Internationals: Brazil put four past Japan

WROCLAW (Poland) - Japan were beaten 4-0 by Brazil in a friendly held at the Municipal Stadium in Wroclaw this afternoon. The goals were scored by Paulinho (12) Neymar (25 pen, 47) and Kakà (76).

Nerazzurri defender Nagatomo played the whole match.

Coutinho: "We can win the title"

APPIANO GENTILE - A week on from the derby, Philippe Coutinho looks back at a special night for the Nerazzurri with Sky Sport 24, but then immediately turns to the future: "The derby was a great night. We knew how important it was to win the match, we're happy to have done so, but now it's time to look forward. Are Inter on a par with Napoli and Juventus? Yes, I think so. We're playing good football, we hope to keep improving and finish in the top 3. Can we win the Scudetto? Yes, we really hope so!"

It's hard not to comment on how much Coutinho's game has improved and Philippe smiles: "I'm pleased, since I've come back I'm more confident and keen to perform well. I still believe I've got a long way to go and I'm trying to get better all the time."

What's his relationship like with Andrea Stramaccioni? And does he get on with Antonio Cassano? "As I've always said, Stramaccioni gives everyone confidence. This is key for young players, it makes them feel important. I think he's doing a great job. I'm happy Antonio's come in because it's nice to play with big stars and he's a terrific player. He's brilliant to play alongside and it's good for Inter as a whole. The more quality we have, the better. I've been lucky enough to have played with him, Milito, Eto'o and Sneijder. For me it's a dream come true."

Internationals: Colombia 2-0 Paraguay

BARRANQUILLA - Colombia brushed aside Paraguay 2-0 in a 2014 World Cup qualifier held at the Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Melendez.

Atlético Madrid striker Falcao bagged a second-half brace (52, 90) to lift Colombia to the top of the South America qualifying group.

Inter midfielder Fredy Guarin was an unused substitute.

Internationals: Uruguay undone by a Messi display

MENDOZA - Uruguay held out for an hour before caving in to a powerful Argentina performance. The 2014 World Cup qualifier at Menzoza's Estadio Malvinas Argentinas was settled by a Messi double (65 and 79) either side of Aguero's strike (75): 3-0 the final score.

Walter Gargano played the full 90 minutes while Alvaro Pereira did not feature.

Appiano: back to work, towards Catania

APPIANO GENTILE – The players were back on the pitch today in preparation for Inter v Catania, which will be played on Sunday 21 October at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza (15:00 kick-off) in Milan.

For today's session, which kicked off the working week after two days of rest, the severe weather conditions – rain and icy winds – caused the staff to carry out the activities under the cover of the tensile structure.

The Nerazzurri then began with a warm-up with a focus on injury prevention, technical and tactical exercises and a series of specific training games, 6 minutes each, with teams of five plus the goalkeeper. In the end the mini-team led by captain Zanetti came out as the winner.

Stramaccioni: "Mi sun de Milan..."

MILAN - "Calling it a holiday is perhaps a stretch too far..." Andrea Stramaccioni joked when contacted by Ivan Zazzaroni and Fabio Caressa for an interview on Deejay Football Club, on the first of two days' "holiday".

Anecdotes, memories, feelings, plans: the Nerazzurri coach touched on a whole host of topics during his chat with the Sky Italia journalists. He recalled his time as a player: "I knew how to kick a ball, but I don't like talking about it much because I'm quite reserved. I do get angry when they compare me to Sacchi though – he really couldn't play... Fears for the future? No, no fears. Although this is the first year for us - whereas others have settled teams - our aim is to be the best again."

Is Sneijder difficult to interpret? "He might be if you don't know him. He's a very particular player. There are certain roles he can't perform but if you provide him with the conditions to express his talent he can make the difference; if not, he can find it difficult. His position is behind the front man, but can also do a job deeper in midfield."

A week on from the derby, the conversation naturally came round to Inter's win over AC Milan: "A lot went on in that game and given the situation we found ourselves in, a derby like that is worth three wins, because it came at an important stage of the season, in a crunch tie and because the team gave me signs I wasn't seeing on 1 April. The foul on Handanovic? You can't touch the keeper when he comes out, and all the players heard the ref's whistle blow after Samir's clearance. It hurts to talk about a disallowed goal, you can't say whether it's right or wrong. But Montolivo did hit it very well..."

So what was the reason behind Inter's win? "There are several reasons. We started off better but then we began to struggle. I'd hoped to cause Milan problems in the second half by bringing on Guarin but it turned into a different game and I never found out." On the future of Alvarez and Jonathan: "They aren't going anywhere, they're our players..."

Then was a surprise for Stramaccioni when he received a phone call from Javier Zanetti. That is, TV and radio presenter Nicola Savino impersonating the captain. "Go to the stadium by taxi? No, I always hitch-hike... I'm always humble, just as long as no one touches my hair..." Savino then starting taking off Stramaccioni, who exclaimed: "You're brilliant. He's an Interista? I learnt that after Maicon's goal." The coach then joked: "I tried to disguise Maicon so he could play last Sunday but it didn't work." And when Savino suggested he should learn the local lingo, Stramaccioni replied, in Milanese dialect, "Mi sun de Milan [I'm from Milan]."

5' minuti di recupero: words from Moratti

MILAN - Massimo Moratti was a guest on the programme "5' di recupero" [5 minutes of injury time] on Rai Uno. Interviewed by Carlo Paris, the Inter president focused on Nerazzurri topics as well as other subjects. Here at inter.it we give you his full statements.

President Moratti, what do you have to say about the success of Inter’s youth academy, which continues to churn out talent?

"It's important for the future of the club. The youngsters have earned good results but most of all they’re very good players. This means having done a good job in order to build something like this."

Regarding your gamble on Andrea Stramaccioni; you recently compared him to Mourinho. Was that a paradox or something you truly believe?

"I made the comparison to his devotion to his work, because that’s an important asset for any professional. Sometimes when distracted by your fans and popularity it’s not so easy to find this kind of dedication. But he has it and it’s something natural. Now if he could only manage to get the same results as well… [smiling]".

Regarding Conte and similar cases, in your opinion does sporting justice need to be reformed?

"Let’s not stir up controversy, because there’s always someone who believes he’s right. However, things begin with the desire to change everything. I believe that sporting justice is overwhelmed with work at this time. Every day unfortunately we read things that show us that these people must face, and have faced, very serious problems. I think it’s hard to negatively judge sporting justice…"

From Juventus to AC Milan. The Rossoneri seem very interested in Pep Guardiola, who was perhaps one of your targets. 

"But I already have a good one… [smiling]"

Returning to the youngsters, with the Inter Campus project you have decided to provide happiness through football to many less fortunate children. Recently you’ve become a Goodwill Ambassador of the UN because of this project. Should football re-find those values that it’s perhaps lost?

"These are social values in general, but I think it’s right in an environment that’s seen as a wealthy one. It’s clear that it’s a very easy way to bring joy to others. Football must rediscover these values, but not through these things, which are only owed to the will of those who do them. I’m talking about values, rather than lies and the temptation to always feel good while seeing others as bad…"

Regarding values in football, there are certain figureheads who exist. Would you let Javier Zanetti go as Juventus did with Alessandro Del Piero?

"But I'm not at Juventus, so I don’t know what the reasons were. Zanetti is a fantastic lad, just as I believe Del Piero was. He has a future written out for him that he wants, meaning that there’s also a future for him as a director, should he ever stop playing football… [smiling]"

There has been talk of the Chinese, more for the stadium than for the club. But in the future, we hope as far in the future as possible, will Inter pass into the hands of another Moratti?

"If it were also to happen as soon as possible it would be something good… [smiling]. Young people are always better, but I really don’t know about this. I believe that the evolution of football is an evolution towards a very big company. Since I’ve been in charge at Inter I’ve believed that the next step is to have everything run by a very big company, a multinational or something similar. Then we’ll analyse the situation. We’ll take a look at things and see what happens ..."

President Moratti, do you truly believe in the Scudetto?

"I do believe and I must believe so that the players believe as well..."