Inter coach Cristian Chivu admits he has ‘loads to study’ from Antonio Conte and is conscious that tomorrow’s Serie A showdown at San Siro ‘can affect the trajectory of the season.’
Inter coach Chivu previewed tomorrow’s sport between the Nerazzurri at Napoli throughout a press convention on Saturday.
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Inter are the Serie A desk leaders with a four-point lead over third-placed Napoli, the defending Italian champions.
Inter vs. Napoli – Chivu’s pre-match press convention
MILAN, ITALY – DECEMBER 03: Cristian Chivu, Head Coach of FC Internazionale Milano, seems to be on previous to the Coppa Italia spherical of 16 match between FC Internazionale and Venezia FC at San Siro Stadium on December 03, 2025 in Milan, Italy. (Picture by Marco Luzzani/Getty Photos)
“They’ve modified their system and in addition some gamers. They’ve a robust squad and depth,” Chivu stated about Napoli through
“It is going to be a tough match for either side, a soccer sport by which most focus might be on everybody’s thoughts to make as few errors as attainable. It is going to be a sport of moments, which is regular while you face groups of a sure degree.”
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Chivu and Conte have , and the strain between Napoli and Inter dates to their final assembly in October, when the Napoli boss and Inter star Lautaro Martinez
“I’ve nice respect for Conte as a coach. I confronted him even after I was nonetheless enjoying. I congratulated him on what he managed to transmit to the workforce,” insisted Chivu.
“We wish to go +7, they wish to go -1. There’s a lot in between want and motion. Dedication, ambition, every part you possibly can placed on the sector. The one certainty we have now is that we have now at all times labored nicely throughout this era. This workforce has at all times had want and ambition. Possibly we’ll have much more tomorrow. We’re conscious that it may be a match that may affect the trajectory of the season.
NAPLES, ITALY – APRIL 27: Gabriele Oriali and Antonio Conte of Napoli in the course of the Serie A match between Napoli and Torino at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on April 27, 2025 in Naples, Italy. (Picture by Francesco Pecoraro/Getty Photos)
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“Conte has advanced and does issues extra suited to trendy soccer. He’s a winner, we younger coaches have loads to study from study from him,” continued the Inter coach.
“It’s not a comparability between him and me; the primary actors on this sport are the gamers.”
Inter have received six consecutive matches in Serie A, whereas Napoli have been held to a 2-2 draw by strugglers Verona on Wednesday. The defending champions have already misplaced seven away video games throughout all competitions this season.
Inter beat Parma 2-0 away within the earlier spherical.
“Napoli is extra essential than Parma,” Chivu stated.
“We went by means of different matches to get right here in these circumstances; we tried to transmit the attention that each one matches have to be handled critically. The championship is a marathon; it’s important to be able to face 38 matches, displaying that you just need to be aggressive. We’re doing that, with our highs and lows. We rolled out our sleeves, displaying that the group nonetheless needs to provide one thing. That is the primary match of the second half of the season; we hope to do higher than the primary half, in a efficiency additionally conditioned by sure occasions. Lately, we have now additionally labored on going through injustices.
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“It’s too straightforward to speak about misplaced direct clashes or sure issues as a result of the numbers say so. The truth is that I’ first within the league and have extra factors than those that have crushed me. Clearly, we additionally perceive the significance of those matches, however all are equally essential,” Chivu added.
“We’re all conscious of the significance of tomorrow’s match. Maybe, by way of conviction, we have now improved loads in comparison with one or two months in the past. It’s because of the gamers, a really mature workforce that has understood it wants so as to add one thing further.
“It’s not straightforward to play each three days, however we have now options and alternate options. We’ll give you one thing: coaches have to unravel issues, not create issues. This doesn’t imply I don’t say what I feel in closed periods, however I by no means come to complain about what I’ve or don’t have.”
Lastly, the Romanian coach named one Inter starter for tomorrow’s sport: “I at all times have doubts concerning the line-up as a result of I’ve to confront the difficulties of a gaggle that at all times trains at the most effective. I evaluate this with the traits of the opponents. As we speak, I’m feeling beneficiant. Luis Henrique will play tomorrow.”