Giacomo Bonaventura opened up about the hunger in Florence for a trophy ahead of Fiorentina’s Conference League final and how it felt to be excluded from the Italy squad for Euro 2024.
The Viola are gearing up for their second Conference League final in two years, facing Olympiacos at the AEK Arena in Athens on Wednesday night. Last year, they fell to David Moyes’ West Ham in a painful 2-1 defeat, leaving them with unfinished business in the competition.
Fiorentina finished the regular Serie A season in eighth, performing well under Vincenzo Italiano, who will leave the club following their Conference League final. In the meantime, Bonaventura wasn’t included in the preliminary Italy squad for the European Championship, raising some eyebrows.
Bonaventura press conference
Speaking in a press conference via TMW, Bonaventura first discussed what it would mean for Fiorentina to lift the Conference League trophy.
“A trophy in Florence would be really nice, here it’s more difficult, the last cup was won more than 20 years ago, and you can feel the desire of the fans.
“I had already noticed passion and attachment as an opponent, when I put on this shirt, I realized that tomorrow we will have a new chance, we hope to win.”
He touched on his condition and what kind of midfield role he’d play in the final.
“I’m fine, in the last few games I’ve played a lot of minutes. As for my role tomorrow, we still don’t even know who will be on the pitch, the coach only tells us who will play on the day of the match.
“The strategy is there, tomorrow we’ll go into detail about the individuals, but I think we won’t change much.”
Bonaventura was asked if he wants to make Spalletti regret not including him in the Italy squad for the European Championship.
“A footballer’s career is like that, there are joys and sorrows, victories and defeats. We need to forget and think about the next match, for us this is the match and there is a desire to do well. We want to reduce the percentage of errors to a minimum.”
Finally, Bonaventura discussed the strength of this Fiorentina side and their growth over the last few years.
“I had sensed the enthusiasm and desire of the president, of Barone. They had in mind to make the team grow and in fact over the years several players have arrived who have given a lot to Fiorentina.
“Over the course of these years, I believe the team has matured, especially in the cup we had a good run, because we played knowing that we were strong. This is certainly the most complete Fiorentina since I arrived.”