Ranocchia: “Only a win will do tomorrow”

APPIANO GENTILE – Inter are set to face Borussia Mönchengladbach on matchday five in Group B of the Champions League tomorrow. Following today’s training session, Andrea Ranocchia held a press conference alongside Antonio Conte ahead of the showdown. This is what he had to say:

Was the discussion that took place following Inter vs. Real Madrid a turning point?

"I’m not sure what discussion is being talked about. The day after our matches, we always analyse them, looking at both the positive and negative aspects in the process. We did this after the Real Madrid match and we also did this after the Sassuolo game. There hasn’t been a turning point. We produced two really good performances: the former was affected by certain situations, while we put on an excellent display against Sassuolo. This was a fantastic victory that has given us a confidence boost ahead of tomorrow’s match.”

The team made life difficult for themselves in the first fixture, what can be carried forward from that game as Inter head into tomorrow’s match?"Tomorrow, we need to approach the match like we did for our last league fixture: there needs to be the same team spirit and desire to bring home three points as we face a side that is doing well and which has good individual players. We need to be mindful of the team we’re facing but also believe in what we’re doing and building. Our only objective must be to win, nothing else will do tomorrow.”

You’ve experienced many different moments at Inter. How would you describe the current situation?"There have been many difficulties: we finished last season on 21 August and a number of players then went on international duty shortly afterwards, with many having since gone on to play numerous matches for club and country. We’ve shown that this is a year where we’ll need to grow and carry on down the path we’re going. Despite all the problems, we can still qualify: this needs to be our objective going into the last two matches. In the league, we’ve produced some excellent performances. We haven’t always got it right but we’re up there. When things don’t go well, you can’t just throw everything down the drain: every moment needs to be rationalised and interpreted in the right way. This is a moment on our journey, we’re still at the beginning of the season and can still achieve the objectives we’ve set out.”

Why do think that there are no half measures when it comes to Inter?“I don’t know why this is the case, but’s always been this way. It might be due to the fact that Inter have historically won many trophies but haven’t done so in recent times. Those on the outside sometimes need to change their way of thinking, I’m talking about the media when I say this. Hakimi, for example, has come from a different league. He’s young and needs to get used to his new surroundings, but he has quality. It seems like he’s being spoken about every day. Sometimes, there’s a tendency to exaggerate and make judgements which are too hasty. The strength of this team must lie in the fact that there are many players who can do well. The season is long and there are many games to go. We’ve also been affected by COVID-19 and many players have played numerous fixtures. There will be a chance for everyone, and I hope that those on the outside will exercise rational judgements.”