Alessandro Bastoni tells his story on Frog Talks (Andrea Ranocchia’s podcast) from his arrival at Inter to the weight of Antonio Conte: “In the first year, I fought wars to leave, there was a lot of competition, but he insisted. Now I feel at home.”
“Here I feel good. It’s my fifth year with Inter. I arrived when I was 19, and now I’m 24. Playing at the San Siro in front of 75,000 people – it’s all great. Right now, I don’t see myself leaving here; I really feel at home.” These are the words of Alessandro Bastoni on Frog Talks, the podcast of his former teammate Andrea Ranocchia. The 1999-born Italian is now a recognized leader within Inter’s locker room and a key player in Simone Inzaghi‘s defense, but it hasn’t always been this way.
“I came from Atalanta. I was with Inter for three weeks before going on loan to Parma. I had a meniscus injury. The first two years were tough. After my first season at Parma, I was lucky to find Conte in Milan. I fought hard to leave; they had just signed Diego Godin, and there were Skriniar and De Vrij. I played 25 games at Parma, had a good season, but I didn’t expect to make it at Inter… Conte insisted anyway. Sometimes Barella and I talk about it; we struggled a lot with Conte, but we felt so good that it was okay.”
How can you leave, with fans like these?
Finally, a tribute from the defender to the fans who support the team every weekend at home and at San Siro: “The fans are spectacular. From the first moment I’ve been at Inter, I’ve never seen San Siro with fewer than 70,000 spectators. They help us a lot, there are no more boos, there is only full support. I even see people aged 85-90 waiting for the bus at the stadium. The passion that people put into it makes you wonder, why would you ever want to leave?“
