Inter President Beppe Marotta insists they are ‘learning from mistakes’ in the Champions League as they face Feyenoord, and Mauro Icardi is ‘not in our plans, we aren’t looking for a fifth striker.’
It kicks off at the Stadion De Kuip in Rotterdam at 20.00 GMT (21.00 CET).
This has been a difficult season so far for the Nerazzurri, more so in the Champions League after defeats to Real Madrid and Club Brugge, then scraping a 1-0 win over Shakhtar Donetsk when down to 10 men.
However, they also suffered their first Serie A defeat of the campaign, losing the Derby della Madonnina 3-1 to Milan on Saturday evening.
Marotta stands up for Inter record
“Winning the Champions League of course is a target everyone would like to achieve, and this squad didn’t quite get there despite great results like winning the Scudetto, Coppa Italia and Supercoppa Italiana,” noted Marotta on Sky Sport Italia.
“We learned from the mistakes made along the way, so we hope to eventually climb this mountain that is filled with obstacles and hidden dangers.”
Inter dropped three points off Serie A leaders Lazio with their defeat to Milan, but the reigning holders of both the Scudetto and Coppa Italia are still the title favourites.
“The team, coach and club speak on a daily basis, this is a very healthy group because there are no bad apples,” assured Marotta.
“We can win or lose, but I want to point out Inter lost only three of the last 40 Serie A matches, and those were all against Milan.”
There was news today that Inter activated the clause to extend Federico Dimarco’s contract, but that is only for one season, while others like Hakan Calhanoglu are still waiting for talks.
“We are not feeling anxious, there are many clubs in a similar situation,” assured the President.
“The only player whose contract is running down is Calhanoglu, but we have a very good rapport with him. Dimarco is a pure Inter fan, we exercised this option to extend for a year and during the next few months we’ll be able to discuss a further extension, because he confirmed his desire to stay, and we want him to continue too. A sense of belonging is very important.”
Inter have a striker shortage, as a flu bug swept through the squad to take out Pio Esposito and Ange-Yoan Bonny in the derby, so with Lautaro Martinez injured, it left Marcus Thuram as the only forward.
Marotta was asked about reports free agent Icardi had proposed himself to Inter as a potential new signing, a return to the club where he played from 2013 to 2019.
“I don’t know who he proposed himself to, but we didn’t hear anything about it,” insisted the President.
“This is a player who gave a lot to Inter, but honestly, he is not part of our plans, just as we are not looking for a fifth striker. It was a fluke that the absences were all in the same area of the team, but we have no problem with goals, as we are one of the most prolific sides in Italy.
“Cristian Chivu is a modern coach who knows how to get the best out of players.”
