Mauro: “Inter is the strongest, but losing Ausilio could turn out to be a mistake”

Interviewed by the Gazzetta dello Sport, Massimo Mauro analyzed the Italian championship almost a third of the way through the Serie A season, starting from one of the biggest surprises of the season. “Lazio is a wonderful reality, a great surprise. They deserve recognition and I do so with great pleasure,” he declared.

According to Mauro, the performance of the Biancocelesti is no accident: “Gattuso has gotten 120% out of several players: Isaksen, Taylor, Noslin. The quality is truly high, these first eleven matches are no coincidence.” He does not commit himself on the title race, but opens up to unexpected scenarios: “I don’t feel like saying they will fight for the title, but I would be very pleased if the Scudetto were won by a Roman team and not Inter.”

Among the teams that convince him is also Roma: “It’s the other reality I like the most, because they hold up despite Dybala’s injury and a few other setbacks. Gasperini tells off those who say he should manage and change his approach when he’s winning 2-0: those who raise these criticisms don’t understand that Roma manages to stay at the top precisely because they have the right mentality.”

Then comes the Inter chapter. On the ups and downs of the Nerazzurri, his judgment is clear: “They have solved them very well, because the only real slip-up was against Milan. Inter is the strongest and if they hold on in key moments, they should win with a 10-point lead over the second place team.” On the condition, however, that their best players stay focused: “Calhanoglu, Lautaro, Thuram, Bastoni, Barella and Dimarco must keep up the extremely high level of recent years. If they continue to have a winning mentality, Inter will go all the way everywhere because they have a great squad.”

However, there is one aspect that Mauro does not view positively: the departure of Ausilio. “It’s true that directors don’t score goals, but those who know how to do their job as sporting director maintain balance within the locker room, in the relationships between the club, the players and the agents: contracts, decisions, who leaves on a free, who you sell, who you buy. Ausilio is a master. Inter has had a few problems, maybe losing Ausilio was a mistake, considering what Inter achieved with him. We’ll see, the future will tell.”