Inter Milan coach Jose Mourinho slammed the Italian media over their reaction to his ducking a midweek press conference. "I thought in Italy there was more passion for football and that the objective was to improve the sport," said Mourinho.

"Instead I was disappointed right away, as I have seen there is more attention paid to the tiny things, the petty controversies after games between managers on the television shows.

"In Spain and England there is less attention paid to these matters, so this is why Serie A is behind the Premier League and La Liga at the moment.

"Nobody worried about the fact Lecce played against us with three goalkeepers and eight defenders, instead they only wanted to know why Baresi was at the Press conference instead of me."

The 'snub' upset the newspapers and fans, who were already irritated with Mourinho after he repeatedly locked both out of training sessions.

"When I arrived at Inter, I made a choice in terms of my collaborators. Nobody told me Baresi wasn't up to the task, this is what you journalists say to stir up trouble and suggest I don't have respect," continued the Coach.

"If Baresi is part of the Inter staff, I don't see why it is lacking respect for the media to send him to the Press conference.

"This is exactly what I mean, the focus on these minor matters is why Italian football hasn't reached its full potential yet."