Spalletti: "With courage, we want to determine our own destiny"

APPIANO GENTILE:Luciano Spalletti spoke on the eve of the match against AC Milan at San Siro on matchday 27 of the Serie A season. "It’s a great feeling because we’re playing in the most attractive match of the season and we know how much it means for the fans," said the Nerazzurri Coach in the pre-match press conference. "We want to forge our own destiny and therefore we need to head into the match aware of our strengths and the importance of the match." 

"Our position in the table is important and it has also come about thanks to the results that we’ve brought home in difficult matches. We know that we have the means to do well, but it’s normal that you have to put them into practice in the right way, knowing how to read when it’s the right moment in a match. We must have the courage to come up with decisive pieces of play. I’ll ask the players to always show their ruthless face from now on because there’s no time to delay our objectives. This match is already an opportunity to write our own future without thinking about the next matches. We have to be good at analysing this point of the season in the right way if we want to make the Champions League. The derby is worth more than a season, it’s a real spectacle of football. For us, winning tomorrow would mean that we’ve written a page in the history of one of the greatest matches in football as it's seen by all and we can then make the most of the enthusiasm of the fans who care about the fate of this team." 

There were then a number of questions on individuals. "Is Icardi ready? Mauro is more than ready. The derby is a match which transmits special sensations to players with a personality such as his. Candreva as a trequartista? He’s already played in that position and he’s done so often in training, so it wouldn’t be something new. Karamoh? We’re calm about his mental and physical qualities, he could be used in any match because he has big ambitions. Perisic’s form? No player can determine the behaviour of the entire team, his form has run in parallel to ours as a whole. Tomorrow, he’ll show that he’s put things back in place." 

Questions on individual players continued: "Borja Valero and Miranda’s condition? For Borja, the final training session will be important while Miranda is fine and has recovered. Is Suso the main threat? I’m only worried about Inter players, Milan are a strong side and I said on multiple occasions that I was amazed by their position in the table but I am no longer. They have strong players who we respect but we’re convinced that we have as much quality."