ROME: Inter Milan president Massimo Moratti defended his club`s selection policy that includes no Italians in the first XI by aiming a swipe at their major rivals AC Milan and Juventus.
Inter Milan, who rarely fielded an Italian in their starting line-up last season, were once again completely foreign when they took to the field on Saturday for the Italian Supercup against AS Roma, a game they won 3-1.
Since selling young Italy striking talent Mario Balotelli to Manchester City, they have even fewer options to select a home grown player this season.
But Moratti took to his soap box in an interview with TG1 on Tuesday to remind the country that it was not they but Inter`s main rivals Milan and Juventus who were punished in the infamous 2006 Calciopoli match-fixing scandal.
Asked if Inter were partly to blame for the crisis in Italian football -- the national team was bundled out of the World Cup in the group stages -- was due to the best team in the country not fielding Italians, the president was unequivocal.
"Not at all. It has nothing to do with that at all. I would be more proud of the fact that Inter have given this country the possibility to be first in everything," he said refering to the club`s treble last season.
"People always try to find a fault in those who win but it`s better to be multi-ethnic than buying matches."
John Elkann, the president of Juve`s owners Fiat, hit back quickly claiming: "Inter never knew how to lose and now they still haven`t learnt how to win."
Moratti also claimed that it was normal for Inter to be unpopular in the rest of Italy, much as Manchester United have long been in England, because others are always jealous of those that win.
"If it was normal (that Inter are hated) it`s justified by the fact that if I was the other team that had tried to win but hadn`t managed it, of course I wouldn`t like the one that had won. That`s natural."
Inter have won four trophies this season, adding the Italian Supercup to the Champions League, league and Cup from last season.
They still have two more cups to go for this calendar year with the European Supercup on Friday against Atletico Madrid followed by the Club World Cup in December.
But Moratti insists he is happy with what they`ve already achieved.
"For now we`ve won four (trophies) and I`m happy with four. It was important for us to start the season with a win.
"With a new coach (Rafael Benitez), psychologically it was very important for the whole team, also to show that they hadn`t come to the end of something but that this positive cycle was ongoing."
Friday`s match will have a special significance for club captain Javier Zanetti as it will fall on the exact date of his debut for Inter 15 years ago.
"It`s an honour for me to wear the Inter shirt. To have been involved in so many important moments that all of us and our fans will keep in our hearts and minds forever, I feel privileged," he told the UEFA website.
"You never grow tired of winning and I still want to win many more titles with Inter. It will be a special game for me against Atletico."
Looking back to the Champions League final in Madrid in May, Zanetti says he has fond memories.
"It was a unique feeling because I had been waiting 15 years to lift that cup and I succeeded in doing it as captain of a great Inter side.
"After winning the Scudetto and the Coppa Italia only this trophy, the most important one, was missing.
"We worked very hard to win it. It was a great triumph for everybody."
BDST: 1153 HRS, AUGUST 25, 2010
