After leading his team to a 3-2 comeback victory at home in Serie A's third round, Inter manager Simone Inzaghi held a press conference to discuss the thrilling match.

What made you most happy tonight, especially given it was such an important comeback victory that showed character and resilience?

I'm going to take the questions one at a time so I don't miss anything. Regarding the positives from tonight, what I valued most was our reaction after falling 0-2 down. What I admire is that from the start, we tried to maintain our style of play without losing ourselves, without panicking about conceding goals. I'm proud of the courage, determination, and quality the players showed on the pitch.

The first goal conceded put us on the back foot because it came from a transition with two deflections that favored them, and the second goal was a direct consequence of the first. But our team didn't fall apart—we stayed in the match and worked to increase intensity, trying to use the flanks more. At that moment, we had high-quality players on the pitch capable of creating threats and changing the situation. Perhaps going 1-2 down gave us a bit more impetus. Through our substitutions, we took calculated risks, and those risks paid off in the end.

After it became 2-2, the game's development became rare in Italian football, as both sides usually settle for a draw. But at that moment, there was exciting danger from both sides, and it could have ended any way. What I admire most is my players' courage in accepting that they could concede goals at certain moments. The secret is how you respond and what you show on the pitch. Today, our efforts were rewarded.

In your time at Inter, is this the most interesting match you've managed?

Although there were some great matches last season, I don't know if any were as compelling as today's. It was certainly interesting for those watching on TV and for those at the stadium. San Siro today felt like a roaring cauldron. In the final minutes, I literally couldn't communicate with the pitch about how we should position ourselves because we had so many midfielders and attackers and very few defenders. The reason I ran to the touchline was to make clear to the players our tactical positioning for the final five minutes so we could have more balance.

When I see my team not losing its character, maintaining our style, implementing our tactical principles, and knowing how to react in difficult moments—which isn't the first time—I'm very pleased. That's what matters to me.

When you ran to the touchline just now, was it purely to convey tactical instructions, or was there also an emotional release—a statement that nobody can say you can't win big matches anymore?

Regarding "big matches," I actually asked a reporter yesterday to define what he means by a "big match." I have no disrespect for anyone, and that phrase was misinterpreted. I want to be clear that for me, every Serie A match is extremely important. If last season I could still understand those questions and try to explain something, this season I simply don't understand them. Because we are now Serie A champions—we won the title without depending on specific results from certain matches.

I don't disrespect anyone, but I hope that when reporting, everyone can faithfully restore and present the complete content of what I said and the context in which I said it, rather than picking fragments that are convenient for some to stir up disputes, gain attention, attract followers, and create negativity. I think this is highly undesirable in today's football. When reporting certain things, a certain level of professionalism must be maintained.

I'm not speaking about you here, because unfortunately—or fortunately, I'm not sure which—this type of news is completely distorted on social media. On social media, what people seek has nothing to do with sporting education and the values we want to transmit. Now everyone is just sowing hatred, and I don't want to see that. I hope in this world, especially in sports, everyone can live in peace, support their team, and after 90 minutes of play—whether the result is a loss, a win, or a draw—it should all come back to our love for this beautiful sport.

At the same time, we must recognize that we have a responsibility to educate the next generation, especially our children. We haven't inherited anything from our ancestors, but we've borrowed this world from future generations, so we must guide our children's growth in the best way. Yet today I still see some seven- or eight-year-old children, held by their parents, showing us the middle finger. That's not a good image for the world, nor a good example for football.

You finished with a very aggressive 4-3-3 formation. Given the squad additions this summer, will this kind of tactical flexibility—which began to emerge last season—become more frequent? Will the team become more "chameleon-like"?

No, the essence isn't the formation, but how we play. We choose the right players based on the specific demands of the match at various stages and situations. For example, a player like Diouf brings us more in one-on-one situations; we also have many excellent players who can excel and help the team in specific moments. Some forwards stand out in specific situations—like Lautaro's ability to hold the ball with his back to goal in the box, while others can excel in the box and attack in depth, and some can help organize attacks. We're not thinking about the shape of the formation, but about how we play, making adjustments based on our players' individual characteristics and the specific demands of certain moments.

For your competitors, must it be bad news that even after being 0-2 down, the team and the fans showed such surprising desire and hunger to win?

When you've just had a successful season winning the championship, the biggest risk is often a possible drop in motivation and mentality. But I've never seen that in my players. From the first day of training camp in Germany to our tour in Australia, they've been excellent, and that's entirely due to them.

But it's unfair to limit our perspective to just this year. Over the last six or seven years, this team has consistently proven it can maintain a very high level of competitiveness, hunger, fighting spirit, and quality. They know how to compete and stay highly competitive, and that's what we want to continue this season. We must continue to progress—that's my only demand. I'm pleased to see the team show such a reaction to adversity while maintaining such strong desire and hunger for growth and improvement.

Traduzido por IA.

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