Vincenzo Montella believes the Coppa Italia has become more important in recent years, as his Fiorentina prepare to face Juventus.
The Viola reached the final last year, only to be defeated by Napoli, and Montella believes the strength of teams left in the competition is reflective of a growing prestige.
“We’d like to win it [the Coppa Italia] very much,” the Coach explained in his pre-match Press conference.
Vincenzo Montella believes the Coppa Italia has become more important in recent years, as his Fiorentina prepare to face Juventus.
The Viola reached the final last year, only to be defeated by Napoli, and Montella believes the strength of teams left in the competition is reflective of a growing prestige.
“We’d like to win it [the Coppa Italia] very much,” the Coach explained in his pre-match Press conference.
“Its importance has grown in recent years, you can see that from the attitude of the other teams in the competition [Juventus, Napoli and Lazio] too.
“It’s a big opportunity for us. To beat Juve after also knocking Roma out would mean we’d eliminated the top two teams in the League, and that would be a source of pride for us.
“We’re very proud, but we haven’t achieved anything yet. Up until now we haven’t reached any of our goals.
“Tomorrow’s game can give us the opportunity to achieve something positive [reaching the cup final].
“Our state of mind is that we can achieve more and more, the city recognises our commitment and is proud of us.”
Bianconeri Coach Massimiliano Allegri has already revealed that he’ll play with a back four, but his opposite number was more coy about his team selection.
“I appreciate what Allegri said very much, in fact, I’d hoped he’d tell me more!” laughed.
“Our team is learning to manage fixtures and results because we have to play so often. We’re starting with an advantage, but we mustn’t underestimate our opponent.
“I think it’s possible to have as many players as possible ready to take the field. Personally I think our squad is on much the same level, and I’m happy to deploy different players in different games.
“[David] Pizarro? We’ll see, but he hasn’t trained with the rest of the squad so I think it’s unlikely he’ll play tomorrow. [Stefan] Savic I believe will be available.
“He had a good training session yesterday, and he should play against Juventus.
“As for [Giuseppe] Rossi, he hasn’t yet trained with his teammates, I’m not sure his return is as close as the newspapers suggest.
“Let’s see if we get some surprises in the next few days.”
A Napoli win on Wednesday night would set up a repeat of last year’s final, is Montella looking for revenge?
“I’ll follow it, but quite frankly I don’t care about the results of others. We’re just thinking about doing well.”