Our Men’s First Team kick off their 2024/25 Serie A campaign on Monday, 19 August, at home to Como. The season gets underway for the Bianconeri at 20:45 CEST at the Allianz Stadium.
Ahead of Como’s visit, Coach Thiago Motta spoke to the media on Sunday afternoon in his press conference.
Below is what he had to say.
GETTING STARTED
“We can’t wait to get going tomorrow, we want to start well and on the right path towards our goals,” Motta said. “We want to put in a good performance and take the points.
“We’ve prepared well, it’s been an intense week of work, and playing the first game at home is something that we’re looking forward to, it brings a lot of enthusiasm that the guys need to channel. We all feel privileged to experience moments like this, to enjoy the pre-match and to go out and give our all.
“I’ll choose my XI on merit, so whoever starts and whoever comes on has earned their place on the pitch. I’m calm about the transfer market and we’re working hard to build a competitive team.”
TEAM NEWS VS COMO
“We’ll have 19 players with us tomorrow and I can only start 11 and bring on five substitutes. We’re in good shape, we’ve been training well and we are ready.
“We have to do our very best tomorrow, we need to compete and give our all on the pitch. Como play an open game, we’re up against a side with very experienced players. Respectfully, we will try to play the game on our terms.
“All of the guys know what they have to do on the pitch, we’ve prepared for the game as best we can and we’re only focusing on that - the match against Como and only that.”
ON THE SQUAD
“[Weston] McKennie is a useful player for us. [Kenan] Yildiz taking the No.10 is a big responsibility, he’s taking on a historic shirt and he’s a player with huge quality. Despite still being young, he’s grown a lot and knows how important it is to work hard.
“[Timothy] Weah has it in him to improve. I know and I knew already that he has a lot of characteristics that can help the team. He’s in the prime of his career and he will be useful to us.
“[Dusan] Vlahovic looks good to me, he’s working and helping the team, he’s a great player but every player needs a great team with them. I’m happy with the enthusiasm we’ve shown in our preparation, now it’s time to do our best on the pitch.”