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Massimo Moratti on Sky Italia programme
Saturday, 05 May 2007 08:56:01
MILAN - Inter president Massimo Moratti gave the following interview to Sky Italia on Wednesday 2 May. The interview will be broadcast during Saturday's programme 100% sabato on Sky Sport 1. Dr Moratti, your father said to put other people's happiness before your own. An almost Franciscan concept...
"It's quite normal. It probably happens to everybody. Other people's happiness can make you understand whether you have done something positive or not. More than being a teaching carved in stone, my father's was a way of seeing life to understand if things were working or not." During these days of Scudetto celebrations, did you think for a moment what your father would have said to you?
"No, I didn't think about it because I believe he would have seen this thing with the pleasure with which a father sees a son, and here we are back to the concept of happiness. As a good fan, he too would have been happy for Inter's triumphs, but I don't even want to think about what he would have thought before, in those years where we didn't win." President, what advice to do have for your children today?
"In them, I see more or less the same attitude we had with my father. It's the same attitude my children have with me. They try to understand if this thing makes me suffer, does me good or bad, how I am, and if I'm happy. This attitude is linked to my paternal figure, my support for Inter, and the affection they have for me. My children are obviously happy about the Scudetto because they have seen reached an objective that we had been pursuing for a long time, and at a time when many things were set straight." Let's change subject. November 1995. Sampdoria 0-0 Inter. Roberto Mancini is sent off by referee Nicchi, and is suspended for five matches. Yet Moratti called him the same evening, asking him to join Inter. Do you still remember that episode?
"What date was it? The same thing happened with Eric Cantona, who had been suspended... You can see that it's the destiny of the great champions to end up like this... However, I knew how to separate these suspensions from the talent of these men, who would have given our Inter a distinguishing feature. Both Mancini and Cantona would have made us stronger. And I think the fans always want talented players who lead the team and leave a good memory. And besides, I had a predilection for Mancini in those years because he played well." You met Mancini for dinner the day after that telephone call. What was you impression of him twelve years ago?
"Mancini's personality hasn't changed much. He already had a strong personality back then, he was sure of what he said, and timid like he is now, but his likeableness and his gratitude for my interest in him was clear. As everyone knows, he didn't arrive because he was very attached to Sampdoria, but he behaved in a pleasant manner during dinner that evening. It was a basis for his arrival sooner or later. And later on he arrived." What did Moratti like about Mancini the player? Because he was a genius, a rebel, or a genius-rebel?
"First of all, because he was a great player. And his character was a bit like Inter's at the time. He was quite rebellious in terms of tactical discipline." Let's move on to Mancini the coach. Is it true that last autumn, after reading the Inter bench was hanging in the balance, Mancini called you to say 'president, don't do anything silly'?
"What he said exactly was: 'I'll give you some adivce, don't sack the coach'. Said seriously, I found it to be fantastic. For him to advise me not to sack the coach. I started laughing. They had never said it so well, but in truth I hadn't remotely thought of it. But he told me seriously: 'don't dismiss the coach because Inter will win this year'. The way he said it, it seemed like advice with no ulterior motive, and perhaps it was like this. It was almost as if he saw a change of coach as something negative for Inter and not for himself, that he could see much more easily what the potential of the team was. But I kept faith because we had the right players and Mancini was ready to get the team off the ground. At the time I didn't think he would have a championship like this, but I had this feeling more because of his project and because he sees the players improving every day." You recently said: 'Mancini takes aim and hits the target'. Is this the reason why you're dreaming, hoping and thinking that Inter can win the Champions League next season?
"I made that declaration with a certain coldness. In the sense that in his first two seasons at Inter, it's not as if Mancini made experiments that negatively affected the team's performance, but tried to understand what the best system was in order to reach the finishing post. And he had great success in his third year. I'm convinced the same thing can happen in the Champions League. I might be wrong, but he's a stubborn person and he will do it." Another of your declarations: 'When Mancini goes, he won't behave like Mr Lippi'. What did you mean?
"I was referring to contractual matters. Mancini has a rather long contract. However, it wasn't meant to offend Lippi. Many coaches have done the same as Lippi." Is Mancini like Helenio Herrera?
"To be like Herrera you have to win like Herrera, who won a lot and who can therefore be remembered as a legendary coach. The two people have different personalities but are both very professional, suited to the times, and have strong personalities. I think these qualities are necessary to reach great triumphs." Were you honestly thinking of a shake-up after Villarreal last year?
"No. I have always thought we could count on Mancini for a long time. There was a time at the end of last season when we threw away a few matches. We lost them badly without getting points, slipping from second to third place. I wasn't very pleased with that period, I was worried there was a detachment of the team's duty towards the fans and the club. That was the time when I thought not about a shake-up, but about looking around." Around this time a year ago you said Fabio Capello was the best coach. Is it still like this?
"Each person is good at a certain time. Capello, who was helped a lot as we have seen, showed he was firm, knew how to lead the team, and win. The duty of a president is always to give to the fans, because the team belongs to the fans, so you always have to try to give the fans the best around, even if you might have other preferences. In the end, my preference won. I preferred Mancini." And a year ago, Moratti was about to sell the club. There were negotiations with a foreign group. Who was it?
"Those with the temptation to buy, cannot be revealed. It was a very important group, but I preferred for the thing not to go ahead." Why not? Just because of Calciopoli?
"Well, in some respects Calciopoli was already something. Also, there has always been great patience. I don't know where it comes from, but it props you up." Is there an image, a photograph of this Scudetto that you will never be able to forget?
"I really liked what happened in Siena. I really liked winning in Siena because Siena seemed like a garden. The city is beautiful, it was a beautiful day, there was green everywhere, the fans were happy. That moment sticks in mind. It reminded me of past Scudettos. Not ours, but those won with president Masseroni (in 1952/53 and 1953/54). I remember the celebrations at the San Siro in those championships. That (in Siena) was a moment of such happiness that it compensates for all the efforts made during the year." The nicest text message you received after the Scudetto triumph?
"If this is where you want to get to, the text I received from Ronaldo was very concise. I received many others from many fans. The fans views football seriously at the time of victory." The nicest one?
"I'd say Ronaldo's. He needn't have done it, but it was a nice thing." Let's move on to Zlatan Ibrahimovic. From the outside it's striking, antihistorical even, to see the fans' affection for Ibra, as if he had never played for Juventus. Marco Tardelli, Giovanni Trapattoni, Lippi and many other ex-Juventini have always been accompanied by the Bianconeri shadow. This hasn't happened with the Swede. Why?
"First of all, because he's likeable, and this is something you either have or don't have. Also, he has given his all, he has never stopped short of giving his best. So he immediately entered the fans' hearts because of his joviality and his way of playing. Also, because he has overcome this wall. They viewed him with suspicion at the start, and the fans have really taken to him for how he has overcome the wall. So they have forgotten the fact that he was part of an enemy team that won." Tell us the truth. When the Calciopoli scandal exploded last year did you say to yourself 'I thought as much', or 'I'd never have thought it would be like this'?
"I'd never have thought it would be like this. It's humiliating and you say: 'but what was the point of being there?'" Massimo De Santis, a guest on a private television station on Monday evening, said that Giacinto Facchetti often telephoned him. What's your opinion of this declaration? Desperate? Squalid? Cowardly?
(Smiles bitterly) "They were very good friends, certainly very good friends... Let's not joke. I think that a person can say anything, whether true or untrue, to justify oneself. But it's certainly in bad taste." How do you feel when you see Luciano Moggi on television?
"He's been on a bit less in recent days... But it's the effect of a clearly Italian thing, the use of someone's image. Moggi was successful somehow or other so as such, this media appeal was exploited. He was more the object than the subject in this matter, taken on and sold by a television. It was a risk he was running if something worse had happened after, and he took this risk." Will the rivalry with Juventus end sooner or later, or be mitigated? Would you be prepared to take the first step as a sign of appeasement, to soften the tension?
"There has to be rivalry and antagonism, but I think we will get there without any rancour or trouble, thanks to Juventus' new managers who are working in this direction, and the players themselves, who are the best part of football. We will certainly be enemies on the pitch, and antagonists in the newspapers because of the ambitions both teams have, but without this kind of strong ill feeling, which will certainly decrease." Did you see the banner 'Peppino you are Italian champion'? What did you think?
"I will always remember the Avvocato Prisco. I have often spoken about him. Besides his great intelligence, he had incredible strength, and a formidable spirit. He said very true things that made you laugh, and in his own unique style. And he was a big, big Inter fan." Alvaro Recoba always says 'I will stay if Moratti wants me to'. Will it end up like this again this time?
"I read it in the newspapers the other day..." Adriano also says 'if Moratti wants, I will stay'?
"So does every player, if the president wants to sell him... But we have chosen Adriano more than once: when we got him after loaning him out, and last year when we decided to continue with him after his bad patch. Adriano has such potential that he's certainly the best around, so you can't abandon him just because of a bad patch. He is certainly a player to follow. We have to keep close to him and count on his constant desire to improve. I believe he has it, and he is also a good lad, and he is very young." Don't you think he's like Godot. Inter are waiting for him and he never arrives?
"He might not have done too much this year, but he helped win matches that, when you put them all together, helped win you the championship. He is still of a higher level than an average player because he has class and physical power. He's a player who can give more, and he has already given, so it's not as if we're waiting for something we're hoping for. We're waiting for a talent we have already seen." Are you still angry about the suspension?
"Yes, for the matter in itself. I thought it was strange and I find it hard to understand, but I'm wrong because on the other side there are people who do their job. I will take advantage of this chance to clear things up: any opinion I give on this matter is not an opinion of the people who gave this suspension. They are people I know and respect because I know their value. I'm hoping they're not offended. As far as the matter in itself is concerned, the whole thing should be re-examined because you can't review a refereeing decision and penalise a team afterwards, even if it's the biggest mistake in the world." What's your explanation of the relationship with Ronaldo? First there was a great love, then an abrupt parting, and then the Brazilian's transfer to Milan...
"There are no hard feelings, neither on one side nor the other. It was an objective situation involving a great player who left Inter for Real Madrid, and Real Madrid paid to have him. And then that same player returns to Italy, chooses the wrong team and instead of coming to us ends up at the team with different colours in the same city. So at this point it's normal for the fans to feel offended. Ronaldo wasn't just a great player, the Inter fans suffered over his physical problems. They certainly prayed for Ronaldo, they all said a small prayer for Ronaldo. I'm not saying they felt betrayed, but misunderstood, and Ronaldo will always pay for this. As far as personal aspects are concerned, Ronaldo is capable of winning back everyone's approval. He has such talent that you don't find yourself rooting against him. I don't have a dislike for him. This situation will get back to normal, but I can understand the Inter fans." If Ronaldo called you to say he wants to return to Inter?
"He is a good player, and he will be a very good manager, but for now I'm evaluating him as a player." There's talk of a serie of triumphs at Inter. Is Moratti touching wood?
"No. I''ll just say that we'll talk about it again in five years. We need to confirm this continuity and try not to have negative changes. This team is strong, has a young coach who still wants to show a lot. We'll see in five years and see if it has been a series of triumphs or a flash in the pan. I think it's hard for things to go badly. There's a good foundation, the players know each other well, and I won't turn everything upside down because it will be easier for them next year than this year." Are you looking to bring in a great player a là Ibra for the centenary?
"Every year there's an excuse. First it's because you're not winning, then it's because of the centenary... I think it would be wise not to buy anyone this year. But then there are certain opportunities that enable you to intervene. At the moment I'm not chasing any big names at the expense of the team, which I want to keep as strong as it is, and with the spirit that it had this year." Deco's agent was in Milan in recent days...
"I read it in the newspapers... Deco is good, but I hope Figo stays. The best we can find is Figo because he is intelligent, modest, can cover various roles, and sacrifices himself for everyone." Could the young player Pato be the gamble that Ronaldo was in 1997?
"There are a lot of highly talented young players in South America at the moment. Pato is not the only one who is being followed to see whether he will be the best in the future. Pato is the one mentioned the most, but there are others they have already told me about. But the policy of following young players certainly isn't stupid." | 
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发表于 2007-5-2 12:53:00
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发表于 2007-5-2 14:59:00
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