Marotta: ‘Derby d’Italia has a special flavour, everyone wants to beat Inter’ | OneFootball

Inter President Beppe Marotta recognises the ‘Derby d’Italia has a special flavour to it’ as they face arch-rivals Juventus. ‘We are the Champions of Italy and everyone wants to beat us.’

It kicks off at the Allianz Juventus Stadium at 19.45 GMT.

You can follow all the build-up and action as it happens from today’s five Serie A games on the Liveblog.

This is a huge opportunity for the Nerazzurri, as after Napoli were held to a third consecutive stalemate, a win here would let them take over as Serie A leaders.

However, Juve have lost only one league game all season and fought back for a thrilling 4-4 draw when these sides met at San Siro.

“This is a game that is important beyond the result, because the performance is crucial, and hopefully can warrant a good result too,” Marotta told DAZN.

“People often say that the head-to-head clashes are decisive for the Scudetto, but we have found that the real dangers tend to be dropping points against the teams in mid-table or even lower.

“We know this is the Derby d’Italia and therefore has a special flavour to it and we are ready to play in the right way.”

Marotta went from Juventus to Inter success

epa11687700 Inter Milan’s Denzel Dumfries (C) scores the 4-2 goal during the Italian Serie A soccer match between FC Inter and Juventus FC, in Milan, Italy, 27 October 2024. EPA-EFE/MATTEO BAZZI

Marotta had many years at the helm of Juventus and it is perhaps not a complete coincidence that Inter have flourished since he made the switch to San Siro.

“I had eight wonderful years here crowned with much success, but it also helped me to come to Inter and bring my ideas. We achieved important results here and I think all past experiences help you to grow, become wiser, and I take that wisdom with me that matured at clubs even before Juventus, like Sampdoria, Atalanta and Venezia.”

Marcus Thuram is carrying an ankle knock and only fit for the bench, so Mehdi Taremi partners Lautaro Martinez upfront, but Federico Dimarco has shaken off flu symptoms and Denzel Dumfries returns from suspension.

Simone Inzaghi was very fired up on the touchline during the win over Fiorentina, which came just days after only Inter’s second Serie A defeat of the whole season. Can the club help take some of that pressure off the coach and his squad?

“When there is a big club, the pressure increases, and in my view in Italy there is no culture of dealing with defeat, it sparks a lot of envy. We are the Champions of Italy and everyone wants to beat us, but we must react and be even stronger than that,” noted Marotta.

“The adrenaline he has on the touchline is naturally going to be higher than the one I have in the stands, but it is all part of the process and playing our part as protagonists in these tournaments.”

That might’ve been a dig at the media coverage received by the controversial goal in their victory over Fiorentina on Monday evening.