Marotta: ‘Hidden dangers for Inter against Young Boys’ | OneFootball

Inter President Beppe Marotta warns of the multiple ‘dangers’ of playing Young Boys on an artificial pitch in the Champions League and gives an update on the San Siro stadium plans.

It kicks off at the Stadion Wankdorf in Bern at 20.00 UK time (19.00 GMT).

You can follow all the build-up and action as it happens from this game and Atalanta-Celtic on the Liveblog.

The Nerazzurri are hoping to continue their run of four consecutive victories in all competition, while they have not conceded a single goal in two Champions League games, drawing 0-0 at Manchester City and crushing Crvena Zvezda 4-0.

There are some hidden dangers to this fixture, as it is played on an artificial pitch.

“The synthetic turf is very dangerous and we hope nobody gets hurt,” Marotta told Sky Sport Italia.

“We know this is their stadium and we respect that, but UEFA should intervene because playing on this kind of surface can cause a lot of fitness problems.”

Inter dealing with injury crisis

Squad rotation has to be kept to a minimum in midfield because of the injury crisis that ruled out Hakan Calhanoglu, Piotr Zielinski, Kristjan Asllani and Francesco Acerbi.

There are changes elsewhere, above all Mehdi Taremi and Marko Arnautovic upfront rather than Lautaro Martinez and Marcus Thuram.

Inter Milan forward Marko Arnautovic (C) celebrates scoring his team’s first goal during the Italian Serie A football match between Genoa and Inter Milan at Luigi Ferraris stadium in Genoa, on December 29, 2023 (Photo by Piero CRUCIATTI / AFP) (Photo by PIERO CRUCIATTI/AFP via Getty Images)

“We have a big squad, the coach decides who to play and we are calm. It is only right to rotate during this tour de force of fixtures.”

That will keep going this Sunday with the Derby d’Italia against Juventus in Serie A.

“We know that this is a fixture with a strong emotional element to it. I don’t think the result will be decisive. We ought to stay focused on the dangers of this evening’s game, as on paper Young Boys don’t seem particularly strong, but we must always have the right mentality for these matches.”

Marotta was also asked about the on-going situation at San Siro, following news that Inter and Milan are back in negotiations to build a new single arena effectively in the car park of the current Stadio Giuseppe Meazza.

“It is first and foremost an historic event, because two Ministers sat down at a table with the Mayor and the two owners of the clubs. It is a sign that politics wants to accelerate this process too.

“Oaktree consider the new stadium to be a strategic asset which can generate fresh revenue for the club. It can also help create a sense of belonging and fidelity to guarantee using the space outside of matchdays.”