Milan, Nov 20 (IANS): Erick Thohir has praised Inter Milan head coach Walter Mazzarri as being similar to Jose Mourinho while the former Napoli boss was impressed by the new Inter club president.

Thohir, a self-claimed long-time Inter fan, rated Mourinho high, reports Xinhua.

"I think Mourinho is one of the best coaches who has been at Inter, though naturally results are down to a combination of work between the coach, management and players," he said, hinting that Mazzarri, whom he compared to Mourinho, could work longer at Inter.

"Mourinho won the treble in 2010. He's one of the best, but I see Mazzarri has a similar personality. I hope he can start laying the foundations to build a strong side over the next two to three years," he said.

On the other hand, Mazzarri has also been impressed by new owner Thohir and hopes he can extend his stay.

"We all know how it works in this world. When a new owner comes in, he might have completely different ideas to his predecessor but that wasn't so in this case. It means the work that my team and I do is appreciated abroad and if it's the owner himself who says certain things, then it's very satisfying indeed," he said.

"If Thohir asked me to extend my contract then I'd discuss it, I couldn't say no to something so beautiful and satisfying as that."