Former Italian striker Christian Vieri has shared his thoughts on the upcoming Supercoppa Italiana final between Inter Milan and AC Milan. Speaking from Riyadh, where he is attending the match, Vieri emphasized the importance and prestige of the trophy.
“It’s now a very important and quite lucrative trophy,” Vieri stated. “The new format is a winner – congratulations to the league for their great work. With the Milan derby in the final, we’re exporting a lot of prestige around the world.”
When asked about his expectations for the match, Vieri was cautious about making predictions:
“On paper you’d say Inter, but the recent league match shows these games have no favorite. The derby brings out motivations and energy that sometimes go beyond the objective value of the teams.”
Vieri expressed little surprise at Milan’s comeback against Juventus in the semifinal, noting that despite recent struggles, “Milan is alive” under new coach Sergio Conceicao. He praised Conceicao as “a great friend, a special man, fun” and highlighted the coach’s demanding style.
Addressing recent criticism of Inter striker Lautaro Martinez, Vieri was dismissive:
“Don’t make me laugh. He scored against Cagliari and creates 3-4 chances per game. There are periods when the ball just won’t go in, and there’s no reason for it. The problem would exist if Lautaro never shot on goal. But he fights, plays well for the team, and creates many chances.”
Vieri also had high praise for Marcus Thuram, calling him “a magnificent, polite, likeable guy” whose intelligence helps him in all aspects of the game.
On Inter coach Simone Inzaghi, Vieri noted: “He always has clear ideas, he sticks to his style of football, supported by a top management.” He called Inter’s squad “frightening” in its quality, while acknowledging they can sometimes become “too fancy” when feeling overconfident.
Finally, Vieri defended Atalanta’s Gian Piero Gasperini and Juventus’ Thiago Motta from recent criticism after their semifinal losses:
“I’ve heard some exaggerated things. Thiago is at the beginning of a project shared by everyone at Juve – you need patience, the coach’s qualities are evident. And on Gasperini I’ll avoid specific comments: his Atalanta is beyond question. In this football world I hear all sorts of things, too many people intervene without understanding anything.”
