Inter Milan vs. Milan (January 6, 2025) Pregame

Jan 5 (Reuters) – AC Milan coach Sergio Conceicao and his Inter Milan counterpart Simone Inzaghi’s friendship will not be affected by their club rivalry, the Portuguese coach said ahead of Monday’s Italian Super Cup final in Riyadh.

The final will be Conceicao’s second match in charge, after Friday’s 2-1 semi-final victory over Juventus.

Striker Inzaghi and winger Conceicao were teammates at Lazio in the early 2000s. The last time the two met in the dugout was during the Champions League round of 16 in the 2022-23 season, when Conceicao’s Porto lost 1-0 to Inter on aggregate.

The two coaches had arguments on the pitch during their last meeting, but Conceicao clarified that they were specific to the match and not aimed at Inzaghi.

“I will shake his hand for sure. When I was in Porto, there were incidents that are part of (that) match. Of course I respect him,” the Portuguese coach told reporters on Sunday.

“We are football men, we played together and love each other. He will be my friend before and after the match. During the match, however, we will be opponents.”

However, Inzaghi said the two have not spoken since. “We haven’t seen or spoken to each other since, but nothing extraordinary happened,” the Italian told reporters.

“We were together for many years and shared a dressing room. We had a great teacher in our former (Lazio) coach (Sven-Göran) Eriksson, who led many of us players into coaching.”

Milan could still be without winger Rafael Leao, who has missed their last two games with a muscle injury. Striker Marcus Thuram is a doubt for holders Inter after picking up a thigh injury during Thursday’s 2-0 semi-final win over Atalanta in Riyadh.

“We will have to assess the situation. He is certainly not 100% to play 90 minutes. I will make a decision after training,” Conceicao said of Portugal international Leao. (Reporting by Shifa Jahan in Bengaluru Editing by Christian Radnedge)