Pazzini: "A small part of that Scudetto is mine"
Thursday, 28 April 2011 21:02:21
APPIANO GENTILE – It's 21:00 and Pazzo rides again. This time he appeared on Inter Channel, where he spoke widely about himself and answered the countless questions that arrived in the studio from fans and surprisingly, or maybe not so, not only from Inter fans.
"I'm very pleased about this, because sometimes certain acknowledgements mean much more than scoring goals," said Pazzini when the bond which still exists between him and Fiorentina and Sampdoria fans was mentioned; the teams he played for before joining Inter. I enjoyed my time in Florence. I was at home there but I have no complaints. Decisions were made but that city will always have a place in my heart. Then came Genova, which I think was a turning point for me. I met people who became friends on and off the pitch. There was a really good atmosphere. There too, certain choices were made but the Blucerchiati fans were always fond of me and I'll always be fond of them."
The warmth of the fans is one thing that didn't change moving from Genova to Milan. But something else did. On the pitch, for example: "One of the greatest differences I noticed compared with when I was playing at Sampdoria is that each and every team that comes to play us at the Stadio Meazza concentrate on defending and that makes it difficult for Inter to build up moves and to find space and that makes everything complicated. This is one aspect of my game that I must improve."
How much can a footballer learn from playing alongside a world-class talent such as Samuel Eto'o, a player who has won everything while retaining his modesty and desire to work hard? Pazzini has learnt a lot at Inter, "Not only from Eto'o, but in lots of my team-mates here I've noticed a different mentality, the belief that each of them has in their own ability, the self-awareness and patience that you would never find in other teams and that they are able to get across even to those who have only just joined the team." In particular, Marco Materazzi, "maybe because he's Italian, he's the team-mate that, especially in the first few days, helped me settle in here, explaining lots of things about daily life here. Then I got that same help from the rest of the group. One thing that I realised as soon as I got here is just how much it means to these players to be wearing the black-and-blue shirt." A shirt that Pazzini was perhaps destined to wear. "I haven't won anything here yet, although I like to think that with my brace against Roma last season [Roma 1-2 Sampdoria, 25 April 2010 - ed.], I contributed in some small way to Inter's Scudetto," he said, grinning. "But now I want to win things wearing this shirt and I hope to start with the Coppa Italia."
Changes on the pitch mean changes off it too: from Florence via Genoa to Milan. "I'm really happy here," admitted the Nerazzurri striker speaking about the daily routine in the city. "It was only for the first month that I found it a bit chaotic and I was a bit of a disaster on the roads. I live in the centre and I enjoy the drive up to Appiano Gentile. Everything is great here. How do I spend my free time? I'm pretty easy-going; I like staying in and watching TV but I also eat out sometimes and I love Japanese food."
He's seen by some as an assassin on the football pitch on account of the way he stares at the goalkeeper and players of the opposing team. This made him laugh and he went on to talk about players who had graced the role that he plays today, in the past: "When I was young I liked Del Piero and I used to watch the main strikers; I particularly liked Ronaldo, Vialli and Inzaghi."
He remembered things from the past and others from the not-so-distant past like a very memorable match, Inter v Palermo (30 January 2010) when he scored twice as Inter came back in his first match for the Nerazzurri: "That Sunday was definitely one of my best memories. Even now when I see the pictures, I think about it with pride. I had arrived two days previously and it was my debut in an Inter shirt. We were 2-0 down. I've held on to everything from that day: from the ball to the pennant, to the shorts, absolutely everything."
At the end of the interview Pazzini talked about how he views next season: "I see it with us all carrying out the same training programmes and preparing the task ahead together. It isn't easy to fit into a group half-way through the season, so I see the next one as being even better than this. On a personal note I'd like to be the one who makes the difference for the team to a greater extent, because then I'll be even more motivated and charged up, ready to start again."
Credit: Internazionale Milano (www.inter.it)
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