Zola: “Conte has changed Inter, it's a game changer. With him Barella will become a European top “

Interviewed by Corriere dello Sport, the former Cagliari, Parma and Chelsea player spoke about Serie A and the fight for the record, as well as Conte's work with Inter. Who will win the championship? "A billion euro question, even if the race is restricted to Juventus and Inter. There are teams that are doing very well like Roma, Cagliari, Atalanta and Lazio, but the bianconeri and the Nerazzurri will play ». Don't you think you can get away with it? His favorite is … «Juventus has an advantage given by an exceptional squad. And when you have such quality spare parts, in the long run … ». Inter however does not give up anything and is at -1 from the summit. "In the first 12 days Inter did great things and has grown a lot compared to the past, but perhaps something is missing at the level of alternatives." What brought Conte's return to Italian football? «Antonio belongs to that category of coaches who change teams for the better. At Inter he has given so much in terms of physics, results and stubbornness. The Conte teams all have this trademark ». Marotta called it "a top player" in the summer. «In England those like Conte call them" game changer "or one that changes the game. Many years ago someone claimed that the best coach was the one who did the least damage, but now that football has leveled upwards and that the best players are very complicated to buy because they cost crazy figures, the technicians can allow you to make the real leap in quality by maximizing the resources you have available ". In Cagliari's hundredth birthday season and 50 years after winning the Riva championship, what would qualifying for the Champions be? "Cherry on the cake. It will not be easy because the competitors are very strong, but for what we have seen so far it is legitimate to cultivate this hope. Cagliari is not a meteor, but a concrete reality: it has one of the best midfielders in the league and when you can count on Nainggolan in the locker room which gives charisma and personality, you can be sure that the others will grow well. In addition, there is Maran: I heard that he was good at giving a defensive organization and a very solid structure to the team, but it seems to me that this Cagliari has improved a lot even in terms of the game. Allow yourself only an engraving to make the best wishes to Gigi Riva for his 75 years: best wishes "

A crazy boom after the summer farewell of the Barella jewel. How do you explain it? "Cagliari lost a great player like Nicolò who is demonstrating what Inter is worth and that thanks to Conte will become a top player in Europe, but Giulini and his men have done well on the market by buying people of great value like Rog , Nainggolan, Simeone and Nandez. Certain results are not fruit of the case ».