Italian Supercup semifinal: Family affair sees Milan boss Sergio Conceicao face son Francisco of Juventus

Italian Supercup semifinal: Family affair sees Milan boss Sergio Conceicao face son Francisco of Juventus

Sergio Conceicao wants to make an excellent first impression on fans in Riyadh for his opening match as AC Milan manager in the Italian Supercup semifinal against Juventus.

The Portuguese, who replaced compatriot Paulo Fonseca at the beginning of the week, is in the unique situation of spending his debut competing against son Francisco Conceicao, who plays as a winger for Juventus.

However, speaking at the pre-match press conference for the semifinal at Al Awwal Park in Riyadh on Friday, Conceicao said family feelings will stop for 90 minutes with full focus on reaching Monday’s final.

Conceicao said, “We have a huge responsibility which is defending the colours of one of the most historical clubs in football. We have a strong fan base, not only here but also elsewhere globally and we will do our best to make our supporters happy and proud.

“We have to play aggressively against Juventus. Our goal is to penetrate Juventus’ defence as a complete team, not by relying on individual players.

“Having my son on the opposing team won’t affect me. My goal is clear: to win like I do in any other match. There is no place for feelings on the field.”

The FC Supercup is being staged in Saudi Arabia for the fifth time with Milan entering the competition as runners-up of last season’s Serie A, while Juventus are included as Coppa Italia winner.

Thiago Motta, Juventus manager, agreed that on this occasion football will come before family for the Conceicao clan.

Motta said, “Francisco will focus on the game as he always does, either if he’s in the starting 11 or as a substitute. It’s an important game, and this is the only thing that he will do.”