The victory in Saturday's derby over fellow countrymen from “Milan” could not but fit into the context of the expectation of the Moscow meeting. She made Inter, if not the king, then certainly a confident team with high spirits. Roberto Mancini's behavior at a meeting with reporters was to convince others that the Milanese had come for the victory. Moreover, they are set up seriously and do not expect to beat Spartak with their left heel.
The first to flurry of questions from journalists, mainly Italian, was the Argentinean Javier Zanetti. It is likely that he will play in the position of the injured Frenchman Patrick Vieira in the center of midfield. From his answers it became clear that the guests were still seriously afraid of Titov. Zanetti called Yegor "a great player." In response to an urgent question about adapting to the Luzhniki artificial turf, the captain of Milan said that it would be difficult and that the Inter players were not used to such conditions, but he expects a technical game from partners, despite these difficulties.
Hastening to warm up, Zanetti gave way to the microphone to head coach Roberto Mancini. He knows how to look amazingly gallant no matter what he is wearing. The appearance of Mancini encouraged journalists so much that sometimes they interrupted each other, trying to ask their question before their colleagues.
Mancini held himself confidently, answered without unnecessary emotions, clearly and reasonably. From his words, it became clear that Crespo is likely to start the match among the substitutes. “Inter” will play for the first time on artificial turf, but is not afraid of this at all.
The incident at the end of the derby, when the injured Vieira was furious that he was not replaced, did not go unnoticed, and emotionally expressed complaints to the coach Sinesha Mikhailovich. Mancini said that this is a normal working episode, to which he did not attach much importance.
Toward the close of the press conference, Mancini, who had almost almost reached the table, was asked after the words “ciao” what account he was counting on and how Inter would play. Without hesitation for a second, Roberto said that he would be satisfied with a 2-1 victory, as in the first meeting with Spartak, and he intends to play “Inter” in the same way as in Milan.
The Moscow match, meanwhile, is extremely important for the steering “Inter”. The victory over “Milan” added optimism to the owner of the club Massimo Moratti. But his words of gratitude and public statements of confidence in the head coach can easily be devalued by failure in the Champions League. The situation in group B is not simple. The victory over “Spartacus” increases the chances of Italians to reach the playoffs, while a different result can put an end to the ambitions of the leadership, publicized at the beginning of the season. Thus, the future fate of Mancini at Inter can be decided on Tuesday at Luzhniki.
Yaroslav DMITRIEV
Yuri GUSEV
The starting line-up of Inter (SPORT Today version): Julio Cesar - Micon, Cordoba, Materazzi, Grosso - Figo, Zanetti, Dakur, Stankovich - Cruz, Ibrahimovic.