Fuente: © Inter de Milan
http://www.inter.it

INTER: Mancini: "One mentality"

/noticias.info/ APPIANO GENTILE - After Saturday's training session Roberto Mancini briefed the press ahead of Sunday's Serie A Week 36 match against AC Milan:

Mancini, how is Dejan Stankovic?
"He's okay. He has been called up and we will see tomorrow."

Have you already decided your team for tomorrow's game?
"Yes, I have already decided my team."

What kind of atmosphere are you expecting tomorrow?
"The same as in every other derby. It's important for us because we can win the championship and it's important for them in terms of qualification for the Champions League. There aren't many games from now until the end of the championship and this could be a slightly different derby from the others, but the atmosphere is still the same."

Some say that Milan are in better form than Inter...
"I don't know about this, but I think Milan are better than they were a few months ago."

Paradoxically, Inter could win the championship even if they lose tomorrow...
"I don't think we can think about this. We have to play to win, like we always have done. This is our mentality."

Which player could be decisive in the derby?
"I have no idea because both teams have great players who could be decisive in one way or another. Perhaps it's normal to think of a striker, but it could be someone else. It's hard to say."

President Moratti confirmed you the other day, adding that it all depends on you...
"All this started from when I said I was tired when replying to a question from Sky after Inter-Cagliari. A mess was made out of a half sentence, and this shows us at what level we are. Can't someone be tired after a match? If a coach lives the match intensely, like me and many other coaches, it's normal to be quite tired at the end. I don't want to talk about this anymore because everything started from my reply."

So many fans have passed by Appiano Gentile in the past few days, asking you to win the Scudetto against Milan. Will it be a special derby for this reason, or will it be the same as the other matches?
"The derby is never the same as the other matches. This one is different because it's not in mid-season when you can put things right. In this case, perhaps it's a bit more difficult for Milan. We need three points and there are three matches until the end. We have never gone on the pitch to draw, we have always played to win. And we will do this again tomorrow, but any result is possible in football."

Do you think that in recent years, and in European football in general there has been a tendency to pay more attention to defensive tactics?
"When they get to the end of the season many teams don't have the same brilliance they had at the start. There's less time to recover and teams think more about defending because they know that with their system of play they can still score even if they're not playing well. And you can risk more at the start of the season because there's time to put things right. Instead, at the end it's the result that counts and everyone takes greater care, but this doesn't mean being upholders of defensive tactics or not. I don't know who will win the Champions League out of Manchester United or Chelsea, but if Ferguson's team win it no one will remember that they played the semi-final first leg against Barcelona waiting for their opponents to come at them. But I think this is quite normal because you can't be on top form for a whole season."

So does Mancini agree that Inter have slowed down a bit recently and played less well?
"We have slowed down a bit, just like every other team. This happens when you lose important players. You can't always be brilliant or play very well."

In Italy the last four rounds are played at the same time on the same day, but in England title contenders Manchester United and Chelsea play on different days. What do you think about this?
"They made the fixture schedule in England a year ago and they have never changed it. Sometimes in Italy they forget that there's the Pope in Genoa on the last day of the championship. It's different in England though. There are fewer problems criticising certain matches." notas_de_prensa_archivo