Inter Milan coach Simone Inzaghi is ready to lock horns with Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid.
The first-leg of their Champions League round 16 tie will be held tomorrow night.
Inzaghi said of his former Lazio teammate: “Clearly tomorrow it will be a pleasure to see Diego again as an opponent. He was a great teammate, we won in Rome with Lazio, then he went to Atletico but we never lost sight of each other.
“It was clear that he would become a great coach, just look at what he did in 13 years at Atlético Madrid. He won a lot and, beyond the impact he gives to his teams, I saw Atlético play: it’s a pleasure to watch him play.
“We know what we did last year, we experienced magical nights together with our club and our fantastic fans. We would like to do it again, we know that there are great teams that have the same aspiration as Inter. Tomorrow evening we will face an opponent of absolute value, a quality team. In the last few games Atletico has changed 22-23 players and the team hasn’t changed. It’s an excellent team, coached very well by Diego: it will be a very complicated round for us, but we will play it great. Tomorrow is the first 180 minute match, at our home: we know there will be a great atmosphere and it will be great to play it. We will need the real Inter.”
On matching Simeone’s longevity, Inzaghi added: “This is difficult, I understood it over the years at Lazio and now here at Inter. In twenty days, opinions on players and coaches change quickly: it’s useless to think too much, you have to work on principles, with these guys who have a focus always on us.
“We’ve done six months in the best possible way, but the most important thing is these three that are missing.”
