Porto head coach Sergio Conceicao is hardly underestimating the challenge that his team face against Inter tomorrow in the Champions League, but he is not intimidated by the kind of team the Nerazzurri on paper.
Speaking in a press conference ahead of the Champions League round of sixteen second leg match, as reported by FCInterNews, the Portuguese coach stressed that for him, the statistics or the history of the Nerazzurri are ultimately meaningless as the match will have to be played on the pitch.
Whilst Inter have a slender advantage heading into tomorrow’s match, it will essentially be balanced on a knife’s edge.
In the first leg, both sides proved that they were up to the occasion, whilst a red card for Porto midfield Otavio proved important in handing the Nerazzurri the initiative in the match.
However, there are ninety more minutes to play, and for his part Conceicao is expecting a match where his team will be motivated and a result is there for them.
“You know me, I’ve said it numerous times,” the Porto coach said. “I’m not interested in history or statistics, Inter have won the Champions League three times, I think they’ve also won the Club World Cup twice, the players make the team.”
“But the important thing is what happens tomorrow,” he added.
“I speak as a former player and as a manager, players come onto the patch only focused on the task at hand, and not on history and statistics,” Conceicao stressed.
“Inter will play to win, but we’ll be up for it too.”
