Walter Mazzarri said Erick Thohir is “the ideal President” when discussing the differences between Inter and Napoli.
Walter Mazzarri said Erick Thohir is “the ideal President” when discussing the differences between Inter and Napoli.
The Coach sat down with the Corriere dello Sport newspaper and started with thanks for ex-Nerazzurri boss Jose Mourinho.
“I spend up to 10-12 hours per day in my office. I have to thank Mourinho who created this space, the ideal habitat to work in.
“This Inter resembles me the most. I needed last year to get to know the players, the mentality and the great passion of the Inter fans. We still managed to qualify for Europe, which was by no means to be taken for granted.
“I trust in the motivation of the players who, for different reasons throughout the year, did not shine. Their quality is beyond dispute and with organisation the team can help them get back to their best too.”
Mazzarri was hired by Massimo Moratti and confirmed when Indonesian magnate Thohir bought the club a few months later.
“I have an excellent rapport with Thohir and can assure you so far he has been the ideal President. We had time to get to know each other and that relationship grew with time. Now we have a joint project that can allow us to build a great Inter over the years.
“We are only at the beginning and so far everything has been done within strict economic parameters. We are all working to restructure, rejuvenate and relaunch Inter.”
The tactician’s exit from Napoli was not on great terms and he exchanged some barbed comments with Aurelio De Laurentiis.
“We did not have the chance to see or talk to each other again. Why shouldn’t I shake his hand? It would be absurd to not salute a President after four years of success together. With us, Napoli became a big club again.
“We were in the Champions League and the first season had almost all debutants at that level, but still were only eliminated in extra time by a Chelsea team that would go on to win the trophy.”
There was more tension when Goran Pandev joined Galatasaray on Monday and blamed Rafa Benitez for pushing him away.
“Any recognition for my work is always pleasing, especially from players,” added Mazzarri.
“Pandev joined us from the Treble-winning Inter side and worked well in our group. It cannot be a fluke…”