PORTOFINO (Genoa) - Massimo Moratti answered questions from journalists before giving his speech at F.C. Internazionale's 2008 Workshop at the Portofino Kulm Hotel. The Inter president commented on the impact of new coach José Mourinho and the club's summer transfer targets.
This is what he had to say:
President Moratti, managing director Ernesto Paolillo said last night that bringing Mourinho to Inter means a greater return for the sponsors on a global scale compared with what was generated previously by Roberto Mancini.
"This isn't a comparison between the two. Mourinho is an international personality thanks to his career and victories. It's as if we had bought a great champion, but we honestly hadn't thought about this before."
So were you surprised by the great media success of his presentation?
"No, it wasn't a surprise, but the media impact was greater than we initially thought, especially in Italy."
There has been a rise in season ticket sales since Mourinho's presentation...
"Apart from the three Scudettos, there's obviously great interest in the new coach. I'm also curious to see what he will do."
According to the analyses given to the sponsors, Inter have overtaken Milan in terms of the number of fans...
"I have always thought that we had more fans."
In the meantime, the condition of Zlatan Ibrahimovic's knee is a cause for worry...
"It's certainly on our minds but the experts, both ours and those of the Swedish national team, are not worried. So we'll try not to worry either."
How high is the risk of a possible operation?
"They have excluded this. As a cure they say he must rest after the European Championship and have the usual holiday a footballer has after a demanding season."
Is it true that you have spent a crazy amount to renew Ibra's contract?
"I deny that there are crazy numbers involved, but I can confirm that the agreement comes mainly from his desire to stay and win the Champions League and become recognised as the best player in Europe. Has he signed? Yes, I think so. I don't sign the contracts."
Let's go back to Mourinho. There's great interest in what kind of relationship you will have with a coach who is very firm in terms of his transfer targets...
(Laughs) "We made two separate lists. Now we will see... It depends on his financial strength... Jokes aside, Mourinho hasn't caused any problems over transfers, and neither did Mancini before him. I will explain: we have always acted according to the economic indications of the club, and then the club has aimed to help the coach build a winning team. Mancini managed to, and now it's the turn of Mourinho, who hasn't made any impossible requests."
Could the arrival of Scolari at Chelsea be an obstacle in terms of your transfer dealings?
(Laughs again) "It depends on which players the journalists have decided Inter must buy... I don't think it will be an obstacle, but it's never easy to buy players."
Is Portuguese player Deco really one of the midfielders that Inter is targeting?
"Deco is one of the players with characteristics that could be useful to our team, but you either buy him or another player with the same characteristics - not everyone that I'm reading about in these days..."
Can we say that Lampard is the player around which Mourinho wants to build his Inter team?
"We can say that Mourinho likes Lampard a lot. He's a great player. But this doesn't mean it's easy to get him."
Have you already tried?
"Yes, I think so. I still don't know. For now we have created a strategy with Mourinho."
Besides the names, the fans are curious to see how Mourinho will get Inter playing and how he is approaching the new season.
"I think it's important to see what Mourinho's expectations of his players are, because he has said that he is very happy to find such a strong squad, both on an individual level and as a group. But he will have his plans and we will see them on the pitch when the team starts working with the new coach."
Mourinho's idea is to build a team that plays entertaining football...
"I think this is his aim. He has done it with other teams but it obviously depends on the players you have and their interpretation of the match."
Has Massimo Moratti asked Mourinho to win the Champions League, just like many fans have asked?
"I have always considered the championship to be fundamental. You certainly can't abandon it and focus solely on the Champions League, otherwise you create a continuity problem within the team."
By choosing Mourinho, did you want to give something extra to Inter?
"We should repeat that this didn't all start from a long-term project, but from a change of course. Once forced to change, I thought that we had to get the number one, and Mourinho is the number one for me. He has all those qualities of a number one: attention, professionalism, the will to win, the novelty."
He has been compared to Helenio Herrera. Do you agree?
"It's hard to make comparisons. Fifty years have gone by and the methods of communication have changed. One thing they have in common is the hard work done to cover everything."
Let's go back to the transfer market. Will Adriano return after his loan period at San Paolo?
"Yes, he will return. Mourinho wants to see how he is and understand what part he wants to play in what is a competitive squad for next season."
So is it true that Mourinho hasn't asked you to sign any strikers?
"Yes, it's true."
Some mind-boggling amounts have been mentioned for some players, like Quaresma. Are valuations of 40 million euros too high for Inter?
"It's a lot of money. It's not as if it's not the time to spend a fortune, but sometimes you can get a bargain. But at the moment we have no intention of entering into this sort of spiral."
But they say that a very expensive champion like Cristian Ronaldo could change club...
(Laughs) "So this means he's not that expensive..."
How close is Brazilian player Mancini to Inter?
"If I listen to my men and read the papers, they are all close... But there's nothing concrete just yet, and it's the same for the others. We have just made a project with Mourinho, and we will move forward without rushing."
Are you satisfied with the almost official agreement regarding Mario Balotelli's contract extension?
"It's important for him too. After all, he's a very young boy. I can understand his sudden success, but life is made up of small steps and the first step was to realise the pleasure of being at Inter and the pleasure of having a great coach ready to launch you, like he had before. Now he has the chance to show what he's worth. In the future he will get what he deserves."
The rumours about Barcelona's Xavi?
"No, I really don't think so."
It seems as if Juventus are further ahead in the race to sign Roma's Aquilani...
"Everyone likes him, but if we buy a central midfielder we won't buy two."
Will you sell a lot of players?
"If we take into consideration those whose contracts are up at the end of June, there aren't that many. There won't be a big exodus. There may be a few who feel they want to go elsewhere to play with more continuity after talking with Mourinho and listening to his ideas. We will see. Crespo, for example? No, it's not necessarily Crespo. Is Chivu untransferable? Yes."
Any margins of reconciliation with Roberto Mancini in order to avoid going to court?
"Yes, I think so. Have we heard from each other? Yes."
To finish off, the European Championship. Will Italy qualify?
"It's very hard. If they win they have an excellent chance, but Romania are strong so it won't be easy for Holland to beat them."
ეს არი გუშინდელი მორატისთან ჩაწერილი ინტერვიუ,საინტერესოა,კონკრეტულ პასუხებს არაფერზე არ სცემს,ის ეკი მე ეჭვი მაქვს რომ ბევრი ფული დახარჯოს წელს ზაფხულში ტრანსფერებზე
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