Juve meet AC Milan in Riyadh tomorrow night in their semi-final. The match marks Sergio Conceicao's first as Milan coach, with son Francisco now part of Motta's squad.
It is also the competition between father and son of Conceicao. Will Francisco start?
“We'll see if he plays or not. He is motivated to do well both from the start and during the match. I don't think anything will change for him. Coming up against a great team is all he has to do doing.”
Koopmeiners more withdrawn or as a striker?
“He can play both roles and has already shown that, but he can also start from the bench and contribute during the match, just like everyone else.”
For Juve, winning is not important, but it is the only thing that matters. How important can it be for a young group to win an 'easy' trophy because it is short-lived?
“First of all, I have never seen a team take the field to lose. Tomorrow is a different competition because we have a game ahead of us where you go or go. We will give everything to move forward.”
Francisco Conceicao describes his football as free football. Does he expect a lighter Milan from his father?
“Francisco has freedom in a context where he must respect certain things for the team to function. It is a collective game, there is freedom in some moments to be able to express all his qualities, but then there are many things that must be respected “Milan is a great team with good players, with a coach who is here now and who can do well. We will give everything on the pitch.”
As a player he won eight Super Cups. Does this experience count?
“These are wonderful matches to play, we want to stay and compete at this level. We do not have a player who does not want to enter the field to express his football. These are beautiful moments and they must be experienced in the right way.” This way the emotional part should be under control.”
How do you expect Milan to do after the coaching change?
“We will definitely be ready because we know what we have to do against a great team, used to important competitions. What matters is who we are and not who they are.”
What should make the difference tomorrow?
“In the end, in a football match everything makes the difference, starting from the small details: as I said before, we will have to be focused and determined to be the best version of ourselves, to improve what did not work and to ensure continuity of what we did well.”
At what point in the growth process is Yildiz?
“In the beginning he is a young player, 19 years old. He can do important things because he has great qualities. He must continue to grow and learn to do what the coach says, also taking advantage of the many positive examples.” One of them is Locatelli: his way of communicating with his teammates is excellent.”
How much do you care about your first title as a coach?
“I want to win as a coach, that's why I chose this profession. But for me today it is not an obsession, I have to be calm and convinced of our strength. Tomorrow we will have a great match with respect for the opponent and the desire to to impose the game.”
What do you think of Tomori?
“I don't talk about other people's players, I talk about my own players. I spoke collectively. Milan have a lot of strong players and that is clear to everyone. I answer about my players, not about others.”
What kind of reception have you received?
“Thank you for the welcome, we are in a great place to do our job and we cannot complain. The change of coach at Milan will obviously bring something new, they already had a great coach who I respect. ready for anything , this is the most important.”
Do you follow the Saudi competition?
“It's definitely growing a lot, I can't give a detailed assessment because I haven't followed many matches. But it will certainly grow quickly.”
Juventus doesn't lose, but they don't win either. Why?
“I agree that we don't lose, but it's not true that we never win. It's part of the game: sometimes we deserved it, other times less so. There were several moments, for example against Fiorentina we did many things very well . and we failed to close the match, in other matches it went differently and that is part of the match. We are certainly not satisfied and the score says that we have to improve because we do not want to remain focused in that position in this competition, in short and importantly, for the final to achieve.”
What do you promise the fans?
“I do not believe in promises, but in facts. I promise maximum effort in the things we do. We want to continue to elevate an important and prestigious shirt, a club that so many people follow. We feel this support every day. It gives us more motivation to do things the right way.”
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