In this week's edition of the Friends of Sport blog show, Inter Milan striker Romelu Lukaku opens up and talks at length about his experiences at Inter with manager Antonio Conte and teammate Lautaro, expressing his high regard for Conte and revealing some of the tensions within the Belgian national team, particularly with goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
Inter experience under Conte
Lukaku recalled that when he first arrived in Italy to join Inter, Conte pointed out the tactical requirements directly to him: "Conte told me that in my tactical system, you can't have too much control of the ball, you must pass the ball back immediately, and you can't play like Lautaro." This clear guidance allowed Lukaku to quickly adapt to the team's tactical system and establish a good understanding with Lautaro. Lukaku said that Conte was good at creating a partnership between players, and that this system suited not only him, but also Lautaro and his other teammates. Through constant practice and bonding, Lukaku has been able to accurately anticipate the movements of his teammates, and this tacit understanding extends to working with new teammates such as Kvaratskheliya.
High praise for Conte
Lukaku spoke highly of Conte's coaching ability, describing him as a brilliant coach with an excellent training style and the ability to integrate the team well. He compared Conte to famous coaches such as Guardiola, Klopp, Mourinho, Ancelotti, etc., saying that all these coaches have excellent tactical plans and the ability to create a united team. Lukaku said that these coaches always manage to get the players to get along and form a strong fighting force.
Belgium team conflicts revealed
Speaking about the Belgian national team, Lukaku revealed the conflict with goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois. He said that the Belgian FA should have been more decisive and clear in dealing with the issue. According to Lukaku, the FA should have made it clear in the first press conference that questions about Courtois were not allowed to be asked, in order to take the pressure off the coach and Courtois. However, this was not the case, leading to escalating conflicts.
Lukaku also revealed that he and Courtois captained the team against Austria and Estonia respectively, but after the game, Courtois was unhappy about it. Lukaku said that he was surprised and shocked by this and did not expect this to happen. He believes that this happens in other countries as well, but it is rare in Belgium. Lukaku said that he had spoken to both Courtois and the coach, but the issue remained unresolved. He questioned the level of involvement of the Belgian FA and believes that the issue should not have gotten to this point.
