Inter coach Simone Inzaghi demands that his team remain organised in the upcoming Champions League final against Manchester City on Saturday evening in Istanbul, while also revealing his admiration for opposing coach Pep Guardiola.
The Nerazzurri are in the final for the first time since winning the trophy in 2010 and they defeated city rivals AC Milan on the way while the Mancunians emphatically won 5-1 on aggregate against reigning champions Real Madrid.
Inzaghi spoke at the pre-Champions League final media day, which was organised at Inter’s training ground in Appiano Gentile, and he did not seem to mind that his team enter the final as the underdogs.
Inzaghi confident in an organised and fit Inter
Inter are still assessing the fitness of players like Romelu Lukaku, Marcelo Brozovic, Milan Skriniar, and Hakan Calhanoglu. Despite being aware of Manchester City’s strengths, Inzaghi takes encouragement from his team’s performances in the last three months, especially with his best players available.
“We’ll have to be careful to give a real united team performance,” Inzaghi said, as reported by La Gazzetta dello Sport.
“Facing the best players, a fantastic team, and a coach who has defined an era, we will have to be perfect. We have known since after Manchester City vs Real Madrid that they are the favourites, but in football, the favourite doesn’t always win. Competitions can be decided by moments, and we have to be good at getting them on our side because they can make the difference.
“For us, it will be a very important game. It is reward for all our effort throughout the year. In the last three months, when we had everybody available and we were able to rotate, Inter did great things.”
Simone Inzaghi vs Pep Guardiola head to head
Inzaghi and Guardiola will face each other as coaches for the first time, but when the Italian played for Lazio and the Catalan for Brescia in the early 2000s, the former was on the winning side both times.
The Nerazzurri boss did not use that as an excuse to be boastful though, revealing his admiration for the 52-year-old and Manchester City’s style of play.
“We have huge admiration for Manchester City and Guardiola,” Inzaghi said. “Manchester City are complete, they have a physical, technical team that does great possession and great attacking. They will face Inter who will have to be good at taking away some possession and covering every inch of the pitch because they are good at occupying spaces.
“The approach to the match will be crucial: we will have to be good because City always start strong and we are usually always careful and concentrated at the beginning.”
