Thiago Motta did not promise Francisco Conceicao a place in Juventus' XI for Friday's clash with AC Milan, but is confident the striker will deliver if called upon.
Conceicao joined Juve from Porto this summer and has since scored three goals and provided four assists in 19 appearances.
On Friday, the attacker was able to perform well against a team that is now coached by his father Sergio, who was appointed by Milan this week after the departure of Paulo Fonseca.
However, Juve boss Motta has no doubts about Conceicao's mentality ahead of a possible family reunion.
Ahead of the Supercoppa Italiana match in Saudi Arabia, Motta said: “We will see whether he plays or not, he is motivated to perform well both from the start and during the match.
“I don't think it changes anything for him; facing a great team is all he has to focus on.
Motta added that he treated Milan as a difficult opponent regardless of the coach.
“We will definitely be ready because we know what to do against a great team, used to important competitions,” he said.
“It's about what we do, not what they do.”
Turning up the intensity pic.twitter.com/61WeUon08A
— JuventusFC (@juventusfcen) January 2, 2025
There have been three previous meetings between Juve and Milan in the Supercoppa Italiana.
Juve won the most recent match and finished 1-0 in the top flight in 2019.
The Bianconeri have won the tournament nine times, a record. They have lost just one of their last 31 games in all competitions (W13 D17), against Stuttgart in the Champions League in October.
That said, Juve are nine points behind Serie A leaders Atalanta, so the Supercoppa offers an ideal opportunity to get their hands on some silverware.
Comments