MANCINI: "JUVE-MILAN? INTER"
Saturday, 18 December 2004 15:49:29
APPIANO GENTILE - Roberto Mancini news conference (3):
Will you watch Juventus-Milan tonight?
"I might do. What result am I hoping for? I don't know, but in any case we're far off them. First we have to think about ourselves, then see where we are in three to four months' time. Who could decide the match in Turin? There are many champions who could decide the clash, especially in attack. Perhaps Clarence Seedorf might decide it for one team or Pavel Nedved for the other, seeing as the defences will be very careful."
A comment on the Champions League draw which sees Inter up against reigning European champions Porto?
"All three Italian teams were drawn against very difficult sides. I have read that Inter are pleased about drawing Porto. But they're outgoing European champions and they have just won the Intercontinental Cup, so they certainly shouldn't be underestimated. Real Madrid and Barcelona are definitely superior at the moment but maybe things might be different in two to three months' time. It will be a difficult 180 minutes against Porto, but when you look at the teams still in it, they're all difficult matches in the last sixteen."
Do you think that come spring Inter will benefit from the player rotation system used up to now, especially compared to Juventus who have played the same men?
"I don't know. Playing with the same men can certainly be a burden in the long-run, but it's also true that Juventus have built up a big advantage over us. It could happen, but at the moment it's difficult to say. But if it does happen, I hope it's before spring..."
You have called up three goalkeepers for Inter-Brescia. Is there any doubt about who to play between the posts?
"No. Maybe we'll try and play all of them together," concluded a smiling Mancini.