Juventus will be hosting Inter in the second leg of the Coppa Italia semi finals on Tuesday.
The Italian champions came out of the first leg with a significant advantage after winning 2-1 away from home.
Cristiano Ronaldo was unsurprisingly the author of the brace which sealed the victory, and the Portuguese will naturally be leading the front line tonight, as the Bianconeri will be aiming to complete the job and secure their qualification to the final of the tournament.
The encounter will witness yet another clash between Antonio Conte and his former player Andrea Pirlo.
For his part, Alessandro Matri was one of the protagonist of Juve’s first post-calciopoli Scudetto title in 2012. The former striker was at the time a teammate of Pirlo and one of Conte’s pupils as well.
The former Cagliari star gave his views on the two sides in an interview with La Gazzetta Dello Sport which was translated by Football Italia.
“Andrea was a silent leader. It’s not easy to coach Juventus, I’ve always thought he would need time, but he has already left his mark.”
“Andrea has bonuses that come from his great career as a player. He and Cristiano speak the same language, there is great respect from Ronaldo. Of course, he will never be happy if Pirlo replaces him, but this is part of his nature, he accepts it eventually. We understand that there is great harmony between them.”
Concerning tonight’s match, the former striker warned the Old Lady over her advantage.
“A one goal-lead is not enough to feel safe,” Matri said.
“Both teams would want to prove themselves, Inter will be more motivated because they lost the first leg and they can rely on Romelu Lukaku. It was surprising to see how he has settled in in Italy. It is thanks to Conte who has worked so much on him.”
The retired player was finally asked about his views on the Scudetto race.
“I see Inter, Juve and Milan on a par. Maybe Juve have something more because they have a deep squad that allows Pirlo to rotate his team massively.”
