Steven Zhang is raring to join the select list of presidents that led Inter to the Champions League semifinals, which comprises just Angelo and Massimo Moratti and Ivanoe Fraizzoli. The young chairman got personally in touch with the manager and multiple players via texts and phone calls, La Gazzetta dello Sport informs.
The 31-year-old has a direct relationship with Simone Inzaghi. It hasn’t been affected by their ongoing woes. They had a chat Saturday night after the costly loss against Monza. The chief reassured the gaffer Tuesday night, reminding him of their previous successes in Europe.
Zhang also reached out to Lautaro Martinez, who’s in a scoring slump, to cheer him up, Edin Dzeko, whom he profoundly esteems, and Nicolò Barella and Hakan Calhanoglu, who are his sentinels inside the locker room and whom he routinely contacts to have the pulse of what’s going on.
The president decided not to show face at the training center on the eve of the game to avoid adding pressure. There’s a lot on the line for him too in the home stretch of the season. He decided to postpone a business trip to the United States and stay in Italy until June.
If Inter held on versus Benfica, they’d enjoy a significant windfall. Advancing is worth up to €25M between the UEFA prize money, a larger share of the market pool, and game-day revenue. The sum would contribute to mending their finances. Milan Skriniar will remain sidelined with his back problem, while Stefan De Vrij is a late call after picking up a lower leg injury in the Monza tilt.
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