Vincenzo Italiano assures Fiorentina were ‘at times superior’ to Juventus in the unlucky Coppa Italia semi-final, backs Lorenzo Venuti after the own goal and sees it as a fight for Europe with Verona.
The Viola largely dominated the first leg of the semi-final, hitting the woodwork with Jonathan Ikone and forcing saves, but were undone 1-0 in stoppages when Juan Cuadrado’s cross hit Venuti and ricocheted over the line.
“I think we ought to take many positives from that extraordinary performance,” said the coach in his press conference.
“If we face everyone with that same determination and focus, we can do great things. The lads played on level terms against one of the strongest sides in Europe, even if Juve were missing some players. In fact, we were at times superior to Juventus.
“That means we can aim for important results, but need to turn more of those chances into goals. If I was a Fiorentina fan, I’d want to see performances like that every game, because sooner or later the results will come.”
Venuti was inconsolable after the unlucky own goal and burst into tears at the final whistle, so how can Italiano and his teammates get the young defender back on his feet?
“Lollo will be on the field tomorrow. I am happy we are right back in action straight away, because it’ll give him the chance to prove it was just a stumble. There wasn’t much he could do about it, but you saw how much he cares about this club.”
Nico Gonzalez was only fit enough to be a late substitute against Juve after several days of flu symptoms, while Alvaro Odriozola went off injured.
“Gonzalez has only been able to train one day in the last eight, so he’s not in good shape. Odriozola is out, but it’s nothing serious, we expect to have him back next week.”
Fiorentina and Verona are unexpected contenders for Europa League qualification, with fourth not entirely out of the question for the Viola either.
“We are in that position, so we’ll fight to the end to stay there. We’re proving that we are stronger than many expected, and that is pleasing. If we play like we did against Juve, we will lose very few matches.
“Verona have been doing well for two or three years now, they feel confident and Igor Tudor is doing a great job.”
#SerieA | Le parole in conferenza stampa di Vincenzo #Italiano alla vigilia del match tra la sua @acffiorentina e l’@HellasVeronaFC https://t.co/SSTJqJzRuu
— Gianluca Di Marzio (@DiMarzio) March 5, 2022