Alberto De Rossi: Proud of the players

“I’m proud of how the players did,” declared the Primavera boss after the match. “We matched them and for long periods of the game our passing and ball retention were better than Inter’s. I want to say well done to the guys.”

Inter took the lead on 10 minutes through Enrico Baldini, while Andrea Pinamonti made it 2-0 three minutes from the 90.

De Rossi then analysed the match in greater depth: “We struggled to adapt to the new tactics in the first ten minutes. We made a mistake and their individual quality made us pay, but then up until the latter stages we gave nothing else away. We lacked a bit of physicality up front in the challenge, but we worked well to get into the area on two or three occasions. We have no regrets, but it’s a shame to be out of a competition we were taking very seriously.”

De Rossi also recognised that the Primavera were without some important players due to injuries and suspensions, while some youngsters were away with the first team: “It’s in attack that we’ve had most players move up to the first team. We used to say we had a wealth of options up front but in the last month they’ve all disappeared. We are there to support the first team and right now they need some of our players, a few of whom are developing fast. It makes us feel very optimistic about the support we’re giving to the first team.”

League action gets back underway on Saturday 16 January, with a top-of-the-table clash against Empoli awaiting De Rossi’s young Giallorossi: “We have a bit of time to prepare for the match and get a few players back, but I don’t want to speak about the absentees too much because those that played today really pleased me.”