Spalletti: "We must feel the passion of our fans and we want to repay them"

APPIANO GENTILE – After wins against Fiorentina and Roma, the season starts up again for Luciano Spalletti’s Inter with a home match against SPAL. “You don’t build the base of a team in a day,” began Spalletti. “We’ve worked every day from the first time we met to become a strong team. So, international football is something extra. Apart from the results, I’m happy with the attitude that I’ve seen up to his point. Results obviously affect the judgements made but what matters most is the road that you want to follow. In these hours, we’ve looked to work on getting our heads focused on the match and I’m sure that our professional players will come up with a great performance.” 

“There’s a club here which works in a professional manner, there are loads of people who set up to develop things at their best. I have a coaching staff here who are an extension of me so everything is easier for me. Tomorrow, we’re at the centre of a show with 60,000 fans and we’ve not experienced that yet. The fans have shown their faith in us and we absolutely must repay that. Passion is tied to the history of Inter and we want to be a part of it and leave our mark. We have a great opportunity to set the tone with tomorrow’s match and we have to feel the emotions of the occasion. I don’t see why SPAL would be more motivated than we are.”

“We have to create something that allows us to move forwards next year, to create the criteria with which we can see who we are as a team,” added Spalletti when asked about short-term objectives. “It’s ok with me if you say that we need to fight for Champions League qualification and we’ll have to check-in for that in games such as tomorrow’s if we’re to fly around Europe. We know that we need to close a certain gap with the top four teams and we want to do so by looking to win every single match. A team such as Inter can’t ever settle and we’re only happy if we win matches.”

Perisic’s recent contract renewal was also discussed. “The club has done good work to keep Ivan here,” he said. “We all hold him in high esteem and see him as a great player and a great person. I see a footballer who can show the way, he’s an incredible example and he has to show it on the pitch because we all expect a lot from him. We know he’s willing to take this responsibility, you can see that in how he prepares.” Gagliardini was also mentioned. “Roberto will play tomorrow and I knew that the Tuesday after Roma vs. Inter. He’s a great player and he only didn’t play at the Olimpico because I needed different characteristics on the pitch. Unfortunately, I can only pick eleven players and we need to be a team, there’s no such thing as starters and reserves.”