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| Mou: Inter proved they're the best |
Saturday 18 April, 2009 |
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Jose Mourinho claims Inter “proved we are the best team in Italy” and will win the Scudetto in a few weeks.
“I like playing in the stadium of an historic club, getting a point and seeing a team that is overjoyed with this result. I think that is the greatest show of respect Inter can receive,” he said of the stoppage-time 1-1 draw in Turin.
“Tonight Inter proved why we are top of the table, have a 10-point lead and are the strongest side in Italy. We will have the Scudetto in a few weeks.
“At this moment we need eight points from six games, three of them at San Siro, so it really is a comfortable situation for us. Of course we must wait for the mathematical certainty.
“Obviously no other team in Europe has a 10-point lead with six rounds to go, the head-to-head in their favour and Juve-Milan still to come.”
Juventus were reduced to 10 men after Tiago Mendes' dismissal and trailing a Mario Balotelli goal, but in injury time Zdenek Grygera nodded in a Sebastian Giovinco corner to equalise.
“There were two minutes of stoppages left and Juve put extra men in the box for the corner. Giovinco takes very good kicks and we were marking all the most important players, but Grygera was 'extra' and found space.
“Maybe we thought the game was in our pocket, but Giovinco's corner was fantastic and it's not easy to get past [Patrick] Vieira as the first man.”
“The team deserved to win this match and even without the victory proved they are the best.”
Mourinho changed his tactics to a 4-1-4-1 system with Esteban Cambiasso protecting the defence.
“I thought it was important to have Cambiasso in front of the defence so [Sulley] Muntari and [Dejan] Stankovic could keep the pressure on Tiago and [Christian] Poulsen. When we play with the diamond midfield, it is easier for our opponents to push us through the middle.
“On the right flank we had to take on [Pavel] Nedved, who often goes between the lines, so [Davide] Santon is not that experienced in this type of marking and I preferred [Javier] Zanetti for this match.
“On the other side [Cristian] Chivu doesn't push forward, but he is comfortable on the ball and can spark movement in the others.
“We go home with these 10 points that should've been 13, but this is football. We won at Udine with a worse performance, so it's swings and roundabouts.”
Balotelli scored the goal for Inter, but also risked a red card for swearing at the referee and got Tiago sent off for a 'frustration foul.'
“I am satisfied with everything he did in terms of football, as he did the movements we had worked on,” said Mourinho.
“I don't like that he talks back to the referee. I understand he is 18 years old and the fans are putting an unfair pressure on him, especially as racism is something that must feel awful.
“There can be no doubts over Tiago's red card. I was afraid after that with the Juve players putting pressure on the referee that Balotelli would get a second yellow, so I replaced him.”
Mourinho gave an interview with Champions League Magazine before the second leg with Manchester United in which he suggested Inter could only win Serie A and not in Europe.
“When you look at this set of semi-finals it seems obvious these are very strong teams with immense technique, physical strength, stamina and mentality,” he explained to Sky Italia when asked about the comments.
“It's no coincidence Chelsea are playing their fifth semi in six years, while United and Barca are also regulars at this stage. A miracle happens sometimes in football, but usually the best emerges. That is why Inter will win the title, because they are the best team in Italy.”
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Juv 1-1 Int: 10-man Juve catch Inter
Despite Tiago Mendes' red card, Juve snatched a stoppage-time equaliser through Zdenek Grygera to cancel out Mario Balotelli's counter. More |
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