Inzaghi:"Club World Cup? Pride, we aim for the maximum."

Simone Inzaghi, the coach of Inter Milan, gave an interview to DAZN's microphones (Italian broadcast) ahead of the Club World Cup in the USA this summer. Here are his words:

"Certainly, it’s a huge emotion to be part of the World Cup; it will be a small Olympic Games of football: there is immense pride on our part. 

It wasn’t easy to get here with the path we’ve followed in the Champions League over the years, and we will try to arrive at our best. 

There are 32 teams from 5 different continents, and it will be something new for everyone: we knew about this competition at the start of the season, so we made sure to have a more thorough preparation to be ready for the event and take Inter Milan’s name around the world. 

It will be a new adventure, and we know where we’ll be playing: we have a match in Los Angeles and then two in Seattle. There will be exciting matches against important opponents. I’ve only faced River Plate in a friendly as a player with Lazio, and I even scored a goal. I’ve never faced the other two teams: it will be a great emotion. 

River Plate is a very important team, their coach is highly skilled, and they have strong players: they also have Colidio, a young player who trained here with me. It will be tough. There will be many Mexican fans, but I’m sure there will also be ours, and they’ll make their presence known."

Inter Milan's Objectives

"Our ambition? We know that Inter Milan always aims for the maximum, but there will be very strong opponents with the same ambition: we want to do well from the first match, even though we know it will be the end of the season. We’ll be around 60-65 games, but we want to honor them to the fullest. 

Why support Inter Milan? It has a huge history, it has always been made up of champions, both in the past and today, and there’s a great atmosphere around this club that has just celebrated its anniversary. I’d say to follow this team closely; it has been making noise for years. 

The ex-player I would have wanted in the squad? There are many, but I think of Zanetti: he’s with us in the management now, and he’s a player who made history both at Inter Milan and in Argentina. We’re happy to have him. The ex-Los Angeles player? I’d say Chiellini. We faced each other many times on the field, and he was always a fair opponent. I know he won the title there, so he must have had an incredible life experience."

NBA

"When I can, I follow basketball. I obviously follow the NBA with great affection. I admire Curry because he is an incredible champion."

The USA?

"I’ve been to Los Angeles with my family, and I had a great time because it’s a wonderful city that offers so much. I’ve never been to Miami, though. I went to the Bahamas on my honeymoon. We were supposed to go to Miami for the last few days, but my wife fell ill, and we returned to Italy."

The Growth at Inter Milan

"I’ve experienced it very well. These four years have been very demanding, but I’m happy that the team has grown day by day. I’m fortunate to have very professional players who always follow me and the staff. 

We started in a certain way, winning national titles, then came the Istanbul final, which was a great source of pride where we could have achieved more, but we were up against City. 

Then came the Second Star, and we want to continue giving great satisfaction to the club and the people. I’ve had the fortune to play in the Champions League many times as a player: I reached the quarter-finals, and it’s a magnificent competition viewed all over the world. 

I couldn’t play in the Club World Cup as a player, but I’ll do it as a coach, and so there’s a huge emotion within me."

Football That Brings People Together

"Football is about unity; it brings together different cultures and continents. The World Cup is proof of that, and it will be an event that brings a lot of people together. At Inter Milan, we have players from different nationalities, each with their own habits. Since it’s a team sport, there are rules that everyone respects."

Racism?

"When something needs to be done, I’m always very active. Even here in Italy, there have been times when it’s been discussed a lot, and I’ve always been one of the first to say it should not exist. 

In 2025, there’s no reason for it to be present. Football has already done a lot, we’ve seen certain games be stopped, and lately, I haven’t seen any form of it, and I’m happy about that because everyone is making progress."

The Fans?

"They’re a very important part of football, and at Inter Milan, we have many fans who follow the team with enthusiasm. I’ve always seen excellent behavior from them."

Source: Fcinter1908.it