Bisseck: “The defender I have learned the most from at Inter? Darmian. In Italy we are the strongest, we want the Champions League”

The defender he learned the most from during his time at Inter ? Yann Aurel Bisseck has no doubts: Matteo Darmian , who at 36 has just signed for Bologna.

That was the question put to him at the Festival dello Sport. "In Italy there is a culture of defending. You have played with great defenders: Bastoni, Akanji, Acerbi…

"You forgot Darmian, he is the one I learned the most from. He is a super intelligent defender, first and foremost he uses his head. Playing with him is really very simple."

"When I was at Aarhus, my coach, Jacob Nielsen, taught me this rule: when you make a mistake, you have a maximum of five seconds to blame a team-mate. It is not that you tell him (laughs), you just think it. That way you free yourself of the burden and carry on playing."

"You cannot think you are perfect. You make mistakes, you learn, next time you do better."

"In Italy we are the strongest, but we have to show it every week. And the Champions, yes, that is our objective. We want to win it, the memory of the defeat against PSG still burns. I believe that this year we have the chance to go all the way, then it will depend on us, when you are playing for a trophy in a one-off match you cannot predict everything, we know that well…".

"There was a moment when I was in Portugal, at Vitoria Guimaraes, when I thought about giving up. I was always injured, I thought everything was going against me. Then I started believing in myself again."

"At Inter I feel at home, everyone welcomed me well, from my team-mates to the directors and the fans. I am happy in Milan, the food is good, I am here to grow and to learn from everyone."

Bisseck has worked under two managers at Inter, Inzaghi and Chivu. The differences? "Simone was very emotional, he experienced the match like a footballer. If he could have, he would have gone out on to the pitch himself. With Chivu the style of play has not changed much, perhaps we are a bit more attacking. Chivu has been good because he took over Inter at the most difficult moment, after the defeat in the Champions League final against PSG. It was not easy, but he managed to give us direction."

"Klopp has crazy energy, he has an impressive aura: when he talks to you, you feel better. And as a coach he always has the situation under control. I am convinced that despite a few setbacks, we are destined to return to the elite of world football. But to deserve the national team I have to do my job well here at Inter."

"I am both German and Cameroonian, I feel these two sides inside me. I have experienced it first-hand, at times I have been the target of racist abuse, but this is how I deal with it: racism exists, but in my mind there is no room for stupidity."