The pressure has been put on Inter by former striker Julio Cruz to find their feet and lodge an long overdue Scudetto challenge to holders Juventus.
During his time at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, the Argentine won four Serie A titles, two Coppa Italias and three Supercoppa Italiana trophies.
However, there have been many barren years since then for the Nerazzurri in which the Old Lady have dominated the domestic scene and Cruz believes that Luciano Spalletti’s men must now take on the mantle of title challengers.
“When I was at Inter, the point was always this: the derby is against Juventus and it is important but it was also true that Milan were also there too,” he said in an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport.
“But the main rival is Juventus and Inter should give off signals [that they can beat them] and be the anti-Juventus. Luciano Spalletti can think what he wants but the concept should be to work on that.
“It is now time for Inter to get back to battling at the top. It has been practically eight years since they last did and that is too long.”
Cruz netted a total of 75 goals in all competitions for the Biscione during his six-year spell at the club.
Source: forzaitalianfootball.com