There are defeats that leave traces. That conceded by Inter against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final (5-0) is one. Silenting since the night of May 31 in Munich, Lautaro Martinez finally spoke, on the eve of the World Cup. In a long interview granted to the Gazzetta dello Sport, the Inter captain returned to this European shipwreck. A deep emotional shock that the Argentinian striker took several days to take.
“It was not us”: the words of a touched man
Without detour, Lautaro confesses: “That evening, nothing was possible. We were not a team ”. Strong words, heavy with meaning, which bear witness to the state of amazement in which the Lombard locker room was. The attacker admits that he had not pronounced a word for five to six days, plagued by misunderstanding. “I was sad, I had trouble understanding the reasons”he lets go. Put to rest by Lionel Scaloni during the last rally of Argentina, Lautaro returns today with a goal: to bounce back, and quickly.
From that night against Monterrey, the Inter launched his quest for buyout. Lautaro, lucid, already mobilizes his own: “I asked guys to be mentally strong. There remains a last effort before the holidays ”. For him, this club World Cup represents the opportunity to soften a white season. The message is clear: California will have to be left with a trophy in your pocket. And to show that the identity of the Inter was not swept by the Parisian waves.
A season without trophy … but not without pride
Despite the final failure, Martinez refuses to qualify this negative season this season. “I am sad to have nothing to have won, but we were regular, solid, present until the end. This must be an impulse to start again “he assures. A way to reaffirm its ambitions, but also to take responsibility. In this cloakroom marked with a hot iron, there remains the anchor point, the totem of a group still under construction.
Under the leadership of Christian Chivu, the Nerazzurri refine the last settings in California. Lautaro hammers him: “We are a mature team. We want to play this World Cup thoroughly ”. At 27, the Argentinian seems determined to turn the page, without snatching him. Because the pain is still lively. But the words are placed. And the reconstruction began.
