mancini faces juventus in galatasaray debut published: tuesday 1 october 2013, 18.45cet
boyhood juventus fan roberto mancini visits the turin club for his first game as galatasaray aş coach and ahead of the group b fixture said: "it's going to be strange for me."
by ben gladwell from turin
boyhood juventus fan roberto mancini visits the turin club for his first game at the galatasaray aş helm and admitted: "it's going to be strange for me."
mancini succeeded fatih terim on monday and his first task will be to revive his side's chances after their 6-1 uefa champions league group b home defeat by real madrid cf two weeks ago. juve themselves were held 1-1 at fc københavn, yet bianconeri boss antonio conte believes both matchday one results were misleading – being particularly concerned about coming up against opponents under a new coach.
juventus antonio conte, coach
the matchday one result was hard on galatasaray. they deserved to take the lead after a great chance for burak yılmaz. real madrid then did really well to take advantage of some indecision and they got a very big win, but that result should not mislead us – there was not such a great difference between the sides and galatasaray deserved a lot more.
it's a pleasure to come up against roberto mancini. he's won in italy and he's won abroad. i would have preferred not to have met him now because when a club changes coach, it's hard to work out how they will shape up. i rate him as one of the best coaches in europe and it's only right that he's back in the game. i'm not sure how much he can influence tomorrow's game – it remains a question mark.
in copenhagen, we were unable to make the most of our chances. we will put it down as an off-day; we were a bit sloppy and their goalkeeper did well. but it's best to have lots of chances and miss them rather than never having a shot, and that's our mantra.
galatasaray roberto mancini, coach
it's going to be strange for me – i only met the team for the first time yesterday. it's not like i have a magic wand. i hope the team, who looked great when i met them, can play a great game as we're up against a great juve and it's going to be very difficult. we can only win with hard work.
it's normal that fatih terim is loved by the fans – he is one of the biggest turkish coaches and one of the biggest in europe, but these things happen in football. i was called by galatasaray and i'm delighted. i want to carry on terim's good work.
i'm delighted to meet tévez again after three months. we've always had an extraordinary relationship, winning three trophies together at manchester city. he's a great player and i don't think he'll pass up on this game just because of an ankle niggle.
my aims are to continue the work of terim, winning if possible and going through in the champions league. the first game was hard, but i think many sides can lose to real madrid. we have five games and tomorrow is the first, very difficult one. our aim is to go through. we have to put madrid behind us and think about the games from tomorrow onwards.
i'm lucky we have a break after our next fixture so i'll have time to get to know the team. galatasaray have a great side and can always improve. as for the tactics, not even i know yet how we'll play. we'll see tomorrow.
things can happen so quickly in football, which nobody expects, and here i am for a great start in the champions league against juventus. i was a juventino until i started playing. i think it will be a great game. of course it's a handicap to take over a team one day before the game. we may need a bit of luck, but it could be an advantage that i know juventus pretty well.
