“We have reached considerable levels of maturity and awareness, and this makes us face any opponent openly,” said the Nerazzurri director.
“There are players who are emerging more than the others. They are experienced and mature and, close to young players, they create a nice mix for a team that can be protagonists until the end of the season.
“With humility, I can say that we have built a winning model on and off the pitch,” Marotta continued.
“We all have a responsibility and a common task: identify strong players and build a strong team. Cohesion and a common target are crucial.
Former Milan star Alessandro Costacurta has recently said Inter look unplayable at the moment. Does Marotta agree?
“I believe this is a homogenous group. We have important and interchangeable players,” he replied.
“We saw against Napoli how Carlos Augusto played a new role with great authoritativeness. The coach can rely on important players. He [Inzaghi] is really good and has reached a very high level professionally so all these things together help the team work hard to reach important targets.”
Will Inter bring in reinforcements in the January transfer window?
“This is a strong group. We don’t have many weaknesses,” insisted Marotta.
“As you know, it’s not easy to find good opportunities in the January market so I don’t believe we will make coups that will revolutionise the team, maybe if somebody asks to leave. I insist we have important players who fit the club’s needs.”
The Nerazzurri are the Serie A table leaders with the best attack and the less-beaten defence. They beat title holders Napoli 3-0 at the Stadio Maradona. However, Juventus are just two points below Inter in second, so are the Bianconeri the toughest opponents for Simone Inzaghi and his players?
“Right now, I think so,” Marotta replied.
“As I’ve often said, they have an advantage as they don’t play any competition during the week so they have time to prepare. There are few injury risks and we are seeing many in Italy and abroad. Secondly, they have an experienced coach who is doing well, but it’s too early to say which teams are involved in the race. There are teams like Milan,
Roma,
Atalanta and Napoli. We are aware that, beyond the points we’ve earned, our level of performance makes us feel confident.”