Fiorentina coach Vincenzo Italiano agrees with Maurizio Sarri and believes Coppa Italia should adopt the FA Cup format in the future.
The Lazio coach reiterated yesterday that the Coppa Italia is ‘one of the most unsporting tournaments in the world,’ something he had previously claimed while in charge of Empoli and Juventus. The Bianconeri boss Massimiliano Allegri refused to step into the debate, while Italiano shared Sarri’s view.
“Everyone has his own opinion, but at this stage, there are just Serie A teams in the competition,” he said at a press conference today as quoted by Tuttomercatoweb.
“It would be nice to have a draw at the beginning of the season with Fiorentina facing Cosenza or Juventus in the first round.
“That’s how it works in other countries, including England. Teams from different leagues meet and stadiums are always full.
“It’s a format that I’d like to see, but now it’s different, so we don’t complain.”
La Viola eliminated Napoli from the round of 16 and will meet Atalanta in the quarter-finals tomorrow.
“It’s an important match. The quarter finals are an important moment. Everyone wants to progress,” the coach said.
“Everyone knows how good Atalanta are, they’re an important side, especially at home. There’s a lot at stake and we want to do well. We need a great performance against Atalanta.”
The Tuscans suffered a 3-0 loss at the Stadio Artemio Franchi on Saturday in their first match without Dusan Vlahovic.
“We already showed in the past that we’re able to react to defeats, and we can show immediately what we’re worth,” Italian claimed.
“We’re disappointed about the defeat, but I saw in the faces of my players that they are fully convinced about the work we’re doing.
“We need to be patient with the new players and give them time to become part of the structure that is in place.”