APPIANO GENTILE – Luis Figo was the star guest on this week’s Special100One, the weekly programme on Sky Sport Italia dedicated to all things Inter.
This is what the Portuguese midfielder had to say:
Figo, will there be another charity match organised by your foundation this year?
"Yes, this year we will play it in Geneva. There will be two teams. There will be my friends in one team and the friends of Cantonà in the other. We have the opportunity to do it in a country where there are lots of Portuguese immigrants."
Can we invite the Inter fans to take part too?
"Sure. I hope there are many Nerazzurri fans and as many spectators as possible because the gate receipts will be donated to charity, both for my foundation and others."
Will you also invite Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi?
"If they can make it I will be very happy, because many of their fans would come and watch them play."
Is Manchester United v Barcelona the Champions League final you were expecting?
"I think the whole world was expecting it. It will be a clash between the two teams who have played the best football. It’s the best possible final."
How has Luis Figo’s season been?
"It started with great desire, but I had a foot injury after two months. I have recovered gradually and I have felt the appreciation of the coach. I feel that this has been a useful year. Right from the start I had the feeling that I could do something positive and win something important."
What does it feel like to be the novelty in this Inter side at the age of 36?
"I don’t think age is the most important thing. Playing more or less depends on your daily work, but feeling useful has been very important."
How is the relationship between Luis Figo and Josè Mourinho?
"The boss is a professional, and so am I. It’s important to feel yourself considered an option for the coach, otherwise training every day wouldn’t make sense. What counts is having the chance to play. I knew from the start that it would be like this with Mourinho. Each of us plays his own cards, but the decision depends on the boss."
Luis Figo scored with his head in Lecce-Inter…
"It hadn’t happened for a long time, and the feeling was different. For me the most important things is to feel useful. I felt good in the past but I didn’t have the chance to play so I thought it was useless to stay in a team without playing. I knew it could be different this year and I wanted to stay at Inter for another year."
Have this season’s results made you want to continue playing for another year?
"I don’t know. I’m still deciding. I wouldn’t go to any other team in Europe, but it’s not the time for individual matters because there’s an important prize at stake."
But if president Moratti and Mourinho asked you to stay…
"I have already decided something, but I don’t want to talk about it now. We have to think about winning as a team because we still haven’t won anything."
What kind of season were you expecting this year?
"I think that the Italian championship is hard and that it’s necessary to work and suffer. We have always been ahead of the other teams in the table and this gives us confidence, but as I said, it’s not an easy championship."
Which reinforcements do you think Inter need for next season?
"It’s difficult to talk about a job that’s not mine. It’s already a great squad, but it’s normal for a coach to want to strengthen his group. And Inter certainly will do, because you need a strong squad to compete in three competitions. I don’t know who the possible arrivals are, but some changes will certainly be made."
Have you heard from Ricardo Quaresma? Have you given him any advice?
"I don’t think Ricardo needs my advice. He has experience and he has been playing in Europe for several years. It was a hard moment for him at the start of the season. It’s not easy to settle into a team, and he hadn’t started the pre-season with us. He came from a different championship, and not every player adapts to a new reality quickly, but this doesn’t mean you don’t have the right qualities. Also, his way of playing was different in Portugal. I think that with a bit of patience he can come back and play well here in Italy."
Who have been the surprises at Inter this year and who has lived up to expectations?
"I think the surprise has been Davide Santon. At the start he didn’t train with the first team every day, and then, from one moment to the next he made a huge leap. He’s a normal lad with the desire to work and improve. I think that the future of Inter, in this sense, is guaranteed. Julio Cesar is also having a great season and Ibra is the one who is capable of making the difference at the moment."
Two years ago it was the affection of the fans that influenced your decision to stay at Inter. Are you expecting the same thing to happen with Ibrahimovic?
"I’m expecting him to stay, but each person has his mentality and way of thinking. I think that he’s happy here, but you can never predict the future of a person. I think he can give a lot more to Inter, but if it’s not like this I think that a person’s decision to choose a fresh challenge at a new team should be respected. Some players want to stay at one club for their whole careers, and others look for new motivations to continue doing their job well. Both points of view should be respected. But I repeat, I hope he can stay here at Inter because he’s a player who makes the difference."
Is José Mourinho different from all the other coaches?
"Working with him this year has been a fantastic experience. His arrival was one of the reasons why I stayed at Inter, and working with him has been a marvellous experience. I have had many coaches, but it’s all a lot easier when you have fun working."
Would you prefer to win the Scudetto at San Siro, or by winning in Verona on Sunday with Milan losing to Juventus?
"It’s better to win it as soon as possible. We have four chances to do it. We’ll be happy when it comes, whether it’s at San Siro or at another ground."
Wouldn’t it be a bit bizarre if Juventus handed you the Scudetto by beating Milan?
"Football is unpredictable. We have to think about the next match. Inter can’t let the Scudetto get away, despite everything that has been said and written. We have to think about ourselves and do our job."
What will it take to convince Luis Figo to play on?
"These aren’t things that you can decide beforehand. The decision can come at any time and you have to accept it. It has nothing to do with the Scudetto triumph. You need to understand that there comes the time when you say that’s it. It’s better to end as a winner and in good physical condition, otherwise you finish with a bitter taste."

The Portuguese veteran has insisted he won’t be helping ‘The Special One’ in a coaching capacity next season…by Adam Scime

Luis Figo could be offered a place on Inter Milan’s coaching staff.
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Inter Milan’s Portuguese winger Luis Figo (37) doesn’t want to admit it, but this could be his last season as a professional player. What will he do afterwards? At the moment…

APPIANO GENTILE – Luis Figo was this week’s special guest on Inter Channel programme A tu per tu.
This is what the Portuguese midfielder had to say:
You are just two games away from your 100th Serie A appearance for Inter. How do you feel? A bit older?
"Well, this is the truth. It’s an important moment. I have already worn this shirt many times and I’m expecting to continue to do so. I think it’s an important milestone."
Figo has left his mark wherever he he has played and he has entered the hearts of the Inter fans. Is this the secret of the great champions?
"The secret is in your work and I think a player always tries to repay the affection of the fans on the pitch. I think I have reason to be satisfied. A lot depends on the personality of each single player, on his qualities and on what he wins and his level of performance. It’s logical for the fans to lose faith in your work if things don’t go well."
When you go around Europe with Figo you realise what an international level player he is. Can we say that Figo represents modern football?
"After many years at a high level in world football – it’s fifteen now – I think it’s normal to be international. Football has given me the chance to arrive everywhere. If I have have entered the hearts of the fans in countries like Australia and America it means that I have done something good, and this is a satisfaction for me."
We remember a recent episode in Manchester, when FIFA president Joseph Blatter waited by Inter’s bus after the match to greet Luis Figo…
"It was a nice gesture because it was the president of FIFA, one of the biggest footballing organisations, and because it shows his human manner. A show of affection from an important figure like him is always a pleasure."
Will your path continue in the world of football?
"I will certainly continue to do something; I don’t think you can stop working at 36 or 37 years old. After my playing career there will be the opportunity to do other things and I hope I have the luck to choose well."
Have you already decided when you will stop playing?
"Yes, but I prefer not to say. I think that there are more important things to do in this moment, and many other things still to win."
You still have two objectives to reach with Inter this year: the championship and the Tim Cup…
"Now we have to unite our strengths to win these two trophies. We are definitely on the right track to winning one. The Coppa Italia will be harder but there’s always a small hope and we have to follow it. We have to do our best until the end of the season."
With your great experience, can we say that Luis Figo makes up for the fact that he’s not that young any more?
(Smiles) "I would like to be eternal… but the time to mature in a different sense comes for everyone. My qualities obviously aren’t the same as twenty years ago but I try to do what is still possible."
What joy do you feel when you provide assists to your team-mates? They say that Figo’s crosses are like throws.
"A lot of them are precise but many others go wrong. It depends on the day, but it’s true that these are moments of great happiness. I have made many assists in my career, but many others have been imprecise. A player feels fulfilled when he can lift a trophy or two at the end of the season. This is what counts at the end of a career because these are the moments you remember most clearly."
Does Figo think what José Mourinho thinks: that Inter need 15 more points to win the championship?
"We have to think about ourselves and not worry about what the others do. We have to win. We have four matches at home that will be like four finals. We have to win these points and go and win the Scudetto. It all depends on us, and this gives us the tranquillity to not depend on what the others do."
Do you think that Inter have fewer difficulties in away matches because they find more spaces?
"This could be one reason. Our opponents tend to compact a bit more at San Siro and I think that this is normal. In away matches we take better advantage of the spaces to play on the counter-attack and we manage to score more goals."
Palermo will try to close down well tomorrow. Will the trick be to make the ball travel faster than the mind?
"Palermo have always proved to be a difficult opponent at San Siro in the last few years. We have always won by a small margin, and I think that they are a quality team. We will have to find the right tempo and make it an easy match for us. I think this is the best way to reach our objective."
Palermo come to Milan with nothing to lose.
"A defeat for them could be a normal result. They have nothing to lose, but we are trying to win the Scudetto, so it’s more important for us to approach this match with the right mentality."
In these 100 matches for Inter, is there one that you want to forget, maybe one in which you got injured?
"No. I think that with time you quickly forget all the unfortunate episodes and you only remember the choice you made at the start, a right choice to join a team that hadn’t won for a long time, and with which I have won more trophies in the last three years than in ten years in Spain. This is why all my memories are nice ones, particularly those linked to the rapport I have with the people."
Is the day that the whole stadium chanted ‘Figo stay with us’ one of those moments you will never forget?
(Smiles) "It was my Ballon d’Or with Inter…"

UDINE – Zlatan Ibrahimovic spoke on Inter Channel after Sunday’s win against Udinese.
"It’s a very important victory," he said. "Everyone thought that Inter would have a hard game today and Juve an easy one, but the opposite happened. 
"I touched more balls in the last 20 minutes than in the first 70, thanks also to Vieira and Luis Figo who created a lot."
Ibrahimovic is thankful for the last two weeks of training in Appiano Gentile. "The work done in these last fifteen days has given me a slight advantage because I have rested more than the others," he said. "It was important not to lose the rhythm and luckily the championship has restarted.
"How important is it for me to win the top scorers title? Winning the championship comes first, then that title is an extra bonus because the goals don’t when you look for them… You just have to work, all the rest comes by itself."

APPIANO GENTILE – Inter continued their preparations for Sunday afternoon’s Serie A home game against Reggina with a morning workout at the training ground.
Mourinho’s players underwent a 90-minute session, performing warm-up exercises, rapidity and shooting drills, and technical-tactical exercises.
As a precaution, Dejan Stankovic trained separately. Nicolas Burdisso, Cristian Chivu, Ivan Ramiro Cordoba, Luis Figo and Walter Samuel all continued their individual programmes with treatment, physiotherapy and aerobic work. Marco Materazzi is continuing his recovery from injury in Perugia.

GENOA – Mario Balotelli scored after the break to kill off any chances of a Genoa comeback in Saturday’s Serie A Week 27 clash at the Luigi Ferraris.
"I think I worked hard today," the youngster told Inter Channel after the game. "José Mourinho asked Figo and I to get back and stay on their wingers, let’s say an aerobic work, but today’s football is also this, it’s about tactics but also aerobics and, above all, doing what the coach tells you to do. And this is what I’m doing."
Mario’s sixth of the season crossed the line before Genoa captain Marco Rossi could make a clearance. "It was a bit lucky," said the Inter forward. "Rossi didn’t get there. But now we’re thinking about Manchester and keeping the concentration high."

APPIANO GENTILE – Francesco Bolzoni, Nicolas Burdisso, Cristian Chivu, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Julio Cesar, Walter Samuel and Davide Santon underwent individual training sessions this morning at the Centro Sportivo Angelo Moratti.
All seven players were supervised by fitness coaches Gian Nicola Bisciotti and Claudio Gaudino, and physiotherapists Marco Dellacasa and Andrea Galli.
Julio Cruz and Luis Figo had today off.

Portugal’s original Golden Boy has told his successor to quit the Premier League and check in at the Bernabeu…by Gill Clark