Arrigo Sacchi maintains that Inter are favourites for the Serie A title, but prefer to reserve judgement on AC Milan. With both the Rossoneri and Juventus having made major coaching and squad changes, the title looks the Nerazzurri’s to lose, and speaking with La Gazzetta dello sport, Sacchi explained why he doesn’t see any weak points in the Inter team:
“I don’t see weak points in the team. It would be a problem if the players believed they had already reached the finish line and didn’t put in the same strength will as last season. But I don’t think that will happen. Inter, if it manages to make another leap forward in terms of play, is on horseback.”
Which teams are chasing closest behind?
“Milan, Juve and Napoli. From Milan I expect that it does more pressing when not in possession of the ball and that then it knows how to move quickly attacking spaces. This one needs to do if one wants to be a modern team. Juve has undertaken a new course, I am curious to see at work Thiago Motta. Will he manage to confirm himself? Napoli still needs to work on the market to complete the team.”
Milan, Juve and Napoli have changed coach. Who will manage to impact more quickly between Fonseca, Motta and Conte?
“Conte is a coach who has already demonstrated to be at very high level. He can impact a lot, however they must make available to him the players. Now he has only 12 or 13: they are few. Thiago Motta is a strategist, but I don’t know if at Juve he can repeat the season of Bologna. Fonseca comes from two seasons in France, where he has not enchanted. Will he integrate perfectly with the environment of Milan?”
Which summer purchase can make the difference in a more evident and quicker way?
“I will observe with curiosity Dovbik at Roma. He has been very good in Girona, he can become important also in our championship.”
Can Atalanta really aim for the scudetto?
“It can give trouble to anyone and it has already demonstrated it fighting on equal terms against Real in Supercoppa. It would have everything to aim for the title, but it cannot afford the players that other clubs buy for millions.”
Can the Roman teams insert themselves in the race for the Champions League?
“In my opinion they are a bit behind. Let’s see if De Rossi will make the definitive and decisive leap in quality. I would be pleased because it would be a positive novelty for our coaches.”
Which team can be the surprise of Serie A?
“I am curious to see Juve in a new guise, it can give us beautiful football. I am also intrigued by Torino of Vanoli, a coach that I know well and who has demonstrated to have quality.”
From the tactical point of view can there be significant novelties?
“I hope that the strategist coaches increase, those who don’t think only about defense and counterattack, but work to build a team where everyone participates in the action. If one looks at the roll of honor of the Champions League, one sees that the winners are always the strategists and not the tacticians.”
Which young player can make the real leap in quality?
“I hope that some young Italian jumps out, because we have a great need for it. I follow with interest Fagioli of Juve. Let’s see if Motta’s game will help him grow and so also the National team would have found an interpreter of good level.”
Will it still be a tournament split in two: the richest in the left column and the others on the right?
“I would say yes, then one needs to see if a victory is really worth all the money invested by the so-called big clubs. I continue to think that, more than money, ideas count.”
What would you like to see in this tournament?
“Harmonious play, beauty, speed, honesty on the field, correctness in behaviors by players, coaches and managers. There is need for education in this environment. One can’t take it anymore to see the referees surrounded by players. Greater respect is needed.”
What should Italian teams learn after the experience of the European Championship?
“A fairly simple thing, which however in Italy we don’t know why we almost never managed to put into practice: one wins with the collective, and not with the individual. If you have a game and a team that moves harmoniously, you are at a good point. Then great spirit of sacrifice and high motivations are needed.”
How much will the cups affect the championship?
“They will weigh a lot. Especially before an international match the energies go away: one thinks about that commitment and one can’t concentrate on the championship. And after the European challenges, often, one must deal with the injured. The trouble is that one is playing too much, there is no time to train well. One needs to give oneself a regulation, because the spectacle can suffer from it. And if there is no more spectacle, the public gets tired quickly and the little game ends.”
