Handanovic: "Playing in this final is something to be proud of"

ROME – Inter will take to the pitch at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome at 21:00 CEST on Wednesday in the Coppa Italia final against Juventus. On the eve of the game, Samir Handanovic sat alongside coach Simone Inzaghi to take questions from journalists.

What does it mean to be here playing in the final and what will you need to display on the pitch? “We’re proud to be in the final. We wanted to reach the final for the first time in many years and we’ve done it. We’ve played three games against Juventus this season and they’ve all been hard-fought. We’ll need to be focused and fine margins could well decide the game.”

Is there an adjective that you need to use tomorrow on the pitch to have the best approach to the game? “We need to be better than them in all areas, not just one. The three games we’ve played against them were even, so I’m expecting a hard-fought and even match.”

There’s so much at stake over the next four days. What do you want to see out on the pitch tomorrow? “I want to see what we’ve always done, which is playing football and implementing what we’ve prepared, playing in the way that we’ve trained. I expect us to implement what we’ve done in training this week when we’re out on the pitch.”

Will it be harder to win tomorrow or to make up ground in the league for the title race? “I don’t know what’s harder, but we’ll think about that tomorrow. That’s the first step. Our future is tomorrow, then we’ll see what happens after.”

What’s sometimes lacking in terms of your approach to matches? “You might get your approach to a game wrong sometimes. It happens to every team, but that’s usually when you’re playing in so many matches because it’s so hard to keep up the same level in all of them.”

You could lift the third trophy in recent times tomorrow after the Scudetto and the Italian Super Cup. What’s changed in the dressing room? “So many things have changed. We’ve been down a long path to get to this point where we’re competing again. We went through some tough years but with the hard work of everyone who loves this club, Inter are now competing for trophies again and in the place where the club has to be.”

Which characteristic of this Juve side are you the most focused on and if you could take a player out of Massimiliano Allegri’s side, who would it be? “I wouldn’t take anyone out because finals need to be played by all the best players, and that goes for Inter and Juventus. Their best characteristic is their transitions because sometimes they don’t have much of a defensive phase but they play high up the pitch and look to counter.”