The Nerazzurri CEO at the Festival dello Sport said, “Romelu and the bench in Istanbul? Accepting Inter doesn’t depend on a moment. Champions League or Serie A? In Europe, the best team doesn’t always win, but in the league, it does.”
Giuseppe Marotta doesn’t hold back on the stage of the Festival dello Sport, placing the 20th Serie A title ahead of winning the Champions League, which Inter came close to only a few months ago. The Nerazzurri CEO discussed the philosophy that has guided the team during his five years at the helm, Without dwelling on the past, including Romelu Lukaku, whom the Nerazzurri are about to reunite with after the summer snub.
Improvement is the keyword in Marotta’s vision for Inter. “In sports, being ambitious is a virtue, as is setting the bar high,” he explains. “This applies to the entire organization, not just the team on the field but also the invisible team behind the scenes.”
“This Inter is the offspring of Istanbul’s final: 12 players have arrived, and it’s normal to have difficulties in terms of cohesion. However, we have created a strong core of Italians, something that had been missing from Inter for a long time.”
Regarding Lukaku
Marotta avoided controversy, and commented like this the major issue of the Nerazzurri’s summer: “Football is a sport where money is the ruler, bur Lukaku is part of our recent past. But I look at the present and the future.”
“I don’t know what he means when he says that if he talks, chaos will unfol; he is free to speak. I don’t believe that the benching in Istanbul weighed on his decision. Accepting Inter doesn’t depend on a moment but on a relationship like the one we had in the past, based on trust and respect. We have a clear conscience; the rest is a controversy we don’t want to dwell on.”
Marotta also comments on the thousands of whistles that Inter fans are buying to protest against Lukaku: “Let’s consider it a situation that needs to be manage well” says the Nerazzurri CEO. “Fans could see it as a distraction at a time when the team needs their support.”
INTER’S OBJECTIVES
As for objectives, Marotta’s vision for Inter is to continue growing, be a prominent force in Italy, and possibly in Europe. However, when choosing between the Serie A title and the Champions League, the CEO opts for the domestic title that would bring the second star.
“Winning the Champions League would be an extraordinary source of satisfaction for everyone, a gift for Inter fans. As a realist, I say it’s challenging. In the Champions League, the strongest team doesn’t always win. There are favorable circumstances due to draws or opponents’ situations. The league is a stage race where the strongest team surely wins. That’s why I say Serie A.”
