Jose Mourinho explains why he has again frozen out Adriano and what is behind Inter’s poor recent performances.
“We are not yet playing the kind of football I like. We need to work hard and also realise it will take time to achieve stability in terms of team performance.”
It was widely expected that Adri would be on the bench for Sunday afternoon’s top of the table clash with Udinese, but the striker – punished for turning up late to training after going dancing – is not even in the squad.
“I have no problem with Adriano,” insisted Mourinho. “I will call him when the time is right to do so.
“Adriano may well be sad and angry at my decision, but he must continue working and resting the way he has done this week. Only then will he return to the playing field.”
The Nerazzurri have had a number of problems recently and not just with Adriano, but especially in defence where they conceded five goals in two games against Reggina and Anorthosis.
“I do not agree that we have defensive problems,” insisted the former Chelsea boss.
“Don’t forget four of the five goals came about because of individual errors, not an issue with the tactical system or being unbalanced by so many strikers.
“You can’t play with fire when it comes to football. At the end of the day, we could say the 3-3 result was not a bad one in Cyprus. We were 3-2 down with half-an-hour to go, yet equalised and had time to nearly win it.”
Mourinho is well aware his men cannot afford to make a similar mistake at the back against Udinese, who are the most prolific side in Serie A with an average of two goals per game.
It is also notable that Inter have not beaten the Friulani, home or away, for two years with four straight draws.
“Udinese are a tough team to face, but they also have a consolidated style of football, which means we can work on picking them apart tactically before the game.”
Inter squad: Toldo, Julio Cesar, Orlandoni; Cordoba, Maxwell, Maicon, Burdisso, Materazzi, Samuel; Zanetti, Stankovic, Vieira, Cambiasso, Mancini, Quaresma; Ibrahimovic, Cruz, Crespo, Obinna, Balotelli.
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