Fiorentina defender German Pezzella says Davide Astori ‘will always be our captain’.
Pezzella has taken over the captain’s armband following Astori’s death last month and an injury to Milan Badeij, while Fiorentina have responded to the tragedy by winning all of their four games.
“We understood we had to give more than our maximum,” the Real Betis loanee told Tuttosport.
“Becoming captain? It’s a great honour, but what matters most is giving everything for the shirt and helping the younger lads.
Fiorentina defender German Pezzella says Davide Astori ‘will always be our captain’.
Pezzella has taken over the captain’s armband following Astori’s death last month and an injury to Milan Badeij, while Fiorentina have responded to the tragedy by winning all of their four games.
“We understood we had to give more than our maximum,” the Real Betis loanee told Tuttosport.
“Becoming captain? It’s a great honour, but what matters most is giving everything for the shirt and helping the younger lads.
“Astori? It was very hard to take and it still Is now: Davide is longer there in the dressing room and gym, but his picture is there.
“After the defeats to Samp and Verona, we experienced a difficult time and there was tension.
“I confided my concerns to Davide and he immediately reassured me, like a true captain would. For us, he’ll always be our captain.
“By giving up, we would’ve scrapped everything he did and left behind for us. The table says this: we’re on the same number of points as Atalanta and Samp and four behind Milan.
“However, we don’t look at the table. We go game by game, only looking at ourselves.
“Roma next? We’re ready and fired up for them. Roma are one of the best teams in Italy, so a super performance is needed from us.”