Today at 2:45 p.m. ET, Juventus and Galatasaray hit the pitch against each other in 2013 UEFA Champions League Group B action live from Juventus Stadium in Italy. The game can be live streamed here.
Roberto Mancini makes his coaching debut for Galatasaray this afternoon after signing a three-year deal with the reigning Turkish champions on Monday, following the team parting ways with Fatih Terim last week. Mancini finally has secured a job after being out of one since his firing from Manchester City in May, and he's excited to be at the helm for Gala.
"I am very happy to have arrived to a great club like Galatasaray," Mancini said, according to ESPN. "This is a beautiful and interesting challenge and I believe I have made the right choice. Wednesday's game against Juve will be very important and for me this is a happy coincidence."
The happy coincidence steams because today's game won't be the first time that Mancini comes up against Juventus in continental competition as he faced the team twice while he was at the helm of Manchester City in 2010-11, coming up with 1-1 draws in both contests. Gala enters today's match after a 1-1 draw of its own against Caykur Rizespor Saturday.
Gala finds itself in 10th place in the Turkish Super League, eight points behind Fenerbahce, and is looking to make strides in the Champions League after a 6-0 embarrassment at the hands of Real Madrid in the team's Group B opener.
That result got the attention of a lot of people around the league, including Juventus manager Antonio Conte.
"When I saw the result, I thought something seemed a bit strange so I watched the game and realized it was not a fair score," Conte said per ESPN. "It was too harsh on Galatasaray. "We know that it won't be easy because Galatasaray have some top players."
Conte specified it will be a challenge to face players such as Didier Drogba, who returns after shaking off a muscular injury, and revealed his admiration for Mancini, who won three Serie A titles with Inter Milan.
"It's a pleasure to come up against Mancini," he said via ESPN. "He's won in Italy and he's won abroad. I rate him as one of the best coaches in Europe and it's only right that he's back in the game, and Galatasaray have strengthened further with his arrival."
Juventus kicked off its campaign with a 1-1 draw against Copenhagen, and is looking to escape with a win this afternoon, though Conte admitted he wished he had another day to prepare for Mancini as the recent hiring of him by Gala means that Conte isn't quite sure what kind of game plan to expect.
Juventus striker Carlos Tevez, who played under Mancini at Manchester City, will not be featured due to an ankle injury that has plagued him while Gala will be without midfielder Wesley Sneijder due to a muscular injury.
Mancini looks to start off his tenure on the right foot while Conte hopes to lead his squad to its first group win this afternoon.
© 2023 Sportsworldnews.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
