Found the original transcript from GdS. They claim its from some Instagram video so someone who's more capable than me could maybe find the actual footage?
"Con me avevamo costruito una squadra molto forte, ma poi sono stati aggiunti 4-5 calciatori determinanti. Credo che l'Inter prima o poi ci sarebbe arrivata comunque a vincere la Champions con quel ciclo inaugurato da me. Anche se il merito va indiscutibilmente a Mourinho". Il ritorno a Milano nel 2014 non è stato così ricco di soddisfazioni, invece... "Avrei dovuto fare più attenzione, ho creduto a quello che mi dicevano. Però siamo stati in testa per diversi mesi alla Serie A e forse con più tempo saremmo arrivati a dama. Non è stato così, il calcio è questo e non ammette 'se'...".
It's just a transcript of what could have been a two minute discussion for all I know, but lets assume that's all there is.
To me it seems that his argument is that the Inter team he began to build was very strong and it was a matter of time to compete in the Champions League and that it happened after 4-5 decisive players were added and that the credit has to undoudtebly go to Mourinho ("indiscutibilmente" being the key word). So yeah, it's just Football Italia just being trash here. Whilst Stankovic and Cambiasso (Bosman transfer concluded in March 04 or something) were added before Mancini had joined us, he maybe had a say since we probably locked him sooner and Stankovic refused Juventus to join us which was a surprise to everyone. So perhaps Mancini persuaded him, but let's ignore that. But since we also got Favalli which probably was another Mancini request, it begs a question if he had to approve Cambiasso's move unofficially.
Mancini got us [if we are crediting the coach for the transfers] Maicon, Julio Cesar, Samuel and Chivu from that Champions League winning squad. There was also Zlatan, Vieira, Figo, Maxwell, Dacourt and Crespo from the players that Mourinho found and used in his first season. Mancini found Zanetti, Materazzi, Cordoba and Toldo here from the tripleta winning squad, along with Stankovic and Cambiasso that I mentioned earlier. I don't think the guy has any right to claim much for 2009-10 and I don't see him claiming anything either.
But he's right. The core of the players he had, which includes those he found here, was strong and could have won the CL. He failed to do so which is why he left. He failed a lot of times, too. And yes, Sneijder, Eto'o, Lucio, Milito and Motta were decisive transfers. That's a great use of the word. It beats signing Cesar, Mihajlovic at age 35, Suazo, Jimenez, Maniche and Wome. Ironically, only Wome was signed to be some sort of backup at the time. Obviously we made some great buys during his period, but it wasn't those that could have elevated us to the next level. He was considered too stubborn in the football world to play for and his friends were still alive and kicking so he wanted a reunion at Inter of all places when this shouldn't have been an idea even at Fiorentina where he started his career.
The rest is mostly grudges about the management not being fair to him in his 2nd term. I agree there, we had potential but we fucked it up and Suning didn't play this right with him. It'd be a much better transition with MAncini at the helm rather than rollercoaster season with 70m spent for players that didn't add anything (Joao Mario and Gabriel Barbosa). I doubt we would have reached the CL spot (3rd place) in 2016-17 with Mancini, but we fucked things up. Not that I trusted Mancini to make better use of the funds, but at least if he approved of the deals we'd have bought more useful players and due to his experience from Manchester City he had more exposure to the football players as a manager than in his first tenure where he was viewed as a flashy cocky bastard turned manager that lucked out due to Calciopoli just before Moratti had fired him in 2006. Allegedly.
Either way, I was never his biggest fan, quite the contrary, but I do appreciate him for what he brought to Inter. Winning the cup in 2005 when we had forgotten that the competition existed and making it 'cool' again was something that shaped our future, which indeed had led to the Champions League squad. It was our first trophy in 7 years, a long drought for a team that had managed to have the likes of Ronaldo, Vieri, Cannavaro, Toldo, Recoba, Crespo, Adriano, Seedorf and Cordoba among others.
I know this feels like a very long time as it's been 9 years, but honestly back in 2005 it felt even longer since that Uefa Cup victory in Paris. Expectations always play a part in this one, and the 2000-01 season felt like 5 years itself.