Inter, Julio Cesar: 'Icardi is a symbolic player; but club are right to make Handanovic captain'

07 mar 2019

Mauro Icardi is currently at the gravitational point of a major crisis at Inter Milan. The Argentine forward was stripped of his captaincy and dropped from the squad after negotiations between the player's wife-agent Wanda Nara and the club turned sour; his partner refusing to come to a modest agreement with the club and making it look increasingly likely that he is set to depart Inter in the summer.

Speaking on the crisis, former Inter Milan legend Julio Cesar said the following to Tencent Sports:

"Personally I have never played as captain, but the position of the captain is always very special. Samir Handanovic had the opportunity to serve Inter as a captain, in this position you can control the whole situation and see if there is anything that can affect the field. He is a very strong and important element for the team.

"Icardi? I do not know exactly what happened inside the locker room. When the change happened, I only heard the voice from the outside, but I did not understand the real situation. Icardi is a symbolic player for the club, he's very important for Inter. I can not say the most important, after all the team is a collective, but Mauro is undoubtedly the player to which all the European teams are interested. The captain does not determine if you are a leader: as a leader you have to take the initiative, manage the attitude in the field and the relationship with the team. The team must be made up of several leaders, but there must be a representative; it was the right decision to have handed the band to Handanovic."

For more news, views and features, visit our homepage.