Inter Milan President Beppe Marotta: “I Chose Antonio Conte As Coach Because We Needed An Authoritative Figure To Win Serie A” | OneFootball

Inter Milan President Beppe Marotta has revealed that he turned to Antonio Conte as coach in 2019 because he felt the Nerazzurri needed a strong figure to find success again.

Speaking at an event to launch a new book about Inter by Beppe Severgnini, and as reported by Calciomercato.com, Marotta explained why he decided to pursue Conte following the departure of Luciano Spalletti in 2019.

It was a move that paid off spectacularly, with Conte leading Inter to the Europa League final in his debut season before ending an 11-year drought by lifting the Serie A title the following year.

“I chose Conte because at the time I was convinced that the club needed him,” Marotta declared.

“But the choice of coach is also appropriate to the moment in which you choose him.

“There are times when you need people who have firmness and authority and others when maybe the team itself is already broken in and maybe you need someone who can manage that more effectively.”

The conversation turned to players with strong passion and a connection to the Inter shirt, which can at times lead to poor discipline or hot-headedness on the pitch, with midfielder Nicolo Barella picked out as an example.

Marotta revealed how the club had helped the former Cagliari man mature and settle down during games, leading to greater discipline and fewer bookings in recent campaigns.

“When the referees are designated to our matches we also study the referee and what kind of relationship to have with him.

“In the past, Barella sometimes had a bad attitude towards the referees, but now he has improved a lot because we don’t just study the opponent but also the referee.”

Barella joined Inter from Cagliari in 2019 and has scored 23 goals in 247 appearances across all competitions for the Nerazzurri.