Inter coach hails his team after derby win

Inter Milan coach Jose Mourinho said his Inter side provided a picture of what he wants them to be in the future, as the Nerazurri crushed city rivals Milan, 4-0, at the San Siro.

Goals from Thiago Motta, Diego Milito and Maicon saw Inter 3-0 up at the break against Milan, who had Gennaro Gattuso sent off during the first half for two yellow cards. Dejan Stankovic’s sensational long-range effort capped of a memorable result and an outstanding team performance by Mourinho’s men, who dominated the match throughout.

“It was a fantastic match,” the Portuguese coach said after the game. “All the goals were beautiful. The team is very strong. Psychologically the boys did well, they played with confidence and tranquillity and were well organised. When it’s like this it’s fantastic.

“It’s important to react well after a difficult moment. We drew against Bari, worked all week and won a match today that is important for the history of Inter. I didn’t leave the stadium crying last week and I’m not leaving with a bottle of champagne after tonight’s victory. Tomorrow is another day and now we have to work towards the match against Parma.”

Mourinho fielded new recruit Wesley Sneijder in midfield, just two days after his high-profile switch from Real Madrid, and the Dutchman made a hugely promising debut, contributing to much of Inter’s best football before being replaced with a little over fifteen minutes to play.

“The history of football is like this. When a coach makes the right choice he becomes fantastic. I knew that I would have been criticised if we had lost with Sneijder in the starting lineup, but now everyone is saying I did well. They didn’t say that last week… Wesley played very well and the team did the same. He’s a player who unites the two lines. I decided to play him twenty-four hours ago when Branca assured me he would be available.

“I had already said that this team has great potential because Ibra left and we have five new players that we always wanted, and they give this team much more balance. We certainly have to work because we need new automatisms, but winning against AC Milan and having four points in the table gives us the tranquillity to continue our work. We have changed men and mentality. I like winning and I like controlling the match. Tonight I saw us have ball possession that we never saw last season. We were the photograph of what we want to be in the future, and of the project that we still have to work on.”