The next day, Inter Milan’s first-team coaching staff had a review eting after the match.
Mancini arrived early to the eting room.
He sat on the chair, crossed his legs, and watched as the mbers of the coaching staff took their seats one by one.
The shrewd Mancini pondered for a long ti and decided to first talk about the coaching staff’s focus.
He deliberately raised the team’s season objectives dramatically!
As soon as he spoke, it was astonishing!
"I’ve decided, this season, we will fight on all three fronts, and compete on every line!"
"As for the league, I have no requirents. Juventus is a full 20 points ahead of us, but the Champions League spot must be secured. This is our bottom line!"
"Italy has reached the final. I don’t need to say more; even if we want to give up, the players won’t agree!"
"Lastly, the UEFA Europa League, we’ve reached the semi-finals, and there’s a big hope for a push!"
As soon as he said this, the first-team coaching staff were all stunned.
Although the club publicly declared a strategy to advance on three fronts,
everyone knew that this was rely Mancini cooperating with the owner Toshihiko’s external publicity strategy~
The real objective for Inter Milan this season was still to strive to enter the top three in the league to secure a Champions League spot for the next season.
In internal etings with the coaching staff, Mancini repeatedly emphasized that this goal would not change.
Everyone still rembered Mancini’s confident tone and determined gaze:
"With our current squad, it’s impossible to handle the pressure of fighting on three fronts, safeguarding the league is the safest bet, and it’s the best way to protect everyone’s jobs!"
Why, after the match against Sassuolo, did Mancini make a 180-degree change in the season’s objectives?
This is far removed from the initial KPI assessnt targets set for the season.
In the eting, many mbers of the first-team coaching staff expressed opposition.
The first to speak was Herrera, Mancini’s assistant coach.
"Boss, isn’t this goal a bit challenging," Herrera said tactfully, "Our players’ starting lineup and substitute lineup have a gap. These past few matches were held down by relying on the main squad. The Coppa Italia doesn’t need much mobilization, we’ve reached the final, so a push isn’t impossible, but balancing both the league and the UEFA Europa League, I fear by the end of the season..."
Herrera’s words made everyone nod in agreent.
It was the plain truth!
Technical coach Augusto picked up the thread.
He was straightforward by nature and spoke very directly.
"In Serie A, the only team with the strength to battle on three fronts is Juventus!"
"They have deep pockets, with two sets of squads capable of starting. In terms of player value or depth, they are far superior to us."
"Moreover, they established a lead early in the league, enabling them to sustain efforts in the Coppa Italia and Champions League."
"Currently, we are only fifth in the league, not to ntion vying for second. We are 9 points away from Napoli for third place! I believe that to secure the Champions League qualification, we must abandon the UEFA Europa League."
Augusto’s words resonated with everyone.
The gap in strength between Inter and Juventus was apparent and not subject to individual will.
Especially physical analyst Pellegrini.
He had long wanted to speak, and when his turn ca, he spoke at length:
"I closely monitor the players’ physical condition in training every day."
"This season, we equipped many players with testing vests, and through data analysis, we found that in the most recent three league matches, after 75 minutes, the players’ heart rates accelerate rapidly, often reaching over 200!"
"This is a very dangerous signal, indicating that the players’ physical limits are reached. Although not obvious now, I fear that during the league’s final sprint phase, there will be a large-scale injury crisis. If we ss up, the consequences will be unimaginable."
The topic of "ssing up" struck everyone in Inter Milan’s coaching staff deeply.
In the previous few seasons, every ti after Christmas, Inter Milan often had "ss ups."
Fans of AC Milan and Juventus jokingly called this Inter’s routine operation.
Many dia outlets also criticized Inter Milan’s stamina, saying they habitually ran out of steam!
However, the root cause behind the "ss ups" still lay in the team’s lack of depth in the bench, unable to endure an entire season like a marathon.
As such, focusing on unleashing all efforts in the league is the only way to achieve the initial goal of entering the top three for the season; otherwise, it might end in vain!
In the face of opposition from everyone, Mancini remained expressionless and noncommittal.
He had long anticipated this outco.
Mancini chuckled, then turned to Comby, who was specially invited to participate in this coaching staff eting, the chief doctor of Inter Milan.
"Mr. Comby, what is the current status of the players’ injury recoveries?"
Comby nodded and adjusted his black-frad glasses.
He picked up a report from the table with both hands.
"Honorable Mr. Mancini, Mr. Herrera, and all mbers of the first-team coaching staff, I now represent Inter Milan Club to provide a phase summary of the first-team players’ injuries this season."
Comby’s report was very detailed, revealing his authoritative attitude in sports dicine.
The report mainly conveyed several key pieces of information.
Regarding injured players, Gualin’s recovery was not as expected, with the thigh injury possibly requiring two more weeks to fully heal.
Due to continuous starts, Santon’s niscus wear has worsened, which may affect his athletic capability.
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