After clinching the Serie A title, Inter Milan now have a chance to secure their second trophy of the season as they face Lazio in the Coppa Italia final on Wednesday. For manager Cristian Chivu’s side, this match carries extra significance, especially since they defeated the Biancocelesti 3-0 just days ago in the league. However, Chivu warned against complacency, stressing the need for a top-level performance to emerge victorious.
“These are two different games, and there are pitfalls when you face the same team consecutively. You might think it will be as easy as Saturday, or they might find extra motivation. We have to stay humble, adopt the right attitude, and realize that we’ve won the Scudetto and reached the Coppa Italia final—we want to honor it in the best possible way. We’ll be well prepared,” Chivu said in a press conference.
Inter’s fitness coach, Cechi, added that the team has learned to handle setbacks better this season: “I can’t speak for others, but Mario (Chivu) says our management has been good, yet the credit belongs to the players. When we humbly accept the desire to improve, it’s all their doing. We just need to be careful not to overdo it in terms of mindset and attitude. We have important values. What do we need tomorrow? No obsessions. Everything we’ve won so far is deserved, and we must maintain the clarity we’ve had. Stay calm, smile, go out and do specific things, but with the desire to enjoy the game, without losing enthusiasm and humility.”
Reflecting on his own tenure, Chivu noted that he arrived at Inter with limited experience but successfully brought stability to the team, helping them start winning again: “What have I given Inter? Ambition. It’s my experience as a player and within this club, often underestimated: I know what it means to be part of a club like Inter, the noise around it, and the negative aspects that always surface. I’ve tried to calm everyone down from a human perspective, to manage the frustrations from outside. I’m dealing with a group of great people, genuine individuals who dare to face challenges and know how to stick together.”
When asked what winning the Coppa Italia would mean to him personally, Chivu replied: “It changes nothing for me. At most, I’ll be happy for them. I found a team that matches my ambition, a team eager to compete. From Lautaro’s interviews in the Americas, I got to know his character, though I already sensed it from previous conversations. The strength of this group lies in understanding and preserving what we represent. People often forget that this team has reached European finals, and even when they didn’t win, they finished second—always competitive. That’s what I want.”
Regarding Marcus Soyuncu, who has been unwell recently, Chivu added: “He’s much better now. He trained with us today. We still have another day to assess him.” The defender could partner Lautaro Martinez in attack, though the exact lineup remains uncertain.
Lautaro Martinez also spoke at the pre-final press conference, emphasizing the challenge ahead: “We certainly expect a different game from Saturday. They are very organized tactically, and it will be a very difficult match. They have valuable players, and it’s a final with a trophy at stake. We must be ready for tomorrow night’s match in a packed stadium with all their fans, unlike Saturday. It will be very tough. Motivation? A hunger for titles and trophies. We want to win every competition we enter. We have another chance to reach a final, which we haven’t done for two years, and tomorrow is an opportunity to bring the trophy home again. The double is just a statistic, but we are calm because our focus is solely on the cup.”
Maintaining high concentration after winning the league is not always automatic:
