Candreva: “It’s a tough time, but wearing this shirt and winning for the fans is a unique feeling”

MILAN – The video chats with Nerazzurri players continue, and today’s protagonist was Antonio Candreva as he answered the fans’ questions sent in on Inter’s social media profiles from his home: “We’re experiencing a really tough time, we all hope it’ll end as soon as possible, but it’s still a serious situation and it’s important to stay at home and to respect the rules so that we can get back to normal as soon as possible. We have a unique kind of job, so we’re not used to spending our day-to-day lives with our families except during the summer breaks, this is certainly a positive to take from this situation, seeing my son grow up each day is beautiful. We’ll come out of this stronger than before because there are things that we take for granted in our “normal” lives, like taking a walk in the park. Now we’ll be able to realise the importance that they hold. I don’t talk about my private life much, my father has been fighting against something awful for a year and so right now I’m embracing him even if I can’t be physically close to him.”

There were plenty of questions linked to the emotions brought about by the Nerazzurri shirt itself: “I miss football so much, I also miss the day-to-day things about training, joking about with my teammates, the emotions of playing games, the fans. There are so many emotions that you experience in an Inter shirt, playing at San Siro in a stadium constantly full of fans who have always supported us is something incredible, I hope to experience that on plenty of occasions to come and obviously I’d like to lift a trophy. My best goal? For me my first was a significant one to me, scored in the #DerbyMilano, it was a goal that I remember with such pleasure, just like the one I scored against Lecce. When you score a goal like that in front of your fans on the opening day of the league it’s incredible, it felt like I was set free, it was a unique kind of joy. On the pitch the thing I like most is winning, when we win, it brings confidence and we can celebrate, winning makes everything easier, even training sessions the following week.”

On Antonio Conte: “The Coach is a man of few words, but what he does say always goes straight into your head. For him the fundamental concepts are hard work and self-sacrifice for the team, he’s been the most important coach in my career and I only have good things to say about him. This great family has been home to some of the greatest champions over the years, and being part of it and wearing this shirt fills me with pride, I’m honoured to wear it and I respect it every time I step out onto the pitch.”

Then some facts about his private life and recent times: “We’re an active family, we’re not couch potatoes and we like exercising, Allegra is very sporty herself, it’s nice to have someone else in the house with such an athletic spirit. During the day we joke around, train, spend time with our son and come up with things to do all together. My favourite dish is Amatriciana, we’re eating well at home, we haven’t had any unhealthy meals. Except on Sundays when we eat pizza, but it’s wholemeal! My favourite song? Ragazzo Fortunato by Jovanotti, but it’s better if I don’t sing it.”

On his career from his debut to today: “My professional debut came for Ternana against Empoli, I was playing for the youth teams and the coach then took over the First Team for a bit and decided to give me my debut at the Castellani, I was very young at the time. I was born as an attacking midfielder, I always preferred the freedom of that position, but when you grow up in a team there are so many rules to respect, playing on the wing gave me a chance to grow and to have some consistency over the years. I really like my position this year in the 3-5-2, you have to be careful in defensive phases and cause problems when you attack. I’ve never had an idol, but I’ve always liked the class and elegance of players who play at number 10. I’ve always chosen 87 as my shirt number, the year I was born, ever since I arrived at Lazio. I had an important time there, I found consistency and it was a decisive step in my career, because it gave me the chance to come to a great Club like Inter, to have the luck of wearing this shirt. I feel good now, I’ve got a lot of enthusiasm and desire to push myself, I’m still expecting a lot to come.”