Inter head coach Cristian Chivu has praised Napoli manager Massimiliano Allegri before the two sides meet in the third round of Serie A on 5 September, saying the experienced coach has “everything we want to learn”.
Chivu’s comments came as he looked ahead to a match between two teams who have made contrasting starts to the new league campaign. Inter have won their opening two games, beating Cagliari and Monza, and sit among the leaders with six points.
Napoli, meanwhile, have collected three points and are 10th in the table after the first two rounds.
Despite Inter’s perfect start, Chivu said his team must remain faithful to its own identity when it faces Allegri’s side. The Nerazzurri head coach stressed that the forthcoming fixture should not lead his players away from the principles they want to establish at the beginning of the season.
The meeting will also bring Chivu up against one of Serie A’s most experienced managers. In assessing Allegri, the Inter boss offered a particularly positive view of his counterpart, highlighting the qualities he believes provide an example for his own team.
“He has everything we want to learn,” Chivu said of Allegri.
That assessment adds an extra layer of interest to the fixture, although the main focus for Inter will be to maintain the momentum created by victories over Cagliari and Monza. Those results have put the club on six points and among the early leaders, while Napoli’s three-point total leaves them in 10th place.
The league positions give Inter the stronger statistical start, but Chivu’s message was that the table should not change the way his side approaches the game. His emphasis on preserving Inter’s identity suggests that the team’s performance will be judged not only by the result, but also by its ability to play according to its own established approach.
Napoli will be looking to improve their position when the teams meet on 5 September. Their three points from the opening rounds leave them below Inter at this stage, but the upcoming fixture gives them the opportunity to make progress against one of the early pacesetters.
For Chivu, the encounter is therefore both a test of Inter’s early form and an opportunity to measure his side against Allegri’s Napoli. The Inter manager has recognised the qualities of the opposing coach, but has also made clear that his players must concentrate on retaining their own identity.
Inter enter the third round with two wins from two and six points. Napoli go into the match with three points and sit 10th. The contrast in their starts will provide the immediate backdrop to a meeting in which Chivu has urged Inter to stay true to themselves while learning from the qualities he sees in Allegri.