"Super Perisic will surprise. I wanted Balo but he's at Milan. Scudetto? Inter."
"Sinisa? I talked to him yesterday. Stankovic is right: they are the favorites, they have already won two derbies this year..." Roberto Mancini was at Gazzetta headquarters yesterday in a gray suit to talk about the world of Inter. Mihajlovic? He is a friend of his, with the capital F. It was the Milan coach that started the idea of who wins will pay (charity). "Sure. I will pay. Apart of anything else I want to say that Inter have always made great gestures on the social level. As for the rest, it is between me and him, we are not telling anyone."
During your very first year at Inter when there was much to conquer, you said: "Great coaches are ones that get great players." Remember?
(Smile) "Well, coaches who win have more credibility and ease to get certain players..."
Meanwhile, a rating to grade the Inter transfer market?
"Good. We were able to cover all the areas that were lacking and deficiencies. The market is very particular: you zoom in on a player for some time and you cannot get that player so you must keep open other tracks. But eventually the club, starting from Thohir to Fassone, from Ausilio to Bolingbroke, did their work very well. They signed important and young players that can have a big future at Inter."
One of those that escaped was him and always him: Touré
"Yaya could really change everything totally. Superior player, with him, there would be a great jump in quality in all points of view. He wanted to come but then his thinking process changed..."
Same thing with Dybala.
"He was a target, one of the first ones, and there were several teams wanted the player. Then Juve signed him..."
Maybe after the derby or some time after, we will know about your Scudetto chance.
"Big teams have always had the same goal at the start and that is to reach the top and Inter are a big team. Maybe we will not have the same chance and odds, at least at the start, like that of Juventus and Roma, the two teams that have been right there for last few years. They have the players who have been together for some time. But we will always aim for the max. It takes time but the base is solid, there is really a solid foundation. Only that we need to hurry to put it all together. For our prospects, the next 10 games will be very important."
Are Inter better than Milan?
"We are at par. Before us, there are still Roma, Napoli and Juve. was I amazed that they asked for Hernanes? No, he has the right experience."
Do you already have a formation against Milan in mind?
"Yes. I only have one doubt: Ranocchia or Medel if Miranda cannot make it."
So is this a until-the-last-breath type of deal for Miranda? Miracle in sight?
"We will see. I will always have hope until the end. Sometims certain injuries seem more serious than expected. But if he still feels pain, I will not risk him. Again, we will decide at the last minute."
So that means Medel could be used as a central defender, Chilean style.
"Who knows... Gary can play as a right central defender in a back four, center-right in a back three. Basically, we know that he can play there, and he is good at it. He can also play with Melo in the midfield. If Felipe and Gary play together in the midfield, central midfielder position will belong to Melo. Ranocchia and the criticism? He is still a player of the national team. Last year, he was blamed for so many mistakes there weren't even his. I know that if he plays, he will have a great match."
Your favorite formation to strike your friend Sinisa?
"The basic idea has been undertaken to date: 4-3-1-2. I don't have any trequartista? Well, Ljajic and Perisic can play in that position. They are two universal offensive players. Maybe even Guarin. No Jovetic, he is more of a forward. That being said, this formation can certainly change."
How is Icardi?
"Well, at 100%. Wait, my God, maybe not 100% but he is there. He should play."
The decision to give him the captain armband came from...?
"He is our best goalscorer. He has enormous potential to grow and the armband can give him an incentive for even more growth. It was my choice, a choice born primarily by the feeling that he needed a signal in order to finally start to mature."
Where will Kondogbia play?
"He can play in the two in front of the defense, in a midfield of three. I wish that gradually, he can move more toward the goal. He will be one of the best midfielders."
Let's give light to a gray area: Montoya.
"He came here from a different league, from a team that attacks by holding on to the ball. In short, he has not failed: he just needs time."
The feeling is that Jovetic and Ljajic are more of your type of players.
(Smile) "Yes, maybe. Jo-Jo sometimes makes me angry but he is very good and could play as first striker. He has already scored three goals but he can do much more. Adem? Has techniques, fast and also is a great shot."
Perisic and Melo: quality, quantity, character.
"They raise the bar of personality and experience. Felipe is technical player. Perisic is one of the most important players on the European scene. Born as striker, if necessary, he can replace Icardi. I agree with Lippi: he is the best signing of the summer. Will become a surprise of the season."
Who would you take away from Milan?
"Bacca and Luiz Adriano. They are very good and can change the game at any moment."
Winning is something that Thohir has been emphasizing.
"The president and I often talk. We send text messages and we talk at least twice a week. Obviously, with Moratti it was different because he lives in Milan, Thohir does not but we do talk. Did he ask me for the Champions League? Yes. That is the club's objective."
So every position below that is a failure.
"All the positions that are not in the CL zone... well they are not nice as the third spot."
More so with the 9 signings...
(Laughs) "But I also look at other teams that have changed a lot, even made 10-12 signings. Asking 9-10 signings is something normal to our team, which has not been a winning team for years. Do I feel economically responsible towards the club? No I feel towards the fans."
Was it true that Balotelli was one of these 9 requests?
(Pauses) "Yes, I must amid, it is true. Seriously, I thought about it at some point when we tested the hypothesis of a change for Icardi. I thought about it because I know Mario, I love him and I know what he can give. I thought about it... but then he went to Milan." (Laughs)
Did you talk to Mario?
"I want to think that he is our starting forward for the national team in the upcoming Euros. I see no better striker in Italy. Kisses the Rossoneri shirt? He would have done the same if he came to us. But yes, we talked."
If you see Balotelli as starting forward for Italy, what about Icardi for Argentina.
"He knows how to score and he does it often. Yes, I believe in the long run, Mauro will become the striker of his national team. So with Telles, he could become a starter for the Azzurri. Has great qualities and dual passport."
About the national team, do you see yourself become the coach?
"One day maybe. Could be a very nice thing."
Besides Yaya, who did you want but it was not a success?
"I called Imbula: he spoke a bit of English. We talked about the project and his role. It seemed all done then he picked Porto."
Sinisa, former Inter player, jumped to the anti-Inter chants. We would never see you do that at Milan? Or at Genoa?
"Let's start with Genoa: I don't think the fans would want me, given my past at Sampdoria. AC Milan? Well, just copy and paste the answer just given..."
Moratti recently said the best Scudetto is the one in 2006.
"I wish we can continue talking about football. The sentence from the courts? Well, there, it is over. Calciopoli existed there is no doubt. Moratti can express his thought but enough with that."
Let's talk about the derby and the possible charm that it may still have.
"I hope so, really. It was once one of the best games in the world. It was seen all over the world. And then the decline. Serie A was the top in European football and now dropped in the rankings. I hope everything is like back then."
Italian and English football: we must resign ourselves, we will never be the same right?
"The intensity there is in England cannot be here with us. Here, the referees always whistle. But I repeat: I hope the Milan derby go very high in the European scene."
But the day you return to the Champions League, which great rival would you want to meet first: Mou, Van Gaal or Guardiola?
"Manchester City."
Finally, how will the derby end?
"If you give me an envelope, I will write in it. You can open it on Sunday at 11 pm..."