AFP,  DOHA: Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri denied on Thursday that his side were at an advantage because their Italian Super Cup final opponents AC Milan touched down in Qatar 24 hours late. Milan only arrived in Doha late Tuesday — a full day after Juve — after technical problems with their plane pushed back the team’s arrival. Reports in the Italian media even suggested that Milan might forego the final because the delay had impacted on their preparation. An angry Milan CEO Adriano Galliani said the delay would work in the Italian champions’ favour for Friday’s match. But Allegri said that was not true.
“No, we don’t have any advantage from being here early before them,” Allegri told a press conference. “Whatever happens tomorrow we will be ready and we don’t care about the other details.”
Juve are clear favourites to win, despite being without key defenders Leonardo Bonucci and Dani Alves. They are the defending Serie A champions, lead the league this season by seven points, have cruised through unbeaten to the last 16 of the Champions League and have lost only two of their last 10 matches.
However, one of those defeats was to Milan, 1-0, back in October thanks to a memorable goal from teenage star Manuel Locatelli, and Allegri said his team would not be over-confident.
“Coming off the back of a great run of results, we need to be careful that we don’t fall foul of complacency on the night,” he added.
Milan underwent their first training session in Doha on Thursday.
Their coach Vincenzo Montella said the flight delay was a “problem” but would not be responsible for the determining the result.
He called Juventus a “wonderful team” built “to reach the final of the Champions’ League. But he said his team were not without hope.
“We have improved since the last meeting where we beat Juve,” he said. “I think Milan are better than during this match, and this match is more important.”
Milan have not won any trophy since 2011 and are the subject of potential takeover by Chinese investors. Montella shrugged off criticism his team were over-reliant on foreign stars and said seven Italians could play in Friday’s game. The Super Cup is an annual match in the Italian football calendar, usually played between the Serie A champions and winners of the Coppa Italia. However, last season Juventus won both the league and the Coppa Italia, beating Milan 1-0 in the final.