Juan: Inter can come back stronger

The Brazilian centre-back has assured fans that the Nerazzurri will be better next season after an awful second half to the 2012-13 campaign. Juan Jesus is determined to help Inter bounce back stronger next season after the club fizzled out with a 5-2 loss to Udinese on Sunday.

The Nerazzurri’s disastrous season came to an abrupt end yesterday, with the club finishing in ninth place after suffering their fourth lost in five games.

"I'm sure we'll come back stronger," he told reporters after the game. "I thank [the fans] for not booing us, not even tonight. We really must thank them; they understand what we've been through.

"We tried everything but we’ve had all sorts happen to us this year. We lost lots of important players to injury. It’s a shame we had such a bad end to the campaign but at least it’s over now. We can focus on starting fresh."

Yuto Nagatomo shared in his teammate’s disappointment but attributes much of Inter’s season to bad luck while revealing that he hopes his knee injury woes are in the past."We’ve had so many injuries this season, both the team and myself personally. That's been the cause of lots of our problems and as seasons go it's been pretty cursed," he told reporters. "On the plus side, we’ve seen lots of youngsters emerge from the Primavera."

"My knee is fine now. I didn't have any problems during the game either. I preferred not to have an operation but it wasn't just so that I could take part in the Confederations Cup, as some people have said. I thought carefully about my career and came to this decision. 

"I want to thank the fans, the coach, the medical staff and the president for all the support they have given me throughout the season."