Fiorentina coach Vincenzo Italiano has urged his players to honour the late Joe Barone when they host Milan at the Stadio Artemio Franchi on Saturday evening.
La Viola lost their beloved General Manager, Barone, on March 16, at the age of 57. He had suffered a cardiac arrest in the hours leading up to Fiorentina’s Serie A match against Atalanta in the days prior, which was then postponed before kick-off. Barone passed away at the San Raffaele hospital in Milan.
Fiorentina will host Milan on Saturday evening, kicking off at 19.45 GMT, in what will be their first game back since Barone’s passing.
Though the second-place Rossoneri, who have won five on the spin in all competitions, will provide a tough test for Italiano’s side, the coach urged his players to honour the late Barone with their performance.
Italiano on honouring Barone
“We need to start again, immediately, and honour the director in the best possible way, by playing with what were his best characteristics: passion, love and a commitment to this city, for these colours and for this club,” Italiano told the press, reported via TMW.
Italiano on Milan challenge
The Fiorentina coach then moved on to his customary analysis of the weekend’s opponents. He expected a tough test against the second-placed team in Serie A, but hopes that a sold-out stadium will be of benefit to his squad.
“Milan are in great shape. During the break we recovered some players from long-term injuries, everyone is improving in condition. We are playing at home and we want to start again with a positive result in a difficult match,” Italiano said.
“We will have to enter the field knowing that we will put a strong team in difficulty. We know our value, we will need to take advantage of it on the pitch. These three points can give us momentum in the run-in.
“We know the entire stadium will give us all the strength to achieve the maximum. I can only ask, from here to the end of the season, that we all start thinking together in order to achieve something extraordinary. I expect a great push from the fans, especially in tough moments.”
🎙 Vincenzo Italiano 🗣#ForzaViola #FiorentinaMilan #ACFFiorentina pic.twitter.com/Q93rTn5bWk
— ACF Fiorentina (@acffiorentina) March 29, 2024