Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri has confirmed that Portugal superstar Cristiano Ronaldo will start in the champions’ Serie A opener against Chievo on Saturday.
The defending champions open up their 2018/19 campaign in Verona and summer signing Ronaldo, 33, will be in the Bianconeri’s starting XI, Allegri confirmed on Friday.
“Ronaldo will make his debut,” Allegri said in his pre-match press conference, adding that Ronaldo is curious to find out about life in Italy.
“I didn’t give Ronaldo any advice. He’s very intrigued to understand how teams play in Italy.
“(Wojciech) Szczesny, (Giorgio) Chiellini, (Leonardo) Bonucci and (Miralem) Pjanic will play and the two full-backs on each side will be (Joao) Cancelo and Alex Sandro.
“Everyone is in good condition, even (Mario) Mandzukic and (Blaise) Matuidi, who both went all the way to the final in the World Cup.”
Juventus’ new No7: Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ronaldo caused a stir in world football when he announced earlier this summer he would leave Real Madrid after nine glorious years in Spain.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner was brought to Turin in a €100 million transfer from Madrid last month and has so far appeared in two warm-up friendlies for Juve, but he did not travel with the team to the United States for their pre-season tour.
And Allegri has warned his team not to rely too much on the behemoth as they target an eighth straight Serie A title.
“It’s time to put aside the excitement of the arrival of great players and the greatest of all, we have to keep our feet on the ground, keep a low profile,” continued Allegri.
“We mustn’t make the mistake of thinking that we can win because we have Cristiano. He’s an added value in a team that has played two Champions (League) finals in the last four years.
“Players like Ronaldo are different from all the others: it shows in what he has won, he is a stimulus for everyone.
“It will be a difficult campaign and we need to be prepared and remain focused, because tomorrow at 18:00 (20:00 UAE) the season begins and we will find a tough Chievo side waiting for us.
“I’m curious to see how the team fares.”
