Inter-Juventus, Chivu stands with Spalletti: "I wanted to send Lautaro"

Cristian Chivu spoke in a press conference on the eve of Inter-Juventus, the derby d’Italia valid for the 25th day of Serie A, scheduled for Saturday evening at 8:45 p.m. at the Meazza. “Juve have improved with the’arrival of Spalletti, who has given them an’identity– he began -. Individually they have also grown, they put anyone in trouble. We continue to hope that our performances will be at the level, always putting in desire and determination”.

Luca Giorgetti

With a win the Nerazzurri would rise to a fifteen-point lead over the Bianconeri, cutting them out of the Scudetto race for good: “The’only difference with other games is that it gives you some extra motivation, but the real challenge is always to find the same motivation against anyone. Surely it is a great match recognized worldwide”.

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Then the Romanian coach joked about the Old Lady’s choice not to have Luciano Spalletti speak in the press conference: captain Manuel Locatelli showed up instead. “I said to send Lautaro, but they did not want to (laughs, ed.). I know it is difficult for a coach to talk every three days – he admitted -, sometimes it doesn&#8217t change much what you have to say between games. Let&#8217s say I agree with the choice, even I would not have come (smiles, ed.)”.

For the big match with Juve, Chivu will be able to count on the recovery of two key midfield pawns: Hakan Calhanoglu and Nicolò Barella. “They have been training for a couple of days, had no problems and are available” said the’former Parma coach.

On the issue of referees and Var: “I will start talking about this topic when I hear a coach say that a referee made a mistake in his favor. To make mistakes is human, it is normal. The problem of Italian soccer is not the referees, if Italy hasn&#8217t gone to the World Cup for years the fault is not with the referees. We have to accept that we have to improve in so much else. And clearly they also work to improve themselves”.

Queen on Marcus Thuram: “I will tell him to laugh with his little brother, since they love each other. There’s rivalry, of course, but they&#8217re brothers, you can&#8217t expect to pretend anything. Thuram is a sunny guy, I want him like that. Maybe he needs to add some nastiness under the goal, and sometimes I ask him to be more selfish. He is a good guy, an altruist with a capital A. They have a beautiful family, I put myself in the shoes of dad and mom who will see two kids against each other in Inter-Juve. It&#8217s a beautiful story, there are values behind it, a role model like Lilian. I wish both of them to achieve the goals of their father”.

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