From Conte’s Inter to Inzaghi’s, from De Paul’s Udinese to Beto’s, but also the Juve crisis, the problems of the Var, the merits of Mancini and the amarcord with Bearzot and Zico. This is how the hour on the phone can be summarized with Beppe Bergomi, the Inter flag, with the twenty years spent in the Nerazzurri from 1979 to ’99, and the National team, with the Mundial ’82 conquered in Spain, today the “column” of Sky.
Bergomi, what Inter-Udinese awaits us?
«A very physical match between two teams that play almost mirror-like, with Inter playing the match and having to be very careful of a Udinese who knows how to resist and read the moments. We are in the third game of the week and the changes will be decisive, also because I notice that the big teams can feel a bit tired, with many of their national teams always on the field ».
How did Inter change from Conte to Inzaghi?
«They are two very different coaches even if they play with 3-5-2, but above all it is an Inter with different interpreters. Conte is bloodier, and with Lukaku and Hakimi overturning the field quickly, Inzaghi imposes the game with midfielders who go more vertically instead of widening and raises the center of gravity. It is true that he is a bit more vulnerable, but the three defenders behind are very strong and powerful, and they need certain covers ».
Does the move from Lukaku and Dzeko exemplify the change?
«There is no longer the attacker who was sixty meters on the pitch and who allowed Conte to recover the ball by playing with a low 3-5-2. Today the forward Inter arrives with the game and with an offensive playmaker Dzeko, with his movements to open, go to meet and send his teammates into the area. But it is also a very strong team on high and inactive balls, with Calhanoglu and Di Marco fantastic in knowing how to beat them ».
Udinese’s 3-5-2 has also changed “skin”, and not just because Gotti is looking for an alternative form without De Paul.
«Replacing De Paul’s quality is difficult, just as it is difficult to beat Udinese. As for the game, the three Juventus central players are also very strong, but unlike the Nerazzurri players, they only go up a little ».
Could it be an advantage for Beto?
“Beto is a lot of stuff. He is really strong for the physicality and depth he knows how to give and has a strong attitude with this panther race. I think he is the right type of striker for our championship and for me he is destined to do well ».
Recently Inter and Udinese were damaged by the Var. Is this becoming a problem, as Gasperini claims?
“Now it is a problem because there is no uniformity and there are no clear explanations. They must make us understand that certain contacts are not always penalties. Having said that, we must help the referees with education and respect on the part of all ».
What news is the championship offering us?
«Before we spoke only of Atalanta, now instead of the Verona of a Tudor who continued the path made by Juric, of Turin and Fiorentina. The two that give more continuity are Milan and Napoli, and then we’ll see who will be better at managing the crises that come for everyone ».
In this regard, how can the Juventus crisis be explained?
«With the lack of identity that Allegri has not yet managed to give. Max often changes, while at Inter and Udinese the roles are defined, for example. Allegri understands the difficulties in finding the goal and so he bases himself on the defensive phase, but this pays off in the short term, in the single match, but little in perspective ».
We close by opening the scrapbook. Your flashes of Inter-Udinese?
“The best memory is my free-kick goal, the worst one is Bierhoff’s goal in a painful defeat for us.”
Against Zico instead …?
«Apart from having faced him at the World Cup, I remember the exquisite person I met when he came to Appiano as a coach with Japan, and then the stories of Causio and Mauro of when Zico had the height of the goals measured, because he did not score in training. And in fact they were low ».
Do the fans miss the champions of yesteryear?
«Yes, but up to a certain point, because today’s star system makes players unapproachable and we cannot know them, while each of them has a toothed key with which to access. The problem is that there is no possibility of dialogue ».
Impossible not to ask her for a souvenir of Enzo Bearzot …
“I lost my father as a young man, and Bearzot was like a second father. Among the thousand memories, I choose this: sign to Ascoli and rejoice. I arrive in the national team, Bearzot takes me aside and tells me. “You were wrong to cheer too much, because they went to Serie B”. I got it?”.
Bergomi, the last line is on the national team.
«In 2018 Mancini said we had to change our culture. He was a courageous visionary and we now have a national team ».
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