17 March 2023
Gianluca Pessotto, the Football Teams Staff Coordination Manager of Juventus, commented from Nyon on the Bianconeri's next opponents in the Europa League,
"The draw is challenging, both for Sporting, who are a young, good team, and for the subsequent round should we be good enough to advance to the next round. Regarding the quarterfinals, it will definitely be a tough tie. Our opponents are strong and have proven it by defeating Arsenal, one of the favourites for the trophy. They also come from a Champions League group stage that did not go well, and they will want to do do well because of that, just like us. However, we are Juventus, we know what our task is, and I believe that the other teams are not happy to face us. We need to be ready to react to what happens the day before the return leg on April 20th, whether it's positive or negative, but there's time.
"We are confident, and we want to reach these important appointments with a complete squad to be as competitive as possible, in both the Europa League and Coppa Italia. We have never been able to have our squad at full strength. We hope it will happen in this final stretch of the season. The world-class players not only help technically on the field but are also essential for players like they did with me years ago to feel the importance of competitions more: their charisma and ability to convey the weight of the matches help bring out 110% from everyone."
