Soccer Football - Italian Super Cup - AC Milan Training - Al Shabab FC Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - January 2, 2025 AC Milan coach Sergio Conceicao during training REUTERS/Jennifer Lorenzini
JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (Reuters) - AC Milan's new coach Sergio Conceicao said he could use more time to prepare for the Supercoppa Italiana match against Juventus but assured fans that he would not get misty-eyed when taking on his son Francisco who plays for Juve.
The Portuguese was appointed as coach of Milan on Monday, just hours after the Italian club parted ways with Paulo Fonseca.
His first match in charge will be the Supercoppa Italiana semi-final against Juve on Friday, a challenge he admitted he had little time prepare for.
"I found a team that is humble, eager to learn, and wants to understand what the coach requires," he told a press conference on Thursday.
"This is very important; it is the foundation for quality work, in my opinion. We haven’t had much time to work, but we’ve been effective in conveying what is needed.
"If you had asked me whether I would have liked more time to work and have all the players available, I would have said yes."
The former Porto manager will face the team that employs his son Francisco Conceicao, but the 50-year-old said it would be business as usual.
"I just have a cold and I've had a fever these days, if you see my eyes are a little shiny it's because of that. At home I'm his father, tomorrow my son will be my opponent: he will think the same way," the older Conceicao said.
"I want to beat him as he wants to beat me. I hope I don't make him happy."
Juve manager Thiago Motta said in a separate press conference that he had not decided if he would start Francisco Conceicao.
"We'll see if he plays or not, he's motivated to do well both from the start and during the match. I don't think it changes anything for him; facing a great team is the only thing he needs to focus on," Motta said.
Motta added that he treated Milan as a difficult opponent no matter the coach.
"We will definitely be ready because we know what we need to do against a great team, accustomed to important competitions. What matters will be what we do, not what they do."
(Reporting by Tommy Lund in Gdansk, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
