I was in goal-scoring trance, says Nagatomo

16 December 2011 19:46

Inter Milan's Japanese defender Yuto Nagatomo, who has scored twice in the last two Serie A games, said Friday he felt in a trance when he hit the target.

"It was like I was in a trance, I knew where the pass from Ricky Alvarez was going to end up," said Nagatomo of the header which gave Inter a 1-0 win over Genoa on Tuesday and pushed his side into seventh place in the table.

Nagatomo had also scored in the 2-0 weekend win over Fiorentina.

It was the 25-year-old's fourth goal for Inter since joining the club in January and what's more it was a rare header for the former Cesena and FC Tokyo player, who stands at just five feet, seven inches tall.

The Japanese international said he is relishing his opportunities to shine for Inter after the club's difficult start to the season.

"I suffered a right shoulder injury at the end of July," he told Gazzetta dello Sport on Friday as he explained his slow start to the campaign.

He also had problems with the tactics of former coach Giampiero Gasperini who was sacked after just five matches.

"And when things started to improve, I injured my calf."

Despite being 10 points off the pace of leaders Juventus and Udinese, Nagatomo stiull believes the title is not beyond Inter.

"I never say never and my teammates believe the same thing."

Away from the pitch, Nagatomo said he likes to link-up with close friend Takayuki Morimoto who plays for Novara.

"We often meet up and watch Japanese films," he said.

Source: AFP