By Anna Italia
Follow me in Twitter @ItalianSerieA
AS Roma – Inter
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Serie A Standing BEFORE the game:
AS Roma, 2nd position with 57 points and a positive goal difference of +38
Inter, 5th position with 40 points and a positive goal difference of +14
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | Goals | Diff. | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Roma | 24 | 17 | 6 | 1 | 49:11 | 38 | 57 |
| 5 | Inter | 25 | 10 | 10 | 5 | 43:29 | 14 | 40 |
Here are the declarations of Inter coach Walter Mazzarri during the press conference on Friday 28 February ahead of the Serie A Week 26 game, AS Roma vs Inter to be played at the Olimpico di Roma Stadium on Saturday 1 March.
Mazzarri admits the job well done by AS Roma coach Rudi Garcia, but also feeling confident about Inter’s performance.
Mazzarri saying, “Roma are playing well, they know what they’re doing, are organized, and
can change approach rapidly. They’re good on the break, when they have
space but they also close you down and press well. They have quality,
intensity and are well organized. Can they win the Scudetto? I don’t
know and I don’t even want to think about it, I don’t ever look at what
other teams are doing. Am I surprised by how well Garcia has done in his
first job in Italy? If a coach has a good squad and is able to put
across his ideas, they can do well immediately, as he is doing.” This is
how Walter Mazzarri introduced tomorrow night’s match against Roma at the Stadio Olimpico.
“We’ve
trained fairly well this week, with a few issues as you know, but
nothing too different to how it usually is. It’s been a normal week,”
added the coach. “Teams like Fiorentina and Roma always try to win, to
make the game their own. Roma have the best defence in the league,
Garcia’s done really well to instill such balance in this side. But
we’re a team that focuses a great deal on what we’re doing and I’m sure
that if we do everything to the best of our ability, we can put in a
really good performance against them. We could have success against Roma
if we play like we did at Fiorentina. Hernanes? He’s hardworking, he
pays very little attention to the pain he’s experiencing, we gave him a
rest to make sure all that subsided, now he’s in the squad and we’ll see
whether he can start the match. Does Icardi finally have my backing? It
wasn’t a case of whether I rated him or not, it was about being in the
right frame of mind, training in a certain way. I’ll see now whether he
will start tomorrow, bearing in mind that he might fade in the second
half. Samuel? He’s done everything.”
Mazzarri was then asked if
he has any regrets as to what his team
have achieved so far: “If we look back at the matches we’ve played, it’s annoying because had we been a little more clinical up front and
focused at the back we could have more points. Plus I hope we start to
get a few decisions going our way. Could the lack of atmosphere at the
Stadio Olimpico be an advantage for us? When I prepare matches I always
tell the lads it’s 11 against 11.”
There followed a question on
Zanetti and Cambiasso: do they still have a part to play? “Generally
speaking, yes. I pick my team based on what I see, on how the team
plays. Zanetti’s not played since 9 January? Energy levels change
between 20 and 25, 30 and 35, you might not be as quick, and in the
meantime the team has been performing well. I speak to Zanetti a lot,
he’s an important figure even when he doesn’t play. If I pick the team
in a certain way it’s because I believe we’re better suited that way.”
Is
Walter concerned about the situation surrounding officials? “I’ve not
followed what’s gone on over the course of the week, I’ve got lots to do
on the pitch, so I try not to read too much of what’s being written. I
don’t know what other people are up to, I know what we’re doing and
saying. Anyway, if you’ve paid close attention to me, you’ll have
noticed that I simply commented on slow-motion replays in a objective
way at the start, then I thought it would be better to keep quiet
because you can’t say anything anymore. Bergonzi was the last referee to
award Inter a penalty? We’re just thinking about our performance, about
playing well against Roma.”
Finally, a word on what Erick Thohir
said about the pair meeting at the end of the season to discuss the
club’s vision: “This is a normal situation with regards to the
relationship between the owner and coach, you need to see where you are
every year and talk about plans for the future.”
Click the video to watch Inter Coach Walter Mazzarri Press Conference on Friday 28 February 2014 ahead of the Serie A Week 26 game, AS Roma vs Inter
Italian Serie A Week 26
AS Roma – Inter
Saturday 1 March 2014
Olimpico di Roma Stadium
Rome, Italy
20:45
Referee: BERGONZI
Assistants: GHIANDAI – MANGANELLI
Fourth Official: : MUSOLINO
ADD1: DE MARCO
ADD2: PINZANI
