Mourinho: "A positive display"

Sunday, 13 September 2009 18:16:10

MILAN - José Mourinho reflected on Inter's performance against Parma and looked ahead to the midweek Champions League clash with Barcelona in a post-match interview with Sky Sport Italia.

He said: "I didn't see a negative display from my team - not even in the first half. Perhaps the tempo was too slow to score, but we had many chances with many different players. Instead, I saw a Parma that were very well organised by their coach and I saw an Inter do enough to win a difficult match, but after two weeks of matches with the national teams and the thought of Wednesday's match against Barcelona, it's fine like this.

"Will we start on equal terms with Barcelona? Yes, in the first minute the result will be 0-0, but Barça are a team who can play with their eyes closed. They have had the same players for a long time. Ibrahimovic is among the new players but basically the structure hasn't changed. We have five new players but I don't want to say anything with this. The match will start at 0-0 and we obviously believe we can win this game."

Mourinho brought on Mario Balotelli for Thiago Motta at the start of the second half against Parma. "Mario has to improve a lot. He keeps doing well but at the same time he forgot a bit of defensive and tactical work in a team that was already playing in a very offensive way with Eto'o and Milito," admitted the Inter coach. "Against Milan there was no need to make a half-time substitution and against Bari I didn't succeed in making a team that could win. Changing is the job of the coach and I like making changes when I feel that the team needs a tactical and mental change at the same time. A strong intervention produces a reaction in the players, but who knows, if Biabiany had scored we might be talking in a different way now."

Asked if it was true that he said he turned the television off after Mauri's goal for Lazio against Juventus was disallowed, Mourinho explained: "No, I didn't say this at all before the match. They asked me if I saw the Juve match and I replied 'yes' and I watched it until Mauri's goal because we were about to have dinner. The squid was waiting for us. There's nothing controversial in what I said.

"Was I expecting Juventus and Sampdoria to do so well? I'm not talking about this because I did it last year, saying that Inter would win the championship, and I was criticised. I prefer to think about us. We have seven points after three matches. It would have been more normal to win against Bari and Parma and draw with Milan, but it's fine all the same."

And to those who accuse Mourinho of having already forgotten Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the Portuguese said. "A player who has given me a lot, like Ibrahimovic, will always be in my heart, but I'm a person who forgets immediately and now I think about my players. I'm satisfied with his work at Barça but I am very happy with my strikers. On Wednesday we will give each other a big hug before the match but during the game I don't even want to know who he is. He did a lot for Inter and Inter did a lot for him. Inter are a team in the making but we have the potential to become a more spectacular team."

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