"We have enough psychological advantages against Naples. This victory will help us open up the lead in the league and then focus more on the Champions League. That is our most important competition this season!"
This is what Mancini said to the media at the pre-match press conference after the training session the afternoon before the game against Naples. It was exposed by the media and TV stations across Italy that night.
Everyone understands that this is Mancini's psychological warfare against Naples.
The purpose is to bring back the painful memories of Napoli's 3-0 loss last season, and at the same time inspire the confidence of the Inter Milan players. After all, the players were basically on the team for the match at Meazza last season.
Mancini also commented on Napoli during the interview.
The Inter Milan coach believes that Naples started the game very well, especially in the victory over Udinese. It indeed unleashed a rare offensive storm in Serie A and showed Naples' momentum.
"But it is obvious that this team has encountered problems in recent times. Their offense has become less threatening. This needs the head coach to solve it and provide guidance and help to the players."
Mancini also commented on Napoli's head coach Gao Shen.
When the media mentioned that Gao Shen was a Champions League champion and La Liga champion coach, Mancini obviously did not answer the question. He said that Gao Shen was too young and had little experience in playing football, so he inevitably had deficiencies in coaching.
"As a head coach who is a non-professional player and has just turned 27, I think he has done a pretty good job and there is no way we can put higher demands on him."
Mancini revealed that whether it was last season or this season, he had never seriously watched a Naples game, whether it was a good performance or a bad performance.
"I don't think this is a problem, because from Inter Milan's perspective, what we need to consider is how to better ourselves, without thinking too much about our opponents."
"Before the Italian Cup semi-finals last season, I couldn't even tell you what kind of football our opponents were playing. I just roughly knew what kind of team they were through the materials provided by my assistants. We
What should be done, and then..."
Mancini stopped at the point, but the meaning was very clear.
"The same is true now. I can't express my opinion about Naples at all, but I know very well that as long as we play normally, we don't have to worry about our opponents at all, especially at San Siro!"
…
Mancini's remarks are completely consistent with his status as Serie A's defending champion and leader.
Moreover, after he coached Inter Milan, the team's performance in Serie A has indeed improved greatly, especially after Calciopoli. Inter Milan is almost synonymous with invincibility in Serie A.
Unless there is something wrong with itself, no team can even hope to beat Inter Milan.
But precisely because of this, Mancini's words further aroused Naples' anger and fighting spirit.
Gao Shen also challenged Inter Milan at the pre-match press conference, saying that the team would not be conservative in the away game.
"As I said last season, my team and I are eager to return that humiliating defeat to Inter Milan at the San Siro. We go north with a heart of revenge and we will try our best to fight for it.
A victory!"
Gao Shen said that Naples has a certain advantage in the schedule because Inter Milan is still distracted by the Champions League.
But the opponent's strength is indeed stronger.
On this point, Gao Shen always seeks truth from facts.
"We will not deny our opponents, but what I want to say is that in the more than a year since I coached Naples, we have always defeated strong opponents, and we have never been afraid to challenge teams that are stronger than us."
"It was like this before, it is like this now, and it will be like this in the future!"
Gao Shen said that Naples insists on its own tactical style and will not compromise or change easily.
"My players and I hope to use our Naples way to win a victory at San Siro!"
The implication of Gao Shen's words is also very clear, Naples will compete with Inter Milan!
…
The head coaches of both sides started a verbal exchange before the game, and the Italian media naturally became excited.
But the media's interpretation of what Gao Shen and Mancini said is naturally different.
Many media believe that Napoli's confrontation with Inter Milan is a suicidal act, irrational and impulsive. Some even believe that Gao Shen has been blinded by hatred.
Sacchi also reminded Gao Shen to be cautious in his pre-match prediction column.
"Meazza is the strongest fortress in Serie A. Any team that wants to play against Inter Milan here needs to take huge tactical risks, especially the young Napoli."
Sacchi warned Gao Shen that if Napoli stays calm and focuses on defense, it will still be able to compete with Inter Milan.
However, Sacchi also secretly revealed that Gao Shen will probably still face Inter Milan through an offensive battle, thereby restoring the morale hit Naples suffered after last season's failure and restoring the team's confidence and fighting spirit.
"No matter what, this game will definitely change the trend of Serie A this season!" Sacchi guessed.
…………
…………
On the evening of October 6th, Milan Meazza Stadium.
In the seventh round of Serie A, Inter Milan faced Naples at home.
The game has entered the second half.
The score on the scoreboard is one to zero.
Only six minutes into the first half, Inter Milan took advantage of Napoli's unsteady foothold, but the pressure was too high. Stankovic sent the ball behind, and after Cruz stopped the ball with his chest and entered the penalty area, he grabbed Handano's chance.
Vicci had previously volleyed past Naples' goal, giving Inter Milan the lead.
Afterwards, the game completely fell into a stalemate.
Naples showed an aggressive momentum from the beginning, attacking mainly against the visitors, without any fear or holding back, but showed a determination to fight Inter Milan to the end.
This made Mancini realize that the offensive battle that Gao Shen said before the game was becoming a reality.
This is a decisive battle!
A decisive battle that no one can lose!
…
Mancini sat in the home team's coaching bench, clasped his hands in front of his nose, and stared at the court with eyes as bright as lightning.
"It's almost sixty minutes, why don't they seem to be tired?" Mancini seemed to be muttering to himself, or asking the assistant coach Mihajlovic sitting next to him.
He felt very puzzled.
They are all professional players, participating in the same game. Even Naples players have run more runs than Inter Milan, but why do they seem to not get tired?
And what about Inter Milan?
It is obvious that the players' performance and on-field activity have dropped a lot.
"They are only in their twenties and we are almost thirty," Mihajlovic explained.
This is the average age of the players on the field for both teams.
But Mancini shook his head, "That's not the case. They seem to run a lot, and in fact they do run a lot, but it's more about overall running, so their physical energy consumption is much smaller than ours."
Mihajlovic is also a famous football star. As soon as he heard Mancini's words, he immediately understood.
Although Inter Milan's players also have integrity, they still rely more on the players' individual abilities to solve problems. This leads to the fact that their players' movements are very uneven. For example, Cesar and Figo on the two wings, they have always been
Constantly running back and forth consumes a lot of energy, and some players run very little or even not at all.
On the other hand, Naples moves as a whole. Although the running distance of the players may be long or short, it is still average. The biggest advantage of this is that the players are more running at a constant speed, and the consumption is much less than frequent turning back and forth.
After Mancini figured out the account at this moment, he couldn't help but have an ominous premonition in his heart.
From the opening to the present, Napoli has been proactive and not conservative. They pressed hard in the frontcourt and forced Inter Milan to make many passing and receiving errors in the midfield and backcourt, but they failed to score a goal.
Goalkeeper Cesar made two outstanding saves, which shows that Naples' offensive threat is still considerable.
The key is, it's almost sixty minutes, and Naples still has some energy left.
"Advanced training is not easy!" Mancini sighed.
Mihajlovic glanced at the head coach with some surprise. In his impression, this should be the first time Mancini praised Gao Shen, right?
how?
Changed?
The arrogant Mancini had always looked down upon Gao Shen in the past.
"Do you think he will be waiting for us right now?" Mancini suddenly opened his eyes.
Mihajlovic was stunned, "No way? Can he calculate this?"
Mancini also swallowed his saliva and turned to look at the visiting team's coaching bench, always standing very straight and tall.
"You have to say that old coaches like Ancelotti or Ferguson are so cunning that they can reach this stage before they even play. I believe it, but if you say Gao Shen can do it..." Mihajlovic shook his head.
.
He doesn't believe it!
This is too risky!
Especially considering that in order to compete with Inter Milan, Naples did not play conservatively throughout the game and took the initiative. If they are not careful, Inter Milan may score a big score at any time. This is risking their lives!
Gao Shen is young and not so ruthless!
Even Ferguson or Ancelotti would not play such a big game unless they had to.
But the more Mancini thought about it, the more he felt something was wrong. Especially when Gao Shen suddenly turned around and walked back to the visiting team's coaching bench, the ominous premonition in his heart suddenly became stronger.
He suddenly realized that he might have fallen into a deep trap.
Or maybe, it was in a trap he had set up.
Gao Shen wanted to compete with Inter Milan for consumption from the beginning. He calculated Inter Milan's average age and player consumption from the beginning, so he had to use this method to make up for Naples' superior strength.
The more he thought about it, the more uneasy and panicked Mancini felt.
There is still half an hour left in the game.
For a team like Napoli, there is so much that can be done.
Just when Mancini was losing his composure, Naples next door began to make substitutions.
