Inter deserve place in final, says Cuper

Inter Milan coach Hector Cuper says he is convinced his team can beat AC Milan in their semi-final, second leg on Tuesday and take their place in the Champions League final.

The Argentine coach's upbeat assessment of his team's chances prior to the first-leg, which ended 0-0 last week, contrasted with his usual thoughtful approach, but he showed no sign of returning to type on the eve of the second leg.

Asked whether he remained sure that Inter would get past their city rivals, Cuper said: "I'm even more convinced. I have to analyse 180 minutes. For the moment I've only seen the first half of the clash, but I think Inter deserve the final."

Inter's 1-1 draw with Parma in Serie A on Saturday ended their lingering hopes of a first Italian title since 1989 and was their fourth draw in a row.

Cuper, however, said that run of results did not concern him.

"A coach always has to worry about something -- if you win but don't play well, if you play well but don't win. I think our play has improved in the last two or three games but the results have not been the best," he said.

"Against Parma we gave a good performance but that was not enough to win."

Inter have failed to score against Milan in all three meetings this season, including two Serie A defeats, and the news that striker Christian Vieri has failed in his late bid for fitness will not help their cause.

But Cuper is not worried. "If it is (Ivan) Cordoba who scores or Cristiano Zanetti or (Luigi) Di Biagio or Javier Zanetti, it is the same to me," he added.

Cuper is also waiting on the fitness of wing-back Francesco Coco who is suffering from a shin injury.

If he recovers Cuper said he would stick with the five-man defence that kept things so tight in the first leg. If not he is likely to return to the orthodox 4-4-2 formation that he has used frequently throughout the season.