Rome, July 28: Inter Milan president Massimo Moratti has claimed that there were just two days in which the possibility of Fabio Capello taking over from Jose Mourinho was considered.
Inter eventually plumped for former Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez to replace the Real Madrid-bound Mourinho while efforts were also made to prise Guus Hiddink away from the Turkey helm.
But both England manager Capello and Hiddink opted to stay with their respective national teams and Benitez, who had severed his contract with Liverpool, was quickly snapped up.
But Moratti told Sky Sport Italia that Capello was not simply a red herring.
"Capello was a realistic hypothesis that lasted two and a half days, the time over a weekend which ended on the Monday," he said.
"He wasn't in competition with Benitez, it was realistic but then it turned out not to be.
"I didn't touch anything, there was a question which was then rescinded by itself."
As for Benitez, Moratti insisted that he was not merely second or third choice but was always a name on the Inter hit-list.
"Benitez is one of the coaches who had a certain type of international experience, I heard great things about him and we went straight for him.
"We also considered alternatives because it was a difficult decision. Benitez is very professional, works very hard and has similar work systems to Mourinho, studying the games and opponents.
"He guarantees serious work and, I hope, good results. On a human level he's educated, courteous, likeable, not too insistent even when talking about signings.
"Mourinho was (insistent) only for (Ricardo) Quaresma but that didn't go well and he eased off after that."
As for Mourinho, Moratti said the one thing Inter were not looking for was a clone of the man who led the club to an unprecedented treble last season, the first in Italian football.
"I didn't want someone who imitates Mourinho or who tried to compete with him in terms of character, not least because it would have been hard.
"Benitez is a completely different character."
However, Moratti suggested he didn't want a repeat of the fractious relationship Mourinho had with the Italian media.
"Results can carry you and it's entertaining living like this, on the edge, it's not a negative thing.
"He didn't wear me out at all. Mourinho had an aggressive impact but (former boss Helenio) Herrera also had fun, although those were different times, also in terms of the press's response."
Looking ahead to the new season Moratti suggested there would not be too many big signings.
"We have to push on with what we've got, a group that has done well.
"There's a different coach who has a slightly different vision to the one who was here before but who will try to maintain our success.
"Then you can allow yourself the whim of youth. You don't have to look for a star but a functional player."
That seemed to be a clear reference to teenage forward Mario Balotelli, widely regarded as the best young player in the country but whom Inter seem willing to sell to Manchester City.
"We'll see if it's a mistake, you take it as you want. We have (Brazilian) Coutinho who is another young player, the betting continues.
"Everyone is right about Balotelli, he's a talent but as far as I'm concerned he hasn't expressed himself at 100 percent yet but this talent, at this time, doesn't seem indispensible to this squad."