"Happy and proud to be here"

Juventus has reached the third city of the 2018 Summer Tour Powered by Jeep as the Bianconeri touched down in Atlanta on Monday with Massimiliano Allegri, Miralem Pjanic and Captain Giorgio Chiellini heading to the MLS Digital HQ for the pre-match press conference.

MISTER ALLEGRI'S WORDS

"We are very happy and proud to be here. We are disapointed not to have our national team players but they played in the World Cup and needed the vacation. Fortunately, we have the advantage of having basically a full defense and midfield."

On Allegri's coaching counterpart, Tata Martino: "In the past, he has coached Barcelona and the Argentina National Team, he's a great coach."

MIRALEM AND THE CAPTAIN

On Wednesday, many of the Juventus players will be raring to go in a crowd that is expected to be near 70,000 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium and two of those are the Captain Giorgio Chiellini and Miralem Pjanic:

"Wednesday's match will be different from the others," said Chiellini. "It's an important moment for us as we have just a few games left to prepare for the start of the season. It will be a great game but also a party that we are curious and happy to experience a wonderful evening together."

"The captain's armband? It's a new role for me, but I will behave just like I always have. I'm happy to have played with Del Piero and Buffon at Juventus and I must follow their lead in the past as Captain."

For Miralem Pjanic, it's the second MLS All-Star Game in his career after playing in 2013 with Roma. "It's a pleasure to be here. I've played in this match with Roma and for us it's a good opportunity to continue our preparations."

A FAMILIAR FACE 

After Juve's press conference, manager Tata Martino, Sebastian Giovinco, Carlos Vela and Brad Guzan held the MLS side of the press conference.

It's a special match for Giovinco in particular, who came through the Bianconeri academy.

"I can't wait to play on Wednesday against my boyhood club. Seeing old friends is always nice. Juventus has changed a lot since my time and has suffered in the past few years but now is back to winning ways. I think the arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo will be good for the Bianconeri and the entire league."

Martino sees the challenge ahead for his All-Star squad: "It's a game that is about entertainment and it's nice for MLS that Juventus is here. It's an important event for Atlanta and the whole state of Georgia."