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DERBY AT -1 DAY

"They are the favorites and we will try to win because it would give us a huge mental advantage.  We have found the trust which was lacking.  And I am happy that on the other side there won't be Inzaghi."

32 goals in 41 games with Inter:

• 8 in Champions League, 1 in FIFA Club World Cup, 2 in Super Cup, 2 in Italian Cup and 19 in Serie A.
• 4 by using left foot, 1 from a free-kick, 6 penalties and 21 by using the right foot.
  

"MILAN, WATCH OUT..."

"... not only the derby can change the standings but it can change our heads."

The Scudetto, the comeback of Inter, Ibrahimovic and much more: the goal scoring machine of Inter reveals how to face important matches.

"They are the favorites but a win would give us a huge mental advantage.  Too bad, I can not challenge Ibra but the man I fear the most is Inzaghi..."

Appiano Gentile - Eto'o, let's agree before we start this interview.  If you don't like a question, please don't threaten us like that Cameroonian journalist...

"Too bad, that wasn't even a journalist but that was a person whose interest is only about how much my income is.  In fact, do you know what happened as soon as I finished that outburst?  Other represented journalists applauded."

Well, then we can begin.  Do you remember what you said last summer?  "If I don't score at least 30 goals, I wouldn't count them."

"I believe that I said was I wouldn't know how many goals I would have at this point of the season?"

Lie... Anyway, you're at 32, with two months remaining and your best was the 36 goals with Barcelona.  Is this a golden year for you?

"I don't know if it's the best but I know that the older I get the more I try to do better than previous years.  A lot more when I was young."

So you were right when you asked to player closer to the goal?

"But I wasn't unhappy with Mourinho.  I really understand the important things in life, not just football."

Ok, but you are more free now.  No?

"You said it well.  Now I have more freedom.  I can be on the left, go to the right, even sometimes I throw myself in the middle.  It all depends on instinct and the way I want to play.  Now I can help my teammates in another way."

Also Leonardo, compared to Benitez, has helped Inter.

"It happens now because we have been having fewer injuries and we have changed so many other dynamics.  Before, we trained with our brakes on but now we work without fear and pessimism.  We have foud our confidence again.  We must say thanks to those who played in those two months because today we are still on for everything.  Even for the Scudetto."

What was your thinking in November?

"I thought that it would be complicated but not impossible.  In the past, Roma demonstrated that nothing is unthinkable.  Of course, during those months, we only thought about the hypotheses.  Today it is reality."

And now everything depends on your team?

"No, everything, still, depends on Milan because they are first and if they win, the league is theirs.  They are the favorites.  Favorites are ones that have the lead."

So if Inter win this derby, you would become Scudetto favorite?

"The derby is a game that can change the course of the season, but only for a week: then there are other seven games and the last four wil decide the Scudetto.

Would you say the same thing even if you lose?

"Why should we lose?"

And in case of a tie?

"The same: everything remains open."

Yes, but don't say that a victory for Inter will not change anything.

"I am saying that it is not a game like a Champions League final.  Of course, it is a game that can change everything especially on a psychological level and winning it will give us a huge mental advantage."

From a mental point of view, does it give you more courage to play in this derby with three forwards?

"No.  I play.  Strategies for the coach."

Milan coach, Allegri, said that if possible he would take Eto'o away from Inter.  What about at Milan?

"I am glad that there is not going to be my friend Pippo Inzaghi, one of the strongest central forwards in the world.  One that hits you when you least expect it."

Oh so you didn't say that you are happy because there is no Ibra.  Does it mean that you would prefer to deal with him?

"I have only one answer.  Football lovers always want to see games with great players."

Ibrahimovic for Eto'o plus 50 million euros was the best deal of this lifetime according to many people.

"Everyone can spend their money the way they wanted.  If tomorrow my president wants to go to Barcelona and makes a billion offer for Messi, he is free to do so.  And it was not Ibrahimovic's fault that Barca decided to pay that much.  They will decide.  My condition was only this: I want to go to a club where I can feel good and do my job well, without regrets."

But did Guardiola regret?

"I don't know.  Every time I had heard from Guadiola, we didn't talk about the past."

What about Leonardo, who spent the last 13 years at Milan?

"Leonardo, first as a player and now as a coach, has managed many big games like tomorrow night."

Why is it that nobody can manage Balotelli?  What would you tell him if he was still your teammate?

"The same thing that I told him on the phone today.  Sometimes we heard from each other.  Mario is young and can stil have a great career but people should help him to be better.  Because football is like life: everything can happen very quickly.  What you have today, you might not have it tomorrow."

Is it easier to win a Scudetto coming back like this or win two Champions League titles in a row?

"Right now, it is easier to play and try to win the derby.  Then, after Milan, we'll think about Schalke 04."

But the victory in Munich may be a turning point which is comparable like the one last year in London?

"I hope so, but you know that not all the years are the same, unfortunately."

But from that day, you can breath fresh air, different atmosphere?

"The air we breathed in Abu Dhabi three months ago was great too."

Do you remember a goal you have scored against Milan?

"Actually two.  One with Real Madrid, at the San Siro, although it was a friendly.  The other at Camp Nou (Milan 2-1 Barcelona) with Xavi found me space."

With Real and Barcelona.  But you still don't have one at Inter...

"I will not think about this as the game approaches.  Because scoring a goal at all costs can hurt.  It can hurt the team and thinking about it too much you may not even score."

But what is your best goal of this season?  Against Cagliari or Genoa?

"I would say against Bologna when Milito passed me the ball using a back-heel pass."

Eto'o, you have played 41 out of 44 games.  You have only missed three due to suspension.  Are you feeling a little bit tired?

"A bit yeah.  But staying close with friends and helping my teammates help me not to feel tired.  There is no other secret really."

Source: Gazzetta dello Sport