|
Former Inter Milan president Massimo Moratti says Walter Mazzarri ultimately paid the price for being "unpopular" among fans due to his character. Roberto Mancini replaced the sacked Mazzarri a week ago, and it was a dismissal which had been in the air for a while with Inter's fans turning against the former Reggina, Sampdoria and Napoli coach since almost the start of the season. "I've never seen a coach become so unpopular at a club before," Moratti told reporters at a gala evening in Milan. "He's a good person, but his character certainly didn't help him. He's too apprehensive and in the end, he risked losing grasp of everything." In his final news conference as Inter coach, following a 2-2 draw against Hellas Verona, Mazzarri delivered one of those excuses which probably pushed his club's patience too far, saying: "We were playing well, and then it started to rain." "I'm sure Mazzarri was misinterpreted and certainly he intended something else by it," Moratti said of his comments. "But I almost felt sorry for him." There were certainly not many Inter fans who felt sorry for Mazzarri after that excuse and Moratti knew it was time for a change. He met with current president Erick Thohir the following day, in Milan, and that was when Mancini's name was raised. "I told Thohir it had to be either Mancini or Leonardo, it was one of those two names," Moratti said. "There aren't many around who have won as much as he has for Inter and that has got to tell you something. It was necessary to find somebody in whom the fans could trust." Thohir chose the former Manchester City manager, although it took him four days to finalise and announce the change in command -- a delay which was also planned. "We intentionally appointed him just before the derby, the Dnipro [Europa League] game and the Roma match," Thohir said in La Gazzetta dello Sport. "He's the first person who wants to do well at this club. We need to stay in Europe and try to win the Europa League, because that would earn us a place in the Champions League." The four-day delay was also down to a certain amount of hesitation on the part of Thohir who, according to Moratti, does not have it easy living on the other side of the globe where "it's a bit harder to understand what is going on." Despite Moratti's words of advice, Thohir was still not 100 percent convinced about firing Mazzarri. "Inter's current plight is not all down to one person," said the Indonesian, who is due back in Milan on Thursday ahead of a board meeting on Friday and Sunday's derby with AC Milan. Mazzarri is now part of Inter's past, though, and Mancini is the future. "Mancini's ambitious, he's already won seven titles and if he didn't still have the enthusiasm he had 10 years ago, he would never have signed a three-year contract," Thohir said. "He knows the situation the club is in and we'll give him time to build a balanced side. "I don't want to hear any more whistles or insults from the fans towards the coach or the team. Let's just think of doing well, and we need the fans on our side for this." AC Milan's general manager Adriano Galliani has already raised his fears at the impact Mancini will have, especially in view of Sunday's derby, while Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri believes he will add the Nerazzurri's name to the race for a top-three finish. "A top coach has returned to Serie A and that's good for the whole of Italian football," Allegri told La Gazzetta dello Sport. "He knows the club, even if things have changed, and I believe Inter are a great side anyway and they are still very much in the hunt for the Champions League."
|
