Antonio Conte is relishing Napoli's upcoming clash that will see him return to Juventus, a club he both played for and managed.
Conte has started his career in Naples in fine form, leading Napoli to three wins from their first four league games and to second in the Serie A standings.
But this weekend sees him return to the club he made 419 appearances for as a player, winning 12 titles, which included the Champions League in 1995-96.
Having started his managerial journey at Arezzo in 2006, the Italian returned to Juventus in 2011, replacing Luigi Delneri as their new head coach.
Conte led Juventus to three consecutive Scudetto titles, winning 90 of his 133 games in charge (D30 L13) before becoming the Italy national team head coach.
The last time the 55-year-old travelled to Turin as the opposing team's manager was in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic, with his Inter side losing 3-2 having already won the title.
"My past is clear, 13 years at Juve as a player, I was captain for several years, winning practically everything," Conte said.
"I had the opportunity to coach for three years, starting a series of nine Scudetti.
"I am part of Juve's history because of what I've done and given them. It's easier to stay at one club your entire career.
"But as a coach it's impossible to decide your own career. I coached Juve for three years, my career took me to different places.
"Today I have the true pleasure of coaching a team like Napoli. For me, being someone from the south, it is a proud and satisfying feeling.
"There will be lots of emotions returning to that stadium, because last time I returned during COVID."
Conte comes up against a man he knows well in Juventus head coach Thiago Motta, having managed him during his time with the Italian national team.
Motta has collected eight points from his four games in charge of his new club after leading Bologna to Champions League qualification last term.
The 42-year-old marked his first game as a head coach in the Champions League with a comfortable 3-1 win over PSV Eindhoven on Tuesday.
Conte wished Motta well for the season, but not at the expense of his Napoli side.
"Thiago Motta takes on a heavy legacy... It's not a trivial thing to coach there, there is a demand for victory, like at Milan or Inter," Conte said.
"He was a player of mine with the national team at the European Championships. He makes me smile, but it also saddens me a bit because I'm getting old.
"He did very well in Bologna and so I wish him the best from a human point of view, but not in the games against us."
Maresca: Chelsea 'not ready' to compete for trophies with Man City and Arsenal
Enzo Maresca says that Chelsea "are not ready" to compete for major trophies against Manchester City and Arsenal this season.
The Blues have made a strong start to life under Maresca, losing just two of their 10 matches so far.
They are currently on a five-match winning run in all competitions, most recently seeing off Gent 4-2 in their Conference League opener on Thursday.
So far, Chelsea have scored 27 goals under the Italian, with 15 of those coming in the league, outperforming their 12.2 expected goals (xG), and only failed to score in their opening Premier League match against City.
However, Maresca has insisted people should not get carried away by Chelsea's recent form, playing down their chances of lifting any silverware this campaign.
"I really don't think we can compete with City or Arsenal," Maresca said.
"I really don't think that, because we are not ready. The reason is that City has worked with the same manager for nine years and Arsenal for five years. If you want to compete for big things, you need that time.
"After Arsenal beat PSG [in the Champions League] they asked Luis Enrique, and he said the same thing, that Arsenal have had the same manager for five years and [PSG] only a year and a half.
"Imagine us, only three months… so it's a huge difference. So, I am really convinced we cannot compete with those clubs."
Before Maresca's appointment, Mauricio Pochettino only spent a season at Stamford Bridge, while Graham Potter before him was only in the position for just under seven months.
After another busy transfer window for Chelsea saw them bring in 13 players, Maresca has urged for patience as they continue to find their footing in the early stages of his tenure.
"The target is to improve and slowly, slowly to get closer to those clubs but at the moment we are not ready for that," he added.
“There is no timeframe because you can continue to improve and add solutions to things always.”
Chelsea face Nottingham Forest at home on Sunday in their final match before the international break.
Bremer to have surgery after suffering ACL injury
Juventus centre-back Bremer will undergo surgery after sustaining an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury against RB Leipzig.
The Brazil international was forced off six minutes into Juve's 3-2 win over Leipzig on Wednesday, with the club confirming the extent of his injury on Thursday.
Bremer has been key to Thiago Motta's side so far this season, playing every minute in Serie A with the team yet to concede a single goal in six matches.
Among his team-mates, he has played the most minutes (540), making the most interceptions (six) and blocks (11).
Juventus were also dealt another blow, with midfielder Nico Gonzalez suffering a thigh muscle injury.
"Bremer and Nico Gonzalez underwent diagnostic tests which revealed an anterior cruciate ligament injury in the left knee for the former and a low-grade injury to the rectus femoris of the right thigh for the latter," the club said in a statement.
"Bremer will undergo surgery in the coming days."
Motta praises Juve spirit after thrilling fightback at Leipzig
Thiago Motta hailed Juventus' team spirit after they shrugged off two injuries and Michele Di Gregorio's red card to secure a thrilling 3-2 Champions League win over RB Leipzig.
Juventus, who are yet to concede a goal in Serie A this season, twice had to fight back from a goal down before securing the win with a late goal from Francisco Conceicao.
They endured a nightmare start as captain Bremer and winger Nicolas Gonzalez were both withdrawn after suffering injuries.
They then went down to 10 men when Di Gregorio was dismissed for handling outside his area, but Dusan Vlahovic's brace had them level before Conceicao showed great feet to tuck home an 82nd-minute winner.
"It was a good match, even in the first half where we made some mistakes in the details," said Motta.
"In the second half, we did better, even playing with 10 men. It was a great performance and a great win.
"Courage from the boys, they were determined to push forward and hurt the opponents.
"Even with a man down, we had that feeling, so why step back? We kept pushing, and we did it well right until the last minute."
Two-goal hero Vlahovic echoed those sentiments, saying: "I'm really happy, especially for the team. We are becoming a real unit.
"We fought together, kept pressing even when we were down to 10 men, and in the end, we deserved to win. It was a great match, and fortunately, we came out on top."
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