Spalletti: 'I must impose Inter rules'
By Football Italia staff
Luciano Spalletti explains Mauro Icardi’s absence against Bologna, the Joao Cancelo row and potential tactical changes for Inter.
They will again have to do without top scorer Icardi, who hasn’t fully recovered from a muscular problem and had already missed the 1-1 draw with Crotone.
“Unfortunately Mauro cannot take part. He tried to work with the team, but on sudden changes of movement, he feels pain,” explained the Coach in his Press conference.
“The medical staff’s tests suggest it is best to wait, because there is the strong risk he could really hurt himself again.”
Joao Cancelo was dropped to the bench last week, reportedly due to a training ground row over his tactical role.
“Cancelo is a player with quality, we’ve seen that when he is calm and ready to express himself, he can give us a hand. He doesn’t have to win me back, but I have to set some rules and make sure the players behave properly.
“I am not trying to create difficult relations, it’s just an issue of the team in general that has to improve the relations. Cancelo didn’t do anything that remarkable. I simply saw others in better shape and made these decisions. He trained well this week, I’ll decide my line-up.
“Antonio Candreva lowers his quality level every now and then, he needs enthusiasm. At the moment everyone has dropped their self-confidence and he is one of those most affected.
“We must try to have a more attacking attitude either with the same players or adding someone with different characteristics. Lately we have seen there are some opportunities and this week we worked differently in training too with different tactics. We have always worked on 4-2-3-1 and 4-3-3 because the indications take us in that direction.
“A three-man defence is a consequence of lowering one winger and pushing another up. We must show more strength and reach the penalty area in greater numbers. We haven’t been reaching the box much and doing it without quality on top of that.”
Rafinha is pushing for more playing time following his January transfer from Barcelona.
“He can give us more in terms of quality and does reflect Barcelona when he’s on the ball. He can increase his time on the field, but if he starts, then you have to replace him too, as he doesn’t have 90 minutes in his legs.
“In good moments, this team is a great group of guys, but if we want to compare it to a final, then being close by, understanding difficult moments and taking on responsibility is makes you a great player. This is happening in every training session, I can assure you.”