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Juventus will face Sergio Conceiçao’s Porto on Wednesday: his former teammate, Marco Ballotta, presents the pitfalls of the challenge
Marco Ballotta is one of the deans of Italian football: the former goalkeeper of Lazio and Inter, among others, still holds the longevity record of a footballer in Serie A or 44 years and 38 days with Buffon’s desire (perhaps) to break this record as well. Ballotta, in his career, was a partner of Pirlo, Baronio and Nedved but also Sergio Conceiçao, current Porto coach. Exclusive to Juventusnews24, He tells his relationship with the former teammate and talks about Juve in the face of the challenge in the Champions League.
Sergio Conceiçao made his debut in Italian football by scoring for Juventus in the 1998 Italian Super Cup, in the 94th minute, giving Lazio victory. What is your memory of that race?
«We had a very strong team, perhaps the best I have ever played with. That team started like this in ’97, we won the Super Cup, the Italian Cup. Conceiçao had arrived there that year, he did not know himself, although he was already strong. It was very important for Lazio, he dominated the band, he was a constant back and forth, he had lungs to sell. I also didn’t think that he would become a coach, like someone else. We grow and change. On that occasion he did well but also on others … then he also scored so everything went quite well “.
What should Juve fear if Porto were in the image and likeness of Conceiçao?
«Porto are an excellent team, but Juve are the favorites for the next round. Lately it has improved a lot, until a couple of months ago it had too many ups and downs. Ok, there is the lost game in Naples that makes a bit of history in itself, it is not like the others. In my opinion the conditions exist to end the year in a certain way. Going forward in the Champions League would be good because the more Juve plays, the more they improve. You should not be afraid of Porto but in this competition there are no bad teams … if you reach the second round it means that you have something good. Juve is superior. I think Porto reflects the character of Conceiçao but it is an affordable team.
In his long career, he was also a companion of the greatest technical and managerial exponents of Juventus, namely Andrea Pirlo, Roberto Baronio and Pavel Nedved. What do you think of their careers after farewell to football?
“Nedved ended up at Juve and stayed there, I’m not saying he’s a benchmark but he’s very important and plays his role in the right way. It is no coincidence that he obtained results after leaving football, but I never expected that he would have done this type of career, even if he was a square guy, an exemplary professional, very serious and he remained so even afterwards ».
A thought on Baronio?
«Baronio made his career in the lower categories also in the national teams, he never coached a first team. With Pirlo they knew each other very well as players, we were together in Brescia and then Andrea also played with me at Inter. Both are from Brescia and met as friends to undertake this journey which is certainly not easy but they are playing their chances of entering at a high level. And they are showing that they can do it.
Pirlo?
«Pirlo is growing a lot, they are listening to him, when you change coach many things are not automatic. The club is giving him time and they are doing well because he will be an excellent coach.
Where would Szczesny rank in the ranking of goalkeepers in Italy?
“This year Szczesny is doing even better than last year, in some games he has kept Juve alive and allowed them to take home a lot of points. This year he found important reassurance and placed him in the top three in Italy without any problem. There is a lot of balance in Italy between Donnarumma, Szczesny and Handanovic himself who is finding continuity between ups and downs, I am thinking above all in the last period in which he is improving after the criticism of the last months. Many young Italian goalkeepers are also growing but are not yet at the level of these three. Reina himself has experience to spare, he is ideal to play with his feet, Lazio has found the right player to fulfill this type of role not only on the field but also in the locker room. Szczesny the same, that’s why I place him in the top three.
Does Inter flee if they beat Milan? Or is there still hope for Juve regarding the Scudetto?
“There is always hope, but if they win the derby, Inter Milan will give an important boost on a moral level. So it must be said that being out of drinks, they can prepare the games well, they have no commitments during the week. The further you advance, the more European competitions are played and you leave something behind, as in the case of Lazio for example. There are not many teams that can support all these commitments: Inter are there but they are out of everything. Then we saw that Inter also has many ups and downs. The pursuers are excellent teams and everyone can have an opinion since they are very close together, in 10 points there are 7 teams and with head-to-head matches that you never know. But if Inter won the derby… ».
Thanks to Marco Ballotta for the courtesy and availability shown during the interview
READ ALSO: Porto-Juve: the program on the eve of the Champions League match
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