“Algerian football will not loose its prestige,” says Inter CEO Ernesto Paolillo

nter CEO Ernesto Paolillo believes that the Algerian football will not loose its prestige even if it does not qualify to the African Cup. “The Algerian players have their touch and this is important to any player,” he told Echorouk in an interview.

•  

   

  You have lost for the first time against Milan in the last derby after five years of resistance.

   

  Defeat is legitimate in football. As we are happy for winning, we have to deal with defeat wisely. It is true that our matches against Milan have a special character but loosing them means loosing competition for the title.

   

  Barcelona’s president denied that he had accepted to sell Messi to Inter. Did you do that?

   

  I talked to Barcelona’s president individually and the news about selling Messi was just a joke. Barcelona will not leave him and we did not ask for him.

   

  But Messi is the dream of any club?

   

  It is difficult or it is impossible that Barcelona leaves Messi in the next three years unless he wants that. Yet, I don’t think that he would do that.

   

  What are your opinion about the Algerian football and players in Italy?

   

  The Algerian football did not loose its prestige and it is still a stock of football talents. The Algerian players have their touch and this is important to any player.

   

  After the World Cup, the Algerian football seems that it lost a little bit of this prestige. Now, it suffers from failure spectre in qualifying to the African Cup as it had lost its first matches?

   

  Any team can undergo that. Look at the World’s champion Spain. They lost with a heavy result. Does it mean that Spain lost its prestige? No. Italy was a World’s champion in the previous edition and failed in the last World Cup. But Italy remains Italy.

   

  Algeria was disqualified in the first round. Did you follow them in the World Cup?

   

  I watched one match only against England. It was good and it seems that the Algerian players did not have enough experience. Yet, they left good reputation.

   

  Thank you M. Ernesto.
  

  Never mind. Good luck to Algeria and to you.