Samaden: "We deserved to win. I'd give 2019 full marks"

ZINGONIA - The Inter Primavera lost 2-1 away Atalanta in the final match of  2019.  The result didn’t fully reflect how the game went as the Director for the Elite Academy said in his post-match comments: “The match today shows that football is very strange. It was one of those where if we played it 100 times, we’d have won 99 times. We created twelve chances to score and their goalkeeper was the best player on the pitch. Today, even a draw would have been a harsh result.” 

“Atalanta are an experienced team. Seven of their eleven players played in the final last year. They’re definitely the favourites. Ours is a journey that started from much further away. We have lots of players who were born in 2002 and there have been extraordinary performances like the one today or against Barcelona but also real lows. It’s a natural process of growth for our guys and we’re happy that our best players are already in the First Team.

“Looking at it, we’d give 2019 full marks. Our task is to produce players and results are in line with our objectives. Both in terms of the players in the First Team and the number of players elsewhere at Serie A level. Of course, the results aren’t brilliant but this isn’t our aim and it’s hard to go all the way because more experience is needed.

“For example, the Youth League is an extraordinary opportunity for growth and we’re satisfied at being in the knockout stage but it’s not our main goal. The real aim is to keep playing in Youth League games because they’re very important in helping the lads to develop.”