Spalletti: I am happy to have the opportunity to participate in the Champions League. Juventus has the ability to compete with Sporting CP

In the fourth round of the Champions League, Juventus will face Sporting CP at home. Before the game, Juventus coach Spalletti accepted an interview with Sky Sports Italia.

You will lead Juventus in the Champions League for the first time. How does it feel?

It is a great honor to participate in the Champions League. This kind of competition will make you devote yourself wholeheartedly. This is a football feast. Therefore, I am very happy to have the opportunity to play in the Champions League.

Your first coaching debut at Juventus was a victory over Cremonese. What did you like about that game? What areas still need improvement?

The players performed well in the previous two consecutive victories, and I did not interfere too much. They are very strong from a team perspective, especially against Cremonese, an opponent who has only lost to Inter before this season. As a team, we maintained good physical condition and this gave us the opportunity to compete against the powerful Sporting CP.

Kupmenas was placed at the defender position, but the team's defensive responsibility is not just the defender

We must also take responsibility... It is very important when making choices in life, because only by making decisions can we convey our thoughts. If we don't make a decision, we often end up with the worst possible outcome.

In the last Serie A game, you often asked players on the field to switch positions and bring Oponda closer to Vlahovic.

In the first game, we failed to build up from the back through Di Gregorio and were forced to push forward. And it's always better to have more passing options so more players can be involved in passing the ball.

What position is Yildiz most suitable for?

Yildiz is ready to play. The right thing to do is to listen to his opinion and ask him what he prefers to do. He easily gave the answer: he can play on the wing or in the middle... A champion player should have as many options as possible. But care must be taken not to overdo him with repetitive tasks, and sometimes giving him one-on-one time is the most appropriate solution.

What do you think of Sporting CP?

This is an excellent team with strong ball control and a high level of quality in the attacking third. They played with courage and sometimes relied too much on the individual skills of their players, but coach Rui Borges also had good tactical ideas. We will meet the challenge together with our fans, and we have the ability and confidence to compete with our opponents.