Inter prepare for Roma amid criticism from ex-coach De Boer
>> MILAN: Inter Milan’s Champions League qualifying hopes could hinge on victory over Roma tomorrow, and former coach Frank De Boer believes the ‘Nerazzurri’ only have themselves to blame.
Inter, fourth at 15 points adrift of leaders Juventus and six behind Napoli in the third and final Champions League spot, have failed to qualify for the competition since an ill-fated group stage campaign in 2012.
Victory at a packed San Siro tomorrow would see the 2010 competition winners, now under the helm of Stefano Pioli, take another step towards redressing the balance.
But De Boer suggested Inter could be even closer to their objective — if key players had acted differently during his ill-fated spell that lasted just 85 days. He notably faced the fallout from captain Mauro Icardi’s controversial autobiography, as well as the nocturnal antics of Croatia midfielder Marcelo Brozovic.
“... at Inter I had to deal with so many things away from football, you lose energy,” he said in an interview with dailymail.co.uk.
“Every time you thought, ‘Finally, a good result, everything has calmed down’, then comes Mauro Icardi’s book [in which the captain criticised the club’s Ultras] or Marcelo Brozovic is in the discotheque and you have to punish him.
“We only had three months but honestly, it felt like a year.”
Whatever Icardi’s past sins — he was forced to republish his book following angry complaints by fans over inconsistencies — Pioli will welcome the Argentine back with open arms from a two-game ban.
An Inter win would not only inject life into the race for Champions League spots, but dent Roma’s challenge to a Juventus side heading towards a record sixth consecutive scudetto.
Juve can even add to any pre-match Roma nerves if, as expected, they account for struggling Empoli in Turin a day earlier and go 10 points clear.