De Boer: 'True Inter in January'
By Football Italia staff
Frank De Boer wants 'everyone to work for the team' and promises 'you'll see my true Inter in January'.
The 46-year-old was flown in a mere few weeks before the beginning of the championship, and he will have a tough time instilling his gaming philosophy over such a short time.
“As far as I'm concerned, I don't want to change Inter's history, but one step at a time we can grow in many aspects,” said De Boer, in an extensive interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport.
“We must attack and defend together. We can also play on the counter for some time, if we are tired. What I never want to see is everyone hanging back and two strikers alone at the front, asked to resolve the matter.
“Games are won with eleven players, or in fact with the whole squad. Good organisation and unity of intent make the difference, always.
“Single players win a game, the team takes home the titles. If you want to play alone, switch to tennis. You must choose a direction, follow it and get the entire group involved.
“My strikers score a lot because they work close to the goal, but at the same time they must guarantee the right contribution to the team, defensively too.
“Ronaldo scored 30 goals when he was at PSV Eindhoven, but he used to win nothing. You can win only if the team is working. If someone picks up an injury, there must be the option of replacing him without lowering our performance too much. This can only be done if you're a true team.
“It's true, I prefer the 4-3-3, but we can do other things too, like the 4-2-3-1. There's nothing wrong with changing. The opponent must always be studied closely, you must find their weak spots to figure out what's the best way of attacking.
“I do want my team to be able to change between two-three systems, even in the same game, but in order to do like Barcelona and Juve, who know how to switch mid-game without any problems, you require a general growth by the lads. Everything depends on the availability and the quality of the players.”
Finally, De Boer was asked when he believed he'd be able to truly impress his style on the team.
“My Inter will be seen only after four months, which is normal. In January we'll truly know who we are. I haven't been here very long, and on Sunday the championship is beginning.
“Inevitably, with my staff we must be carefuly about the intensity of training. The general philosophy on this subject has changed.
“If we can't handle the physical aspect well, we could have a lot of injuries one month from now. I remember that [Jurgen] Klopp came to Liverpool in October and tried to immediately impose a rigid training style, after the model of Borussia Dortmund.
“The result was that he picked up a lot of injuries, no less than nine. Sometimes it's better to slow down.”
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