Head coach Sergio Conceição spoke to Mediaset’s microphones in the post‑match of Inter‑Milan 0‑3: this victory gives the Rossoneri the Coppa Italia final. Below are the declarations of the Portuguese coach:
Can we speak of a masterpiece? You surprised us with the Luka Jović move…
“The feeling before the match with Atalanta was positive, then every match is different. The small details are important. I liked the attitude, the compactness and the solidity. We suffered in the first minutes more than we wanted, we could have done better on the counter‑attacks. We tried to improve 2–3 aspects and we played a second half of the highest level. I’m happy, sometimes in the league we have not shown what we did today. Technical quality must be combined with this humility, this attitude and this desire to win that you see in every action.”
With the Coppa Italia, do you feel you can stay? Conceicao replied:
“It’s not important, it’s important to win against Venezia and then when the final comes we will be happy to play it. We haven't won it yet. I am the same coach as two days ago, it’s not that everything is beautiful or everything is ugly. One must find balance also on an emotional level, not only as a team.”
On Luka Jovic's moment, Conceicao replied:
“Jović has been working very well in the last 3–4 weeks, at his maximum. He also lost a bit of weight, which was important. He gives us that little something we wanted for the match. He doesn’t give defenders any references, he works well with the midfielders. We wanted him to hold up play so to then arrive in the lateral corridors. I have total trust in everyone: in other matches, with other characteristics, maybe Abraham or Santi will play. It’s up to me to choose based on the characteristics one has. In Udine, for example, we saw that Tammy came on and gave an important response. I regret that in the league what we prepare does not come out in the match, but that is another thing.”
Christian Pulisic gave a lot of balance…
“He sacrificed himself for the team, he played a good match. We had to balance the central corridor, he and Jović were important on Asllani. He ran a lot, he gave a lot to the team. Then of course, he lacks a bit of freshness on the ball but there are balances… When we spend more time without the ball, for players like Puli it becomes more difficult. But huge trust in him.”
Conceicao, how do you feel after this 3‑0?
“A mix. I am passionate about this sport. I suffer a little more than someone else. Also at home, I bring football into the house and my wife is not very happy. But now she is happy, perhaps before Venezia I will be a bit calmer. But I keep my feet on the ground, we have won nothing. We have to make a different end to the championship in terms of image, I want a ‘team’ team. There have been league matches in which we do not see ourselves because we have more quality than what we showed.”
