Inter chief executive Giuseppe Marotta says coach Simone Inzaghi will “absolutely” remain with the Nerazzurri next season, and could become “one of the best” coaches in the game later in his career.
Inter’s hopes of retaining the Serie A title were dealt a blow on Wednesday as they fell to a 2-1 defeat at Bologna, allowing rivals Milan to preserve their two-point advantage at the top of the table.
The Nerazzurri’s reverse was their first on the road against bottom-half opponents since January 2021, with Marko Arnautovic and Nicola Sansone overturning the early lead established by Inzaghi’s men when Ivan Perisic netted Inter’s fastest Serie A goal of the season (two minutes and 53 seconds after kick-off).
However, Marotta remains adamant Inzaghi will remain at the club regardless of the outcome of their Scudetto fight.
“Absolutely yes, we are very happy with Inzaghi,” he said at an event at San Siro. “He is doing well and has strong growth margins.
“I believe that when he reaches the age of [Carlo] Ancelotti, [Antonio] Conte, or [Massimiliano] Allegri, he will be one of the best around.”
3 – Bologna are unbeaten against Juventus, AC Milan and Inter in a single second half of a #SerieA season for their first time since 2011/12 campaign, under Stefano Pioli (draw against AC Milan and Juventus, win against Inter). Wall.#BolognaInter pic.twitter.com/4orrqUd2xA
— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) April 27, 2022
Inter saw an 11-match unbeaten Serie A run come to an end on Wednesday, but Marotta remains optimistic the Nerazzurri can still win a second successive league title.
“As a sportsman, I smile, but it’s a bitter smile,” he added. “It’s part of the game; we lost a battle, but not the war.
“We have to recompose ourselves as quickly as possible; we’re angry, but not depressed.
“There are four games left, let’s see what happens. Today’s football is not as predictable as it was in the 1970s or 1980s. Today, even the team that has nothing to say can win.”
Inzaghi’s men conceded multiple goals in an away Serie A match for the first time since October 2021 (against Lazio) in their loss at Bologna, having kept seven away clean sheets between those two instances.
Inter and Milan are fighting it out at the end of an absorbing title race in which the likes of Napoli and Juventus were involved for long periods, and Marotta said the competitive nature of this Serie A campaign has been good for Italian football.
“I think there is a general levelling of the teams, there is not yet mathematically a team that is relegated or that knows what its position will be,” he said.
“It is for this reason one of the most interesting leagues in recent years, and this was needed after the domination of Juventus and our success well in advance of [the end of the season] last year. This is good for the movement.”
