BENITEZ: MY INTER WILL BE LIKE SO
"The team will be higher, ball possession and a new Cambiasso." Rafa's commandments: "Beautiful football, sympathy and respect. With Moratti, I could stay for a long time."
Milan - Beautiful football, sympathy, respect. These are the commandments of Rafa Benitez. No need for "holy war", no noise of enemies to hear. Only football triumphs on the words. Benitez in a two-hour visit at Gazzetta drew out what kind of Inter he would like to see. Specific ideas, no certainties, but the conviction that "playing the best you can win even more."
Benitez, what is the first challenge to overcome?
"To see if this team can to learn quickly. We are not complete yet, but there are players who have shown the right attitudes and preparations to do what I've asked them to."
So what will be your Inter like?
"I will try to play better, with a team that plays higher and has more ball possession. This is what I want. It won't be a simple task however. I've studied and seen that Inter won but without having much possession of the ball."
What formation are you considering?
"We can play with a 4-3-3 or with a 4-2-3-1. I would like to bring Cambiasso more forward because playing with two defensive midfielders the distance between the units on the field can be far and that won't be successful. Cambiasso, however, seems very good at passing and starting plays. He reminds me as a player, he likes to talk (smile), and is basically a coach on the field."
But does Eto'o still want to sacrifice like last season?
"I already talked to Samuel, a great professional, and he said that he will do whatever it takes for the team. In any case, he will play very high up front and he will cover the field defensively very little."
How do you like to handle the dressing room, with words or with the whip?
"I like to teach football and I talk a lot. I want the players to understand what to do."
There are cases that need to be solved: Maicon and Balotelli...
"I always remember what Luis Molowny, a former manager of Real Madrid, said. We need to wait and see what will happen, no act of instinct, with haste. The transfer market will be decided by the management and I will do the adjusting."
You're not afraid to be recalled in a few years as a coach who let Balotelli go?
"I repeat. I don't have control of the transfer market. A player doesn't make a team and Inter have many strong players."
The comparison with Mourinho will be inevitable and constant.
"I know, but I think something better can be done, like I've said before, at the level of play. What I do - and with a president like Moratti everything is possible - is to build something real and leave a solid foundation for the future."
Tell the truth: you can not wait to face Mourinho in the Champions League.
"I want to win, against whom I don't really care. I respect those who came before me, it makes no sense to throw out the work done by others. Mourinho at Inter found what Mancini had done before him and same thing at Chelsea with Ranieri."
Mourinho had never sworn eternal fidelity to Inter, he seemed always about to leave. The feeling is that you never hear words of intolerance against Italy. Wrong?
"A president who wants to build the future can remains for a long time, and in this context I think I could stay here for many years. Just like at Liverpool."
What is the difference between Inter and Liverpool?
These are two similar teams, even the fans. We are used to fight against all, and this has ended up strengthening the mentality of these two teams and has made us stronger. At Liverpool I had never pulled back. I went to wars together with the fans, and if necessary I would do the same at Inter."
But?
"But my approach will always based on respecting the opponents. Especially for the coaches, because I know how difficult coaching is, especially when guiding a team in front. Winning and respecting the opponents, this is the way I see football."
When did you realize that you would become a coach?
"At 13 I was ready. I played with my notebook on which I noted the teams, results and statistics. At 16 I was playing with my friends and training them at the same time. When I was in C, as a central midfielder who always talked on the field, gave orders to my teammates. And my father told me: 'Talk less and score.'"
Who were your references?
"In terms of football legend it was Beckenbauer, and when I became a coach I studied Italian football a lot since I was often in Coverciano. Sacchi also inspired me with his Milan, but I really like Capello and Ranieri. I remember Claudio at Fiorentina, i like this work a lot."
What role do youngsters have at Inter?
"Our goal is to introduce them of course. In fact everyone speaks about the importance of the youngsters, but then they want to win win win and nobody has the courage to wait."
In Spain, you can succeed at both things.
"There, it is easier because the quality of the younger players is very high. But at Barcelona, you will have to wait, and at Madrid it is even harder. In England, however, there is more patience. I would say that if you can a player with heart, you must fish from the nursery and wait for him to grow. But a Raul, a Rooney and a Gerrard, you will one player like this every ten years."
In England, you have a reputation of a coach that couldn't win the Premier League.
"On my first full season with Liverpool, we had 82 points, a record for the Reds. Three seasons later I scored 86, another record, but Manchester United, unfortunately, got 90. Between Manchester United and Liverpool there was a difference of 100 million to spend every year, and there was a certain Abrahimovic at Chelsea. And with these differences, what do you want from me?"
Who do you fear the most in Italy?
"I won't mention names. Abroad it is Barcelona. In Italy? It must be Inter."
Who is the Inter player that you have always wanted to coach?
"I love Milito even when he played at Zaragoza. My assistant Pellegrino and I always spoke about him."
