Ranocchia eyes new Inter beginning
Andrea Ranocchia is hoping he will be able to force his way into the Inter Milan starting lineup in the coming season.
By ESPNSTAR.com staff
Ranocchia joined Inter from fellow Serie A side Genoa last January as one of Italy's brightest defensive prospects.
However, a series of error-prone displays plus the presence of veterans Lucio and Walter Samuel meant the 24-year-old struggled to establish himself as one of the Nerazzurri's first-choice centre-backs.
Nonetheless, fresh from starting in Saturday's 1-1 friendly draw against Celtic, Ranocchia believes he is ready to revive his career at the Giuseppe Meazza.
"I feel good," he said on the club's official website. "I've worked so hard this summer to redeem myself.
"Today [Saturday], both teams on the pitch showed a lot of physicality and I could feel it. We have improved greatly since July 3 [the start of pre-season].
"We did not want to lose against Celtic and if we had a few more minutes, we could have overturned the result."
Inter officially get their season underway on August 2 when they take on Hajduk Split in the preliminary round of the Europa League, a game Ranocchia believes his side will be ready for.
"We must now prepare for our first official match in Split and we will be both mentally and physically ready," the Italy international added.
Ranocchia made his international debut for Italy in a friendly against Romania in November 2010 and has since won eight caps for the Azzurri.