At 03:00 Beijing Time (CET) on October 14, Inter Milan will host Brugge in the second matchday of the Champions League group stage. Ahead of the match, Inter Milan coach Simone Inzaghi attended a press conference. This article covers the first part of that press conference.

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My question to you concerns the internal perception and atmosphere surrounding this competition this season. We've heard many players openly express their ambitions as they have before. For example, Bisseck said, "We want to win the Champions League," and Zielinski also said, "We want to win the Champions League." Even President Marotta clearly stated, "This is a dream, but our goal is to compete for this trophy regardless of anything." Has there genuinely been a shift in perception throughout your journey in this competition? Do you feel that everyone has a stronger sense of self-awareness and confidence this season?

This is indeed a mission that comes with the status of a big club; it drives you to pursue all the objectives that a team like ours has set for itself in a single season. However, when you talk about a "dream," it doesn't mean that simply talking about it will make it easy to achieve. A dream must be transformed into a sense of responsibility, into solid hard work, into the pursuit of breakthroughs and progress every single day, into continuous self-improvement both individually and collectively. Only then do you have a chance to touch such a grand dream as winning the Champions League.

Talking about a dream is not the same as talking about victory itself; talking about a dream means taking on clear responsibility, deeply understanding the mission that comes with being a top club—this compels you to set ambitious goals for yourselves. However, you must never overlook the sweat, hard work, and the entire process of struggle, because you cannot ignore any essential element required to achieve such an extraordinary objective. There is no universal shortcut or ready-made formula; the only thing that exists is consistent hard work every single day.

No amount of money can directly buy you a trophy of that magnitude, and no player or coach can guarantee that you will succeed in winning it. The only thing we can be certain of is that you must work hard, and you must also have enough courage... But how you translate that into action and work to achieve this dream is what is truly crucial.

Good afternoon, Simone. I'd like to ask you to clarify and update us on the latest situation regarding injured players returning and squad rotation. Specifically, is Calhanoglu currently in good physical condition? Will Lautaro return to the starting lineup in tomorrow's match? I'd also like to know if you're planning to make many changes to the starting lineup compared to the last league match against Parma.

There will indeed be some squad rotation. Calhanoglu is currently in very good physical condition—in fact, after the last match's press conference, I was quite surprised by a journalist's question because someone told me they saw him with an ice pack on the bench. I wasn't aware of that because, to me, he left the field completely healthy and uninjured. So no, he never had any substantial injury issue. He just had a minor knock and applied ice as a precautionary measure. He is now fully available and ready to play.

Good afternoon. I'd also like to ask about individual players. I want to know how far Spence has progressed in his physical and competitive recovery. Is he ready to play for a longer period, say an hour, rather than just the thirty minutes we saw him play as a substitute the other day? Also, after the international break, how do you see Bastoni's condition? His performances with the national team seem to have restored his former brilliance...

I'll start with Jed (Spence), since that's the first question. Jed has completed a full week of training, in addition to the 25 minutes he played as a substitute last Saturday. Regarding today's and yesterday's pre-match training sessions, I don't consider them as regular training that significantly builds up physical reserves, but rather to add sharpness and explosiveness for tomorrow's match.

His physical condition is indeed improving, and I'm very pleased to see that he's gradually shedding and overcoming the pressure and negative emotions that had accumulated previously—because he suffered an injury when he first joined, which prevented him from participating in the full integration process during the first month of this season. The opportunity to play 25 minutes of actual match time last Saturday, I'm confident, has greatly boosted his adrenaline, confidence, and sense of responsibility toward his teammates. Like all of us, I'm very pleased he's available again whenever needed.

Regarding the other question about Alessandro (Bastoni), I don't want to dwell on the injustice he previously suffered, everything he had to bear and go through, and the public reaction following that incident, including his experience in the World Cup playoff matches for the national team. We all know Alessandro's true value in our hearts, his unique qualities, how important his individual strength is to the team on the pitch, and also his symbolic significance for the Italian national team.

In his last two matches, he scored two important goals, once again demonstrating his ability. But this doesn't mean that Alessandro needs to do these things to prove himself to anyone; he has always been a top-class player of very high value. Sometimes people often forget that we need—I wouldn't dare use the word "pamper"—but we do need to protect and care for our players, especially those who represent Italy, given all the challenges the national team has faced previously—particularly regarding World Cup qualification—the situation has been far from smooth. However, Alessandro is not only a very valuable asset to our Inter Milan, but also an important asset to Italian football as a whole.

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