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Juventus will face Sergio Conceiçao’s Porto on Wednesday: his former partner, Marco Ballotta, presents the pitfalls of the challenge
Marco Ballotta is one of the deans of Italian football: the former Lazio and Inter goalkeeper, among others, still holds the longevity record for a footballer in Serie A or 44 years and 38 days with Buffon’s desire (perhaps) to beat this record too. Ballotta, in his career, was a partner of Pirlo, Baronio and Nedved but also Sergio Conceiçao, current Porto coach. Exclusive to Juventusnews24, tells about his relationship with the former teammate and talks about Juve in view 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 the victory to Lazio. What is your memory of that race?
«We had a really strong team, perhaps the best I’ve played with. That team started like this in 97, we won the Super Cup, the Italian Cup. Conceiçao had arrived there that year, he didn’t know himself, he was already strong though. It turned out to be very important for Lazio, he dominated the band, it was a constant coming and going, he had lungs to sell. I also didn’t think he would become a coach, like someone else. We grow up and change. On that occasion he did well but also in others … then he also scored so everything went fairly well “.
What should Juve fear if Porto were to be in the image and likeness of Conceiçao?
«Porto are an excellent team but Juve are 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’s not like the others. In my opinion there are the conditions 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. He must not be afraid of Porto but in this competition there are no poor teams … if you reach the second round it means that you have something good. Juve is superior. I think Porto reflects Conceiçao’s character but they are an affordable team ».
In his long career he was also a teammate of the top technical and managerial exponents of Juventus, namely Andrea Pirlo, Roberto Baronio and Pavel Nedved. What do you think of their careers after leaving football?
«Nedved ended up at Juve and stayed there, I’m not saying he’s a point of reference 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 him to have made this kind of career even if he was a square guy, an exemplary professional, very serious and he continued to be so even after ».
A thought on Baronio?
«Baronio made his career in the youth teams also in the national teams, he has never coached a first team. They knew each other very well with Pirlo as players, we were together in Brescia then Andrea played with me also at Inter. They are both from Brescia and they met as friends to undertake this journey that is certainly not easy but they are playing their chances to enter at a high level. And they are proving that they can do it ».
Pirlo?
«Pirlo is growing a lot, they are listening to him, when you change the 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 place in a ranking of goalkeepers in Italy?
«This year Szczesny is doing even better than last year, in some matches he kept Juve alive and allowed him to take home a lot of points. This year he found an important tranquility and I place him among the top three in Italy without any problems. 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 especially of the last period in which he is improving after the criticisms of past months. Many young Italian goalkeepers are also growing but they are still not at the level of these three. Reina himself has experience to spare, he is ideal for playing with his feet, Lazio have found the right player to fill this type of role not only on the pitch but also in the locker room. Szczesny the same, which is why I place him in the top three ».
Inter on the run if they win against Milan? Or is there still hope for Juve from a Scudetto perspective?
«There is always hope but if the derby wins Inter Milan takes an important boost on a moral level. Then it must be said that being out of the cups, they can prepare the matches well, they have no midweek commitments. The further you go, 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 is 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 their say as they are very close together, in 10 points there are 7 teams and with head-to-head clashes you never know. But if Inter were to win the derby… ».
Thanks to Marco Ballotta for the courtesy and availability shown during the interview
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