Former Italy international Giuseppe Mascara believes Jose Mourinho’s Inter had more individual brilliance than Antonio Conte’s current side, with the Italian adding the Portuguese inherited a team of champions when he took over the club.

Conte is in his first season at Inter, with his side sitting third in the Serie A table and in the semi-final of the Coppa Italia, where they have lost the first leg to Napoli 1-0.  

 



Mourinho’s tenure at Inter lasted from 2008 to 2010, with the 2009/10 season being one of the Portuguese’s most successful season in his career, as he helped Inter complete the historic treble of winning Serie A, the Champions League and the Coppa Italia, becoming the first Italian club to achieve such a feat.

Ex-Italy forward Mascara feels the players under Mourinho had that extra edge in them and thinks they could turn a game at any moment with their abilities.
 


Conte’s Inter put in a collective effort on the pitch, according to Mascara, who believes that Mourinho inherited a team full of champions when he took charge of the club and went on to add that he feels Conte will need time to put the pieces back together at the San Siro.



“With Mourinho's Inter there were players who could make a difference at any time”, Mascara was quoted as saying by Italian outlet Calciomercato.com.

“Today, Inter have the collective. They have a great coach, but after so many years of not winning trophies it takes time to mix everything.
 

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“Mourinho found himself with great champions and he made them all row in the same direction.

"It will take some time [for the current side] to get back to the top.”

Mourinho has regularly been linked with a return to Inter in recent years, but the Portuguese is now firmly in the hot seat at Premier League giants Tottenham Hotspur.