Beppe Marotta confirms Inter’s budget was written up assuming they would not progress in the Champions League, ‘optimism’ on Milan Skriniar’s contract and what made the club believe Simone Inzaghi could turn things around.
The game with Viktoria Plzen kicks off at San Siro at 17.45 UK time (16.45 GMT).
A victory will be enough to guarantee that Inter qualify for the Champions League Round of 16, regardless of the result Barcelona get against Bayern Munich this evening.
“It would be an important achievement that is part of the consolidation process that started three or four years ago. On a European level we reached the knockouts last season, so doing it again would be an excellent result,” Marotta told Sky Sport Italia.
The 1-0 win over Barcelona came at the height of a crisis for the Nerazzurri in Serie A and the Champions League, which reports coach Simone Inzaghi was on the verge of a potential dismissal, but the club stuck with him and was proved right.
“The first thing we did was to analyse the situation carefully, see where we were lacking, but realised this was a real group – including the coach – that could climb back up the hill. The soul returned, the calm, concentration, confidence and focus returned that allowed them to get back to the Inter standards.”
Marotta was asked if it was true that at the start of the season, especially after being paired with Barcelona and Bayern Munich, Inter had calculated their seasonal budget based on finishing third in the Champions League group and therefore entering the Europa League?
“It is very true. I don’t know what Barcelona predicted, but as far as we were concerned, our budget was prudent. Having said that, we wanted to get through and the draw made it look very difficult, but this evening we can crown a small dream to qualify a game early from an extremely tough group.”
It has been said that progress to the Champions League knockouts would also provide Inter with the necessary funds to offer PSG and Manchester City target Milan Skriniar a new contract.
“They are two distinct issues. We want to sit down and discuss the contract with Skriniar because he is a great professional and deserves it, we hope he can be a reference point for Inter in the present and the future.
“Naturally, it takes two parties to reach an agreement in negotiations. I hope and am optimistic that we can extend his contract soon in what would be an important step for everyone concerned.”
President Steven Zhang has faced criticism from supporters and media, particularly with reports Suning are planning to find buyers for the club.
“It is a wonderful experience for me to come to such an important club as Inter, in a city where I grew up, is the maximum for a director in this sport. We slowly climbed back up thanks to the confidence the club had in us, as let’s not forget how much the owners invested in the early stages of the process.
“We were able to improve our position in the table thanks to the squad, the coaches, but above all the club and of course these marvellous fans.”
CALMAAAAAAA!
Oh wait wrong club
Grande Marotta!