The Curva Nord fan group has released a statement entitled “Onwards with Inter fans, Icardi get lost”
Inter Milan’s Mauro Icardi has been reinstated into the first team squad and is set to start for the Nerazzurri against Genoa on Wednesday, according to manager Luciano Spalletti.
The Argentine hasn’t played for the club for almost two months since being stripped of the captaincy following dressing room discontent on February 13, but has now been reincluded into Inter’s starting lineup.
Spalletti explained in his pre-match press conference: “Tomorrow he will start. Then we will see if we’ll have to take him off. There have been so many steps, now there is a point to be made. He was not called up and paid what he had to pay. Now let’s take advantage of Marotta’s work, who is becoming fundamental for us.”
“Marotta did a decisive job. Icardi alone is worth nothing. If instead, he sweats with the team, then for us he is worth more than Messi and Ronaldo together. This is a story from which we all come out defeated but we have a fixed point from which to start again.”
Giuseppe Marotta, the Inter CEO, appears to have been crucial in the negotiations to get Icardi to rejoin the team after a 40-day absence, which included Spalletti opting to play with no natural centre-forward for Sunday’s defeat against Lazio rather than recall the striker.
In response to the news that the former captain is back in the team, Inter’s most fervent fan-group – the Curva Nord – has released a statement requesting that the club remove Icardi from Inter Milan for good.
Entitled ‘Onwards with Inter fans, Icardi get lost’, the statement reads:
“After an internal meeting, all the Curva Nord groups unanimously decided that the behaviour of the Nerazzurri No.9 mustn’t be tolerated any longer.
“The Nord believes Icardi has shown that he doesn’t possess the necessary character, not just for the captain’s armband but also for a united dressing room.
“With this release, we invite Inter to take the necessary measures as soon as possible to remove him from a squad who don’t seem to have the slightest intention of sharing the immediate path with him and the future, also putting our end of the season at risk.
“Qualifying for the Champions League without a project that puts the concept of the group at its heart, which Icardi clearly can’t be a part of, only means setting the stage for future failure.
“For us, the value of the team must come before personalities and those who want the media limelight. Therefore, the Nord’s position is that Icardi is no longer part of Inter and, from now on, will be treated accordingly.
“At Genoa let’s all stick together to build a future together and carry in our hearts the only thing that counts… Inter!”
It isn’t the first time the Curva Nord have taken this stance against Icardi, however, after they unveiled a banner in 2016 calling the attacker a “vile piece of shit”, a belated response to yet another incident in 2015 when, after a 3-1 defeat to Sassuolo, Icardi tried to throw his shirt into the crowd only to have it thrown back at him. Insulted by the gesture, Icardi began to lambast the away supporters, calling them “pieces of shit… you are all pieces of shit”.
Responding to the statement, Spalletti said: “The Curva Nord statement against Icardi? He’s training with us and is not sending us social media messages like in the past. He has already reconquered us. Our fans know how to understand the correct signals. We who are professionals must be on the side of Inter. It will be so as long as I am here.”
“He trained well and sent the right messages. With him we are stronger, for us, he is a player to follow who becomes fundamental”, he added.
