Capello could have joined Inter

[Del Juve 1]

Massimo Moratti, Internazionale supremo, revealed yesterday how close he came to replacing Roberto Mancini with Fabio Capello. The president, though, remains happy with his decision to retain the current boss. He then went on to name his all-time Inter XI - with a few surprises included...

Massimo Moratti entertained the notion of sacking Roberto Mancini last year in favour of Fabio Capello.

Capello had yet to complete his switch from arch-rivals Juventus to Real Madrid, while Mancini - of course - had not begun guiding his side to two scudetti in a row.

Moratti said to La Famiglia Cristiana, "It's true. Last year, I gave Capello some long, hard thought.

"But I kept faith in Mancini. That decision has well and truly paid off."

Moratti seems set to retain that faith heading into the new campaign as Inter prepare to take on first Catanai in Serie A and then Fenerbahce in the Champions league.

And Massimo expects victory in both games, saying, "We are obliged to defend the scudetto, while we are duty-bound in the Champions League."

Calciopoli saw Inter given something of a head start over many of their rivals last season in the league and, although their Serie A victory came with a massive margin of points, some still see it as less of an achievement.

This seems to add extra impetus to Moratti's desire to defend the title, although he denies that this is the case.

"I'm not aiming for another league title simply because some people think the last one was 'damaged'.

"That was always just an excuse for those who can't see the serious reasons for our win, and those without a squad that can compete with ours."

Finally, the boss was asked to name his all-time Inter XI.

He picked, "Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Ronaldo (in his first season here), Luis Suarez, Mariolino Corso, the entire defence of the Grande Inter, plus Javier Zanetti.

"I'd also pick Antonio Valentin Angelillo, Lennart Skoglund, Benito Lorenzi, and then Giuliano Sarti in goal.

"I'm sorry that I offended so many by leaving them out!"

The Grande Inter side refers to the twice-European Cup-winning side of the mid 1960s, led by Helenio Herrera and featuring the likes of Tarcisio Burgnich, Aristide Guarneri and Giacinto Faccheti at the back.

Well for starters if Juventus never got relegated Ibrahimabitch and Viera would have never joined Inter which is one of the many reasons Inter won