Cristian Chivu has spoken again about Alessandro Bastoni and the episode that occurred during Inter-Juventus. In the long interview given to Andrea Marinozzi of DAZN, the coach recounted what was one of the most difficult moments to manage as Inter’s coach and his relationship with the Nerazzurri defender.

“First of all, I defended him, for me that was the most important thing. For everything I saw and heard. After the match, I take that half hour before coming to you for an interview, where I clear my mind a bit and start to understand what I want to convey. That was a special evening, but it was a special evening because of what I had said the day before in the press conference and because of what had happened, because I found myself in the worst situation a coach could face, especially after what I had said before.”

These are the words the coach refers to: “I will start talking about this aspect when I see a coach in a press conference, when he has an episode in his favor, comes out and says he was wrong in my favor and I apologize“.

He continues: “There I had to choose, but not because he needed to be defended, but because what had been generated at the media level, the post-match sports shows were going in a direction that I didn’t like, because they were attacking a player. They started from a simulation and then even brought up the celebration. Two things need to be understood. As for the simulation, he was not at fault, it was the fault of a VAR protocol that could not intervene. Then the hand, I keep saying it, Kalulu extends it towards Ale. The touch is very light, I had said it before too, but I had to go and say what I saw.

What I didn’t like was that no one, and there were many former colleagues, former players, could bring in the emotions of a match. What it means to play a Juve-Inter in those conditions, what the emotional side is like when brought to the highest levels, and every little thing, every little detail in my opinion makes the difference. And there I was a bit angry because things were going in a direction where my player was being put in the square, throw stones, do whatever you want. Something that happened even months later and has continued, continues to this day.

Ale is an intelligent guy, perhaps one of the most intelligent guys I have met in my life in this world of football. Because he has a special sensitivity, a special intelligence that reflects who he is as a person, as a man. But, the pitch is a whole different thing. And he understood the importance of that match, what he represents for the Inter world.

He had to endure an unprecedented media pillory, because I have to say, I have never seen anything like it. It was not easy to manage. What I chose was to side with the player, to side with my team, to side with what I represent. And I kind of understood that certain things and certain values I want to convey in this world, it’s better to let them go, it’s better to start thinking about what I want from my own and what our goals are. Because at a certain point you have to accept the fact that it’s a special world and you have to adapt, you have to adapt because otherwise the wolves will eat you. But what I didn’t want to lose was the credibility and esteem of my players, because in the end what matters is them, not what is said around, but those I work with, those who look at me, listen to me and try to give me what I ask for. The message I received from Ale Bastoni the next morning is worth more than anything in the world to me, I can’t talk about it. I have always tried to comfort him a bit, I tried to give him confidence and make him understand that what matters is the esteem of his teammates, the esteem of the world he is in now, with whom he works, because in the end the most important thing is that.”

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