Wesley Sneijder feels Inter can ‘send a message’ against Napoli and Real Madrid, but insists only one current player ‘might’ have made it into the Treble-winning team of 2010.
The retired midfielder spoke to reporters as he attended a sponsorship event and was inevitably asked about the upcoming tests for his old club.
That includes hosting Napoli in Serie A at San Siro, then visiting Jose Mourinho’s Real Madrid in the Champions League.
Sneijder looks forward to Real Madrid vs. Inter
“Facing Napoli allows you to prepare better for the Champions League, as the players know they must be at 100 per cent,” Sneijder told reporters.
“Inter can send a message to the world. Beating Napoli and getting a result against Real Madrid, they would launch their candidacy to reach the Champions League Final and win the Scudetto.”
Sneijder was in the 2010 team that won the Treble under Mourinho, along with current Nerazzurri coach Cristian Chivu.
“He arrived at Ajax at age 20 and straight away became captain, while at Inter we shared a room and he only ever talked about football, he was quite dull,” explained the Dutchman.
“I always knew he’d become a great coach, even then he was saying that he wanted this to be his profession. He already had some difficult moments, but after two or three months, the team really started to grow.”
Inter won the domestic Double last season of the Scudetto and Coppa Italia, but Sneijder has little time for comparisons to 2010.
“The current squad is nothing like the Treble team, we truly had everything then, it is not a group that can be repeated. None of the current team would make it into the 2010 side. Well, maybe Lautaro Martinez.”
This Champions League trip to the Bernabeu will also represent a reunion with Denzel Dumfries, who made the move from Inter to Real Madrid this summer.
“When Real Madrid call, you go. Now he has to do better than he did at Inter, because Real Madrid is a bigger club,” replied Sneijder.
“There is a lot of pressure on the team, but Dumfries has quality and if he reached that level, it is also thanks to Inter.
