I was complimenting Stramaccioni, insists Marotta

The Inter coach was angered by comments concerning his tactics before Saturday's clash in Turin, but the Bianconeri director has dismissed suggestions his remarks were derogatory.

Beppe Marotta has denied showing a lack of respect to Andrea Stramaccioni, insisting his prematch assessment was in fact complimentary.

The Inter coach was furious at comments made by the Juventus director concerning his tactics in the build-up to the game, but Marotta has moved to play down suggestions he was sarcastic in his appraisal of his management.

“If he wants to cause controversy, that’s his problem. It was a compliment, as it means he had courage coming to Turin with three strikers,” Marotta told reporters. “I said two excellent teams would go head-to-head today, so I cannot be clearer than that. If Stramaccioni wants to turn anything into a headline, then he’s free to do so.
“Not everyone comes to Turin with three forwards, so it really was a compliment."
The Nerazzurri recovered from conceding a first minute Arturo Vidal goal to win the match 3-1, ending Juventus' 49-game unbeaten run in Serie A in the process.
Marotta insisted his side did not underestimate the task at hand on Saturday evening, but hinted the Bianconeri's busy fixture list has left the team short of its best.
“We certainly did not underestimate Inter, which has some great individual players and I considered them to be one of the Scudetto contenders even before this match," he continued. “Perhaps we were not at our best. We certainly had more chances in the first half, though perhaps with the tempo not as high as usual.
“The squad is keeping up with constant commitments at domestic, European and international level, so that does take a lot out of you in physical and psychological terms.
“Let us not forget we still have the strongest attack and defense in Serie A. Our characteristics are that the group allows individuals to have scoring opportunities. Perhaps having a more clinical hitman would’ve brought us some advantages.”
Marotta also commented on the controversy surrounding Vidal's opener, which should have been ruled out due to a clear offside.
“They are mistakes, I don’t know whether grave or not. I think the goal was so fast that the assistant was not even in position and didn’t see."/goal.com