Campagnaro hints at Inter move

The defender did not play down speculation about a summer transfer to San Siro, but insisted he will give his all until the end of the season

Hugo Campagnaro has fuelled speculation he will leave Napoli for Inter this summer after refusing to deny rumours linking him with the club.

The defender scored a late equaliser for the Partenopei as they rescued a point at Lazio, with both teams falling further behind Juventus in the title race after they beat Fiorentina 2-0.

The Argentine will be out of contract at the end of season, and has been repeatedly linked with a free transfer to the Nerazzurri and when asked about the rumours, Campagnaro refused to comment, instead promising to give his all for Napoli this season.

“Inter? As long as I am here, I will always give my all, regardless of circumstances. I’ll still give 100 per cent, that is a guarantee,”he told Sky Italia.

Campagnaro then added that it was important Napoli left Lazio with a point, and that either side could have won the match on Sunday.

“It was a strange game, as we could’ve won it just as easily as lost. It was important to get a point, especially after going behind,” he continued.

“Lazio pinned us back in the first half, but we made up for it in the second.”

Inter youngster Natalino undergoes heart surgery

The Nerazzurri prospect fell ill two weeks ago and has now had emergency treatment, which could end his career

Inter youngster Felice Natalino faces the prospect of never playing football again after undergoing heart surgery.

The 20-year-old was rushed to hospital two weeks ago after complaining of feeling ill whilst at home, before being flown to Milan for surgery on Thursday.

His father told La Gazzetta dello Sport that he was just happy to see his son healthy and that a return to football was not at the top of his priorities.

He said: “The doctors told us we need to wait for around six weeks until we’ll know if Felice can return to playing football.

“On Wednesday he didn’t want to miss a minute of the Under-21 game or Cesare Prandelli’s Italy against Holland. Our joy is seeing him healthy. The rest, we’ll see.”

The full-back, who the Nerazzurri signed from Genoa, has made two Serie A appearances for the club.

Serie A, Inter v Chievo: pre-match stats

MILAN
(Statistics by Football Data) Inter welcome Chievo Verona to San
Siro for the 11th
time this evening, with seven wins, two draws and one defeat from
previous contests.

Inter
haven’t lost at home since 23 September, when Siena won 0-2 in Serie
A. Since then the Nerazzurri have put together a 13-game unbeaten run
on home soil consisting of nine wins and four draws, scoring in every
game (25 goals in total). Andrea Stramaccioni’s side still have some
way to go to equal their record unbeaten home streak of 53 matches,
which came between 2008 and 2010.

Chievo haven’t scored
against Inter in competitive fixtures since 21 November 2010, a 2-1
home triumph at the Stadio Bentegodi for the Gialloblu. Moscardelli
netted the hosts’ second of the day in the 82nd minute.
Since then Chievo have drawn nothing but blanks against the
Nerazzurri, for a total of 368 minutes: the remaining 8 minutes of Chievo 2-1 Inter
and the following four matches all won by Inter, in 2010/11 (2-0 at
home), 2011/12 (1-0 at home, 2-0 away) and 2012/13 (2-0 away).

Chievo Verona are one of
just two teams in the 2012/13 Serie A campaign yet to concede a
penalty (the other is Napoli). The last spot kick given against the
Veneto side came on 6 May 2012 in Palermo 4-4 Chievo, converted by
Miccoli. They have since played 24 league matches without having a
penalty awarded against them.

Today sees coaches Andrea
Stramaccioni and Eugenio Corini face off in opposite dugouts for the
first time. The Nerazzurri coach won his only previous encounter with
Chievo on 26 September last year: a 2-0 success at the Stadio Bentegodi.

Stramaccioni anticipates crucial Milan derby

The young Italian emphasised the significance of the threat posed by Massimiliano Allegri’s men, as the race for European qualification hots up

Inter coach Andrea Stramaccioni believes the February derby clash against city rivals and fellow Champions League-chasing AC Milan could define the fortunes of their season.

In 2013, the Nerazzurri have not reached the heights which saw them put together a 10-match winning run late last year.

However, Stramaccioni is optimistic that his men could enter the fixture against their resurgent neighbours on an upturn of form.

“We are going through a strange period,” Stramaccioni conceded to reporters on the eve of their encounter with Chievo.

“Recent performances have been unsatisfactory, but we are working to improve them and our results.

“AC Milan are going through a good spell and climbing up to where we are, so there will be a lot to play for in the derby. We’re aware we’ll be fighting for an important objective till the end.”

Inter were humbled 3-1 by relegation threatened Siena last week despite handing Zdravko Kuzmanovic, Ezequiel Schelotto and Mateo Kovacic their competitive debuts.

But Stramaccioni has backed his new signings to soon find their feet.

“Schelotto did not do badly against Siena. He hasn’t played much recently, so it takes time to adapt. We signed some new players to help us improve. Kovacic is very talented,” the 37-year-old continued.

“He’s very young, but his career so far says it all. He could be in the starting XI tomorrow.”

The precocious teenage playmaker completed the switch to San Siro for a reported fee of €11 million in January.

Stramaccioni: "Moratti a great motivator"

APPIANO
GENTILE
– “I’ll never be able to thank president Moratti
enough for the faith he showed me at the start and now too. We spoke
at great length on Sunday evening and he really knows how to motivate you. I think he gives us all – myself and the
players – an extra gear. It was nice to hear Carrizo say that everyone seems fired up here. And you heard what Cassano said on Monday – he’s certainly not one to mince his words. That sums up how we all feel, and I mean every one of us: we’re determined to prove we’re not
the team you saw against Siena, we’re not dead and buried.” That’s how Andrea Stramaccioni spoke about the mood in the camp following last Sunday’s defeat to Siena, as
the Nerazzurri head into tomorrow’s Serie A contest with Chievo at
the Stadio Meazza.

On the subject of Massimo Moratti, the Nerazzurri coach was then asked if he agreed with the president that seeing AC Milan draw level
on points might provide an extra incentive: “I’m sure the president
meant that when we’ve found ourselves in tight spots this season
we’ve all dug a bit deeper. We have a derby to play
against the Rossoneri in a few weeks’ time but it makes little difference whether our rival’s name is AC
Milan, Lazio or Fiorentina, Balotelli?
Milan have signed an important player and chosen to make a big investment.
They’ve added a very good striker to their ranks but I don’t have any particular
comment to make.”

Back on the subject of last weekend’s game at Siena, Stramaccioni was asked specifically about
Schelotto’s performance. The coach explained that “everyone did
badly there. Even though they won the game on their left wing, our
right, the defeat to Siena was down to all of us, not Schelotto.
Let’s leave the new players out of the Siena defeat.”