Chivu demands mental aggression as Inter Milan ride a rollercoaster

After the Madrid trip, the coach pushes Inter Milan to become mentally stronger and more aggressive

The Inter Milan coach reiterated after the trip to Madrid that he wants a more aggressive team: it’s a mental issue.

A continuous up and down. A rollercoaster. “It fills up and deflates. It lights up thanks to the quality of play, then shuts off when faced with the bare result.” 

This is how La Gazzetta dello Sport via Fcinter1908 portrays the moment of Chivu’s Inter Milan a few months after the Romanian coach took over the Nerazzurri bench. Having returned from Madrid at 3 a.m. after the Champions League match, the team was already on the pitch the next morning for the first training session ahead of the trip to Pisa. 

The newspaper reveals that in his talk with the locker room, Chivu focused directly on what is missing.

“It’s no small thing if his team still comes away with empty hands, despite having been able to dominate Atlético for long stretches in their own home. 

Much like in the derby, or in Naples and Turin: the trend is worrying and was the subject of discussion at Appiano.” A precise mental effort is required for the players. The entire coaching staff is convinced that the issues related to concentration and consistency throughout the 90 minutes must be fixed.

Focus, consistency, set pieces, and the need to “get dirty”

There is also the matter of set pieces: “The problem does not lie in man-marking nor in the physical structure of Inter Milan’s strong aerial players; rather, the key is in maintaining focus at all times.” In Chivu’s mind, one idea echoes constantly, tied to the use of fouls as a weapon: “Already inside the Metropolitano, the Nerazzurri coach reiterated that a team this pretty, to become a winning one, must also get dirty and nastier.”

Now the Inter Milan manager wants three victories before the big Champions League clash against Liverpool at San Siro. Pisa, Venezia, and Como. 

Three matches that cannot be wasted if they hope to present themselves in Europe in the best possible way.