Frank De Boer Announced As Mancini’s Replacement At Inter Milan

| | 0

Former Ajax manager Frank de Boer has been appointed as Inter Milan’s new head coach on a three-year deal.

“I’m very happy to be here, and I hope to see you soon,” De Boer, 46, said in a message on Inter Milan’s Twitter.

He further talked about his appointment in an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport, wherein he revealed: “I was a bit surprised by Inter’s interest. Other Serie A clubs had enquired about me but then they picked Italian coaches, so I thought my future would be elsewhere.

“I had contact with English clubs, Anderlecht and Olympiakos, but when I found out that Inter were serious, I desperately wanted to come to Milan. Inter are a club with a great history and they won the Champions League six years ago, and now they want to get back into the Champions League, which is the same ambition I have.

“My philosophy? It’s forming a blend of youth and experience which can improve the squad to play with my style. In Italy now there is much more than a big defensive school and it’s great to see Juve and Roma play.

“I think my philosophy can be successful if the players follow it because players can win matches, but it is the squad which wins titles.

“I had the first informal contact with representatives of the Chinese fund [club owners Suning Holdings Group] after the [6-1] defeat to Tottenham, but I didn’t want to start negotiations until they clarified the situation with Roberto Mancini. I wanted everything to be done with the utmost correctness towards him.

“For me it’s important to leave a mark on a team. When I decided to leave Ajax, I promised I would take [assistant] Orlando Trustfull with me because we worked very well together.

“And we’ve built a backroom staff suited to the Italian game: [youth coach Michel] Kreek played for Padova and our analyst [Michele] Santoni is Italian and knows the football in this country very well. As for [fitness coach Alessandro] Schoenmaker, he speaks English and Portuguese and this will help.

“Now’s not the right moment [to say if I will sign Ajax players]. Now, it’s important that I understand which players I have available, their position in the squad and what they can give and what they need, but we’ve got to act quickly because the Serie A season is less than two weeks away and we’ve got some big games straight away.”

Roberto Mancini left his position at Inter by mutual agreement on Monday, after the Italian side was beaten 6-1 by Tottenham in a pre-season friendly.

 

Follow us on Twitter and Like us on Facebook

 

Leave a Comment