Inter's Houssine Kharja: We will continue to fight for Serie A title

Apr 18, 2011 7:20:00 AM

Kharja says his team will continue to fight for both the Scudetto and the Coppa Italia, despite their damaging loss to Parma

Inter were surprisingly beaten 2-0 by Parma on Saturday evening, and although their hopes for the Scudetto are slowly fading, Moroccan midfielder Houssine Kharja has promised to keep challenging rivals AC Milan for the title.

After the disappointing defeat that left the reigning champions eight points behind their city rivals, Kharja said that his team would continue to focus on their Serie A campaign whilst also concentrating their efforts on the Coppa Italia.

"We have to give credit to Parma. We were perhaps a bit flat. We also had three chances in the second half and it's a shame because we wanted so much to stay in the race for the Scudetto. But we'll continue to fight until mathematically eliminated," Kharja said to Inter Channel.

"After the defeat it's hard to smile, but I'm happy playing with these players who are world champions. Now we'll continue to fight for the Coppa Italia, and also in the league we want as many points as possible."

Kharja then added that his team will face a determined Roma side in their upcoming Coppa Italia fixture, saying: "The Coppa Italia is always an important showcase and I'm convinced that Roma will want to win this trophy."

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Catch the latest news from the Spanish capital as Jose Mourinho's time at Santiago Bernabeu nears its end. Get involved by sending us your thoughts via Twitter or Facebook! Hosted by Miles Chambers.

7:51 PM BST

Ayodele Olas ‏(@Olasking) tweeted: "If Mourinho is so good let him take over from Sunderland or QPR and let's see if he can win the Champions League, then I will respect him."

I feel like people complaining that top coaches only take over top clubs are missing the point. Taking over lesser clubs would squash their ambition - just look at Pep Guardiola, going from Barcelona to Bayern Munich.

Azam Nor Edwards ‏(@AzamEdwards) tweeted: "Real Madrid are too big for him. Chelsea only just right club for him I thought."

And Chelsea are favourites to swoop him back up, though Paris Saint-Germain,officially managerless Manchester City and Monaco are all outside contenders.

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Florentino Perez also addressed Real Madrid's approach for Paris Saint-Germain coach Carlo Ancelotti: "I want to express my utmost respect for the PSG and their owners. A few days ago, the CEO went to the PSG to see whether it was possible that he could come and they said no. That is an issue that we will address tomorrow, we have a few days to think on it. There are several candidates [not just Ancelotti]."

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The Florentino Perez press conference is complete. There will undoubtedly be a few straggling quotes knocking about which I've yet to put in here, I'll keep a look out.

In the meantime, get in touch on Twitter to have your say on whether you think sacking Jose Mourinho was the right choice by Real Madrid!

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Where next for Jose Mourinho?

The popular choice remains Chelsea but could Paris Saint-Germain do a straight swap for the Portuguese, with Carlo Ancelotti going the other way to Real Madrid? Or is there another club that you can picture the Portuguese trainer rocking up at?

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Portuguese trainers around the world can breathe a sarcastic sigh of relief. Real Madrid's club president has confirmed that Jose Mourinho's exit does not (why would it?!) rule out coaches from that country coming to the Bernabeu again someday: "We could have another Portuguese coach in future. This an open-minded club and there are no limitations."

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