AC Milan attacking midfielder Suso says the Supercoppa Italiana against Juventus will be the biggest game of his career.
The 23-year-old feels the match is more significant than his Premier League debut for Liverpool, his former club, against Manchester United in September 2012.
Suso has impressed for Milan under Vincenzo Montella this season and has been an ever-present in the league ahead of Friday s Supercoppa in Qatar, where his side will hope to repeat their league victory over Juve from October.
This is certainly the biggest game of my career, Suso told Gazzetta dello Sport.
Next comes the European Under-19 final [for Spain] and my debut in the Premier League wearing the shirt of Liverpool against Manchester United that was a crazy feeling.
There were no opportunities for moving forward there [Liverpool] and I needed a chance. That s why I chose Milan, which is a top European club for me. It was difficult at the start but then I was given this opportunity thanks to Montella.
He is not afraid to take risks, gets the most from the group and gives opportunities to all. Personally he has always given me confidence and with him things are really good.
Milan have dropped to fifth in Serie A after picking just a point from their last two games, but Montella s men are only two points adrift of Roma in second and Suso is optimistic about their season and chances against Juve.
Our position does not surprise me, he said. I knew already this summer that this year would be good for us.
Up until last year the difference between us and Juventus, Roma and Napoli was great we are now proving to be among of the big clubs.
If we continue like this we will return to become the old Milan.
Until now Juve have proven to be the strongest, but in the league we won. Let s say we could just do it.
By all means we can beat Juve. Defeating them gives us a lot of confidence and even some more information on how to play against them.
They are the favourites and I prefer it this way. We will be even more motivated and the pressure will be on them.
Despite no wins from two games, we have played well and go into the Supercoppa even more aware of our strength.