«Scudetto reopened, Napoli rediscover its beauty. Juventus and Inter little game»- Corriere.it

Arrigo Sacchi, has the championship reopened?

“I would say yes”.

Did Naples surprise you at the San Siro?
“Some players didn’t look like what we’ve seen so far: I wondered if Kvaratskhelia was the twin brother…”

Should Spalletti be alarmed?

«It’s not a catastrophe, but he must rediscover a winning mentality, enthusiasm, generosity, passion. And that very brilliant game so far».

Is it a comeback Inter?
«He played his game: first, don’t take them, defend with everyone and attack with a few. But she was more dangerous than Napoli ».

Inzaghi exalted his team’s desire to help each other.
«Inter have a large squad: Lukaku and Dzeko are good and then two more of great value enter. But for me a team must be a collective, where everyone practices the offensive and defensive aspects, in continuous evolution, united by an invisible thread which is the game. And in Italy there are very few teams like this».

Is Napoli among these?
«The Napoli we saw in the first phase was the most beautiful, fun and also the most successful team. Without beauty it is difficult to win».

For Spalletti, is the work to be done above all mental?
«In Milan and Turin there is a winning mentality. In Milan more in Milan than in Inter, who practice tactical football, with a prevalence of non-play, where he confides in the individual or in the counterattack ».

Is it Lukaku who favors this attitude?

«Lukaku is moving like he has never moved before and will improve even more. It’s really a problem of Italian football. The founding fathers of this sport had thought of it as an offensive sport, but in Italy it has become individual and defensive. This has allowed us to win something, but never thinking of being the best. Do you know what Pele said to me at Euro 2000?».

What
?

“‘You have good players, but they never play football.’ And it was true. Because for us football is not courage, it is not beauty. And without these things there is no innovation».

Do you see a spark of innovation in Milan or not?

«The important thing is compactness, without which there are no synergies, collaboration, communication and internalisation. Distances are key. It’s a block that moves back and forth: when Milan does it, it hides what Napoli hasn’t been able to hide: losing a little self-esteem means starting to have more fear than courage».

Is Milan the anti-Naples?

«Acquiring a winning mentality is not easy. These guys accomplished a masterpiece last year and they are trying to repeat themselves: they will have to make some effort to be a collective. Then there is another evaluation ».

Which?
«Milan and Capello’s Milan amazed everyone, creating a great collective. But that Milan was there for the club he had behind him: with its history, its vision, its style. The club comes before the team, just as the team comes before the individual».

Does the union of these three components make history?
«I’ll tell you an anecdote: I was in the Marche to present a book, in a town that had been hit by the earthquake. A man, among the things he had saved from his house, had the first page of theANDteam
of the day after our victory over Steaua in the Champions Cup, in 1989: “Left from another world” was the title. Everyone expected that after the first goal, we would go back and defend. Instead we stopped after the fourth goal: when you have self-esteem in what you do, you never stop. If you score a goal and leave the game to others, you don’t believe in what you’re doing. And victories without beauty remain in the almanacs, but not in people’s heads».

In Lecce there was the eternal return of racism.
“None of us have a clear conscience: we have not helped people to be educated. We want to win as we live. And how do we live? The European Union established three or four years ago that 50% of corruption in Europe was Italian: football is a reflection of a country’s society and culture. And teaming up with us is one of the most unlikely things. When you win, everything is fine in the end. But is not so. If we want to improve we have to say it like it is: as long as we think that money can fix everything, the show will not be the best».

Juve have many absences, a difficult environmental situation, but they come from seven wins without conceding a goal. Allegri sails in every sea?

“Never forget the money. Juve have spent the most and therefore it is abnormal if they don’t win».

What do you think of a victory like the one in Cremona?
“That there are quality players. As for the game, several men are missing. But we are still in the field of tactics which is also present in the country and it means playing on the error of the other: the goal came because the goalkeeper totally missed the free-kick barrier».

Is it legitimate to expect something more from Rome?
«Mourinho is a great character, an actor, a communicator. He loves more to win with little play. But he has many qualities. And he knows how to manage groups ».

Is there a team you like more than others?

«Lazio, which always spends little, plays good football. Atalanta is struggling more today, but due to the esteem I have in Gasperini I hope he can solve the problems: what he did will go down in history».

Will these 52 days of rest bring other surprises?

«Looking at the problems of Liverpool, City or PSG, I would say yes. It applies to those who have played in Qatar, because in the World Cup you give your life. And it is also necessary to see who reacts faster to the long pause: his head will weigh more. But the legs also took a good hit».