Inter goalkeeper André Onana spoke with Uefa’s official website ahead of the Nerazzurri’s match against Benfica and reiterated the teams desire to win as many competitions as possible this season. The club are winless in 6 games, their last victory coming against Lecce at the beginning of March, having drawn three and lost three. Inter goalkeeper André Onana spoke with Uefa’s official website ahead of the Nerazzurri’s match against Benfica and reiterated the teams desire to win as many competitions as possible this season.ahead of the crunch match, Onana reflected on his move from Ajax to Inter, the role of the goalkeeper and why he feels so at home in Milan already:
THE GOALKEEPER – “One has a lot of responsibility, as I have said many times. But I love the responsibility. I love this kind of pressure and this responsibility. I like to be the last man. I have been inspired by many goalkeepers in terms of how to be between the posts. I’m always trying to improve my style, and I think it’s something I’ve learned over time.”
MILAN AND INTER – “It was great to arrive in a city like Milan, which is wonderful. The people are fantastic. I am in a great club and I am very happy here. The first day I felt like a child.”
HANDANOVIC – “There are important players here, top players who know how to help you, like Samir (Handanovic, ed.), who is a legend around here. He has done a lot for the club and training with him every day is an honor. Our relationship is wonderful. On a personal level he is helping me a lot and I am very happy to be here with him.”
12 YEARS SINCE LAST TIME – “Handanovic had talked to us before the Porto game to motivate us and I think he said the right thing about what we needed to do on the pitch. And after the game, he was really happy. It was great for us, because it had been 12 years since Inter last made it to this stage, so it was a celebration.”
ANY OPPONENT – “We know we have important games ahead, we have to stay focused, we know it will be tough, but at Inter we are always ready to face any opponent.”
WHY INTER CHOSE ME – “It was a very important save that in the final match with Porto, both for the club and for me. That’s why Inter wanted me: to play the way I’m doing. I’m very satisfied with my performance so far, but after all, I’m here to do my job. And I am happy to have made that save especially because it allowed us to go ahead in the tournament, which is the most important thing for us. And we did it by suffering. That can happen in football. You can’t always play well. In my opinion, if we have to suffer to get to victory, I accept it.”
WINNING THE CHAMPIONS – “We made it all the way to the quarterfinals and in my head I think Inter, this club and its players can aspire to win everything. So, we will try to do our best to win as many competitions as possible. Whether we get to the finals or not, we will always give our best. We will do our best, even if we don’t make it, we should go home with the knowledge that we did everything we could, but that the football gods were not on our side.”
