 8;

– requests for accreditation must have ‘Inter v Atalanta
accreditation‘ in the subject line.

APPIANO
GENTILE – He trains, is committed and is constantly looking to improve. Mauro
Icardi spoke at length to Sky Sport Italia about his present moment with the
Nerazzurri, but also about his dreams and his future.

"I think it’s always tough to play at Inter because this is an
important team. But I also believe that if you work hard you’ll get your
chance. Is the number 9 a big weight on my shoulders? Yes, but not too much
since it’s a number I really like."

Coming from Barcelona, the Argentine
forward is someone who loves the sea: "It’s hard not to see it every day, also
because I lived in the Canary Islands before going to Barça. It’s different
here, but you eventually get used to everything."

Icardi left the cantera at the age of 18 and moved to Italy: "I don’t know if it was Barcelona who wanted me to leave. I wanted to go and play for Sampdoria and Barça decided to help me out."

On his fitness: "It’s been a tough year. My groin injury is still causing me a bit of discomfort but we’re trying to solve it. I want to end the season as well as possible both personally and with the team.

"What mark would I give myself? That’s not for me to say. It’s for the fans and the people who watch the games to decide."

What about the Nerazzurri’s chances of finishing fourth? "I think Inter need to be as high as possible. We’ve set out on a new path with a new coach. We have to work hard and see where we can end up."

So when can Inter get back to challenging for the title? "That’s something we’ll discover day by day. We’ll see where we are at the end of the season."

Mauro went on to reveal a bit more about himself, starting with a question about his regrets: "I don’t know if there’s a mistake I’ve made that I’d like to redo differently. I’d have to think about it. What’s hurt me the most? There’s nothing that’s hurt me the most. We all have our own lives to lead: I have mine and the others have theirs. If people want to say something to me they’re free to do so. What interests me is that people talk about me for my goals."

He also touched on the topic of social networking: is it indispensable? "No, it’s not indispensable but I’ve always used social networks. I think everyone does in 2014."

Looking ahead into the future, could Icardi follow in Javier Zanetti’s shoes and spend the rest of his career at Inter? "That wouldn’t be bad… I supported Inter as a boy so coming here is an amazing experience."