Marotta: ‘Inter showed courage choosing Chivu’
Inter President Beppe Marotta admits he didn’t expect Cristian Chivu to win the Scudetto in his first season, and potentially the Coppa Italia too. ‘We didn’t go in blind, but showed courage.’
The game with Parma kicks off at San Siro at 19.45 UK time (20.45 CEST).
You can follow all the build-up and action as it happens on the Liveblog.
The champagne is on ice in the dressing room, because just one point tonight will be enough to guarantee the Nerazzurri become Champions of Italy.
As Napoli and Milan both dropped points already this weekend, a draw will suffice to get the Scudetto party started.
Marotta ready for Inter success
“Let’s be prudent here. We know that this is the most important exam for the diploma, and we’ll give it our all to achieve this target that would make the fans, players, club and coach happy,” Marotta told DAZN Italia.
“We hope it can be a great game and that is concluded with the Scudetto, but Parma deserve respect.”
Chivu had been a contentious choice when picked to replace Simone Inzaghi, but has proved to be a success with the title and potentially also the Coppa Italia.
“An important value for Inter is courage, I think that is the main fuel behind this decision made by the owners on one side and the management on the other. We certainly didn’t go in blind, we evaluated Chivu’s skills and characteristics, which suited our needs and our weaknesses,” explained the President.
“We had no doubts he would have a positive campaign, but if it ends with the Scudetto and the Coppa Italia, that would be a truly extraordinary season.”
Inter are hoping to make this a Double, because they will face Lazio in the Coppa Italia Final at the Stadio Olimpico on May 13.
However, they haven’t clinched the title on home turf for 37 years, so doing it at San Siro would be a relatively new experience.
“We were optimistic from the start, as Chivu worked in our youth academy, so we knew him as a coach and a person with great values. Admittedly, we didn’t expect him to have such a remarkable season, with the only blotch being that Champions League elimination, but these things happen.
“We are very pleased, because he came up through our youth academy, which adds to the pride of this club.”
This is set to be the 10th Scudetto for Marotta at two different clubs, as he won with both Juventus and Inter, but this would be his first as a club President.
He was asked if he had any updates on the refereeing scandal and the suggestions that Inter did not want certain referees?
“No, I have nothing to add to last week, we are very relaxed and not concerned.”