LILLE – Under a cloudy sky, but with a strong will and an opportunity to raise their heads again and find the spark once more. Claudio Ranieri indicates the man who has his finger on the button, Wesley Sneijder, as he turns to concentrate on Europe, the UEFA Champions League and on this French team that can play and allows other teams to play.
"This is completely different," said the Nerazzurri coach during the press conference. "We have to put the past behind us. We must only keep in mind that we achieved all of that with the quality that is still here today. And which we must now apply as best we can to pull ourselves out of a negative period. If things aren't going well for you and you give in, you're just going to lose again, both as a man and an athlete. When things are going badly, you have to give it something extra: life teaches us this and so does sport. And now the time has come to find that extra drive. We have problems to deal with, firstly with ourselves, then as a team, but we mustn't panic; we must keep our cool. That's how we solved the problem in Moscow, for example. In the group there's so much energy and desire to win, to take part and these are all the foundations that give strength to confidence."
Tomorrow will be Wesley
Sneijder's first match under Ranieri. The Dutchman picked up an
injury preparing for the Bologna match the day before the coach first took
his place on the Inter bench. "Wesley is an
important reference point for this team," said Ranieri. He's the sort of player that
can light the spark for you in an instant. His team-mates know he can
turn a game. For him, more than being a responsibility it's a
natural tendency his team-mates have to seek him. We're not putting Wesley under any particular pressure, he likes having a central role in the team and we're sure he'll make an important contribution.
"The players coming back from injury obviously won't be 100%," Ranieri continued, "but we have to take things as they are at the moment. If someone who's been out starts the game tomorrow, I'll obviously have to be keep an eye on them because they won't have 90 minutes in their legs yet."
Another question during the UEFA press conference was about the line-up. "Cambiasso at centre-back? Yes, he can play there," replied Ranieri, "but tomorrow we'll go with Chivu in the middle and Nagatomo on the left." That was all the coach would say because various factors (fatigue, morale, confidence of individuals) will have to be evaluated closer to kick-off.
Lille have Belgian talent Eden Hazard in their ranks, a player who was much talked about last spring, in Italy and elsewhere. But Lille are more than just Hazard, Ranieri insisted: "They play flowing football, create lots of openings and score lots of goals. They have Pedretti, who is an important player for the side's build-up play and their balance. Then there's Sow, who was the top-scorer in Ligue 1 last year, and Joe Cole, who I brought to Chelsea when he was just a young lad and who is now on a fine run of form after an unfortunately spell. So we'll have to be very careful tomorrow, snuff out their fires in attack and ignite a few of our own as soon as we can."
