The former Chelsea boss has been charged with overturning a 21-point gap to champions Juventus at the top of Serie A
Inter defender Milan Skriniar says new manager Antonio Conte is the ideal appointment to break Juventus’s Serie A dominance and lead the team to victory in the Champions League.
Conte was appointed at San Siro in May to replace the sacked Luciano Spalletti, one year after leaving Chelsea with whom he won the Premier League in 2017.
The 49-year-old was responsible for leading Juve to the first three of their record eight consecutive Serie A titles, and has been charged by Inter’s Chinese owners with finally wresting the crown away from the side from Turin.
Inter finished 21 points behind Juve in fourth last term, as well as being knocked out in Champions League group stages by Barcelona and Tottenham.
But Slovakian center-back Skriniar believes the former Italy boss is the right man to return Inter to past glories, including challenging for a first Champions League title since Jose Mourinho guided the team to a domestic and European treble in 2010.
“The time has come to win,” Skriniar told Corriere dello Sport. “When you play with the Nerazzurri shirt you can’t be ok with finishing second. I dream of raising the Champions League trophy with Inter.
“Juve has been winning for eight years but the right time has come to try to get closer and beat them. We work hard to win and we can do it but now we have to work even harder.
“A new coach has arrived and we are all loaded, we can’t wait to start the new season in a big way. We must always aim at the maximum, without ever being satisfied.
“Conte? He has the right mindset. We are a strong team and we must work with the goal of winning. The coach explains us every detail, we have changed our way of doing things with respect to the past.”
One of Conte’s first acts as manager has been the capture of Atletico Madrid defender Diego Godin, who has joined the club on a free transfer after his contract at the Wanda Metropolitano expired.
The Uruguayan will join Skriniar in the centre of Inter’s defence alongside Andrea Rannochia.
“I’ll have to adapt to the three-man defence but I’m not worried,” said the Slovakian. “Godin has the experience and the winning mentality that is needed. He is used to challenging and stopping top players, he is a really good transfer.”
Be the first to comment