Motta left Bologna for Juventus over the summer and will face his former club for the first time tomorrow night.
For his part, Italiano admits he hasn't been happy over comparisons with his predecessor.
Tomorrow is Juventus, is it a test for the big teams? Do you need continuity of results against the top-ranking teams?
“We discussed it with the lads that we need to change gear and mentality against the so-called big teams, even in the Champions League we didn't manage to do it, we only did it with the draw against Atalanta. We need to change gear against the teams ahead of us, valuable teams. We need to be ready straight away, it will be a tough and hard match, they have pace, legs and physical strength, we should be ready from every point of view."
We had to avoid comparisons with last year with Thiago Motta, the data says that the path for now is identical. How are you experiencing this comparison?
“Honestly I don't like to make the comparison, I don't like it, last year was an incredible path, I don't like that every week and every game we go back and rehash a situation that will never be the same. Since I arrived our way has been very very similar, then let's stop there. Many important players are no longer here, we have started a discussion with many new young players, for me we have to finish it. Then in the end if there is a loser it is me. We are working to continue on these numbers, but continuing like this every week, I am not enjoying it. We must be hungry to climb towards those who are ahead of us, tomorrow is a very difficult match, I have always had a lot of difficulty at the Stadium."
What does Juve mean to you? If you win tomorrow you will become San Vincenzo...
"And if I lose? (laughs). Juve is always Juve, then since they play at the Stadium it is even more complicated. Today's Juve is very strong, we will have to be very strong in the duels, when they have the ball they can cause us great difficulty. Tomorrow we will see, every match is a test, a battle and tomorrow we must concentrate on staying close to those who precede us."
You will meet Dusan Vlahovic again after Fiorentina...
"I met a champion in those six months when I had him, a boy who thanks to the great hunger of Florence allowed him to score goals before my arrival and then with me, I will gladly hug him tomorrow."
Did you expect this maturity from Castro?
"A wonderful surprise, he had already impressed me in retreat, he too was hungry and always focused, for me young guys must understand that training allows them to bring back to the field everything they do in the hours of the week, in their growth during training. He has yet to make a mistake in training. He has an obsession, a hunger that if he keeps it up he could become a very important player."
What surprises you most about Freuler?
"I often talk to him about how he gets rid of fatigue, it's incredible that he shows up the days after games and says he's fine, but the kilometers and the effort he puts in every game speak for themselves, lucky him, lucky us. I congratulate him, I hope he continues like this, taking such good care of these details."
How do you rate the whistles for Motta?
"It happened to me in the past, I can't help but say that they are ungenerous but I'll stop here, everyone makes their own choices, everyone has their own path. The environment, Thiago and the club all together have managed to achieve a fantastic goal."
Bologna is the team that recovers more balls going forward, Juventus is 18th in this ranking. Do you think you can continue like this with Juve who are strong in building from the back?
"We talked about it this morning, an obvious aspect of Juventus. It is an important fact for us, it is giving us some satisfaction. Facing a team that is very strong in building, we must face them with the maximum ability to dirty every ball, using our heads not like what happened in Rome, where Pobega made me angry but tried to go into a challenge going forward. This is what we are looking for, tomorrow we will have to be good in individual duels, paying attention to our reconquest."