Vincenzo Italiano sees ‘great enthusiasm’ among Fiorentina fans ahead of their Serie A season opener with Genoa. ‘We are convinced of our potential and must prove it on the pitch.’
The season kicks off away to newly-promoted Genoa on Saturday at 19.45 UK time (18.45 GMT).
Christian Kouame sits out a ban, with Antonin Barak and Gaetano Castrovilli injured, but Sofyan Amrabat is expected to start despite the transfer interest from Liverpool and Manchester United.
“We start again, having recharged our batteries after a long season full of events,” said the coach in his press conference.
The Viola ended their campaign later than most, reaching the Final of both the Coppa Italia and the Europa Conference League.
“There is great enthusiasm among the fans, they realise what we did last season. It’s a pity those Finals ended the way they did, but getting there was remarkable and we want to do even better this year.”
President Rocco Commisso has certainly invested in the squad with new signings including River Plate striker Lucas Beltran, M’Bala Nzola, Fabiano Parisi and Yerry Mina.
“Many quality players have arrived and we will try to help them acclimatise gradually. The real games start now and I am confident, as the lads are intelligent and have a great work ethic,” continued Italiano.
“We begin this season convinced of our potential, but we must prove it on the pitch, starting from tomorrow.”
The coach of Genoa is Alberto Gilardino, who was Italiano’s teammate at Hellas Verona and took over mid-season to help achieve promotion.
Fiorentina have also discovered they must get past Rapid Vienna in a Conference League play-off.
“They have quality and character, so we must prepare for a tough test. The first leg is away from home in a fiery atmosphere and we must try to do as well as possible.”