Moratti defends Leonardo after 5-2 debacle

Inter president Massimo Moratti has insisted he still has faith in coach Leonardo despite Tuesday’s Champions League debacle against Schalke 04.

The last four days have been nothing short of a disaster for Inter as a 3-0 defeat to Milan in the top-of-the-table derby clash saw them give up a five-point Serie A advantage to their bitter neighbours with just seven games to play.

And that was followed by a spectacular capitulation in their Champions League quarter-final, first leg at home to Schalke in which they were humiliated 5-2, despite leading 2-1, leaving next week’s second leg virtually superfluous.

To have had two such high-profile failures in quick succession one might have expected Leonardo to be in the firing line, but Moratti came out defending his coach.

Having seen his side concede eight goals in their two most important games of the season, and having Cristian Chivu sent off in both, one might have expected a reprimand from Moratti over defensive frailty or discipline, instead there were excuses.

“It was a defeat due to tiredness. I was surprised by the size of the defeat but you could already see the tiredness on Saturday (against Milan) and it’s impossible to rediscover freshness in so few days,” he said.

“Now we’re feeling down but this can help to push us on even more, however my opinion of Leonardo hasn’t changed.

“I know that something has maybe changed for him because he feels bad about what has happened twice in quick succession. But for me, no, because I know how cruel football can be and you have to keep going with the same enthusiasm.”

Such support may be admirable in a president, particularly from a country known for its football club owners’ whose knee-jerk reactions make coaching a precarious profession.

But the statistics make uncomfortable reading for Leonardo.

And it mustn’t be forgotten that at the end of last season, having been essentially relieved of his duties as Milan coach after an unspectacular campaign, Leo-nardo seemed to admit that he wasn’t prepared for coaching at this level.

Six months later he was back in full-time employment at Inter apparently refreshed and enthusiastic to drag the team out of the Rafael Benitez-induced doldrums in which they had floundered before Christmas.

His net stats are highly impressive, he began with 11 wins in his first 13 league games at Inter and pulled the club back from a 13-point deficit to Milan to a mere two-point one ahead of the derby.

However, it is in the biggest matches that Leonardo has been found wanting.

As coach of Milan and Inter he has now played three derbies, losing all three, scoring none and conceding nine goals. He has played six Champions League matches at home, winning none and losing four times.