Cambiasso admits to Benitez changes

Inter Milan’s Argentina midfielder Esteban Cambiasso said Tuesday that new coach Rafael Benitez has made some changes since replacing Real Madrid-bound Jose Mourinho.

The Portuguese boss left at the end of last season having guided the nerazzurri to a treble, unprecedented in Italian football.

He was promptly replaced by Benitez, a Champions League winner with Liverpool and the man who guided Valencia to two La Liga titles in three years before that.

And Cambiasso said the Spaniard has brought some new methods to the all-conquering team.

“With the arrival of Benitez something has changed with respect to the Mourinho era,” he told Sky Sport.

“There are even little variations with regards to the way he works but the majority of the players are the same and the atmosphere is the same.

“The group is still the most important component and that’s what allowed us to overcome the few difficult moments last season.

“Fortunately, though, we had a lot to celebrate and we hope to do so again this year.”

As for the possibility of his former team-mate, Barcelona’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic joining arch rivals AC Milan, Cambiasso said it was highly unlikely, citing Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani’s admission that it was improbable.

“It was Galliani himself who spoke of a small percentage chance, what do I think, I wouldn’t hold my breath,” he added.

Meanwhile Benitez believes he has adopted a team with the right mentality to win things.

“The dressing room is one with a winning mentality, one that works and works hard,” he said.

“These are players with character and the will to fight, to fight to win.

“It’s a team that thinks about winning matches, a team that also wants to play good football but most of all due to the fact they work together, one for all, helping their team-mates to win together.”

And it is this mentality that Benitez believes will help the team to add the European Supercup to the Italian Supercup they have already claimed in beating AS Roma 3-1 on Saturday.

They play Atletico Madrid in Monaco on Friday night.

“For sure we want to win every game, we wanted to win every (pre-season) friendly in the United States,” he added before slipping in a dig at the perceived negative tactics employed by his predecessor.

“Against Roma we won the first official trophy of the season but the important thing is that we saw that the team wanted to play a bit more football, to hold onto the ball more and to push higher up the pitch.

“Maybe it’s still a bit early but these are things we can do, things we can learn.”

He believes too that Inter have an extra motivation to win in Monaco.

“It’s a difficult match but the positive thing is that Inter have never won this competition and that will be an extra stimulus for my players.”