Vincenzo Italiano insists Fiorentina didn’t play badly in last season’s Conference League Final against West Ham and urges his players to take revenge next week by making as few errors as possible.’
Italiano and Fiorentina players were involved in UEFA media day at Viola Park on Wednesday, one week before a Conference League Final against Olympiacos in Athens.
It’s the second consecutive Conference League Final for Fiorentina, who lost to West Ham last season.
Tomorrow, they meet Cagliari in the opening match of Round 38.
“It’s a special week because we must be focused on tomorrow; we still need points for the table, so we are focused on Cagliari. Of course, today is dedicated to Athens, so we’ll talk about this,” Italiano said at a press conference, as quoted by TMW.
“We have reached the Final again, another fantastic journey in Europe given the difficulties we’ve faced. We are proud to have another chance but I insist we must focus on Cagliari. We’ll focus on the other game when the referee blows the final whistle. We know what we’ll be dealing with and we’ll be ready.”
Italiano is expected to leave Fiorentina at the end of the season even if no official confirmation from the coach or the club has yet arrived. However, the 46-year-old understandably decided not to talk about next season as Fiorentina still have plenty to play for.
Italiano makes Rice claim as he urges Fiorentina to take revenge in Conference League Final
“Those three years in Florence left me so much even if previous experience also gave me satisfaction,” he said.
“We had not planned to reach these finals. We exceeded expectations last season, and in the current campaign, we were good at confirming it. We have a chance to take revenge, we know how to prepare. Perhaps, the sadness for the last two finals [Coppa Italia and Conference League last season] must push us to give our all.
“We must make as few errors as possible in Athens. You must be perfect in those games because an error will make you lose and a great move will make you win. I remember conceding a random goal against West Ham last season and then another one in a situation we should have managed differently. A few minutes earlier, we had a big chance to win it. However, we won’t play alone. We’ll meet a good team that beat Aston Villa away. They had lost 4-1 against Maccabi and scored six [in the second leg]. They have enthusiasm.
“The game against West Ham is the past,” continued Italiano.
“I remember that we didn’t play badly. We played on par with a strong team. They had a midfielder who plays for Arsenal now [Declan Rice] and we didn’t allow him to play a great game, but two naive errors prevented us from winning. We must face this final with the same personality.
“The lads were calm and serene [last season] and it must be the same this time. Dominate possession and make as few errors as possible. I want freedom in their heads.”
Fiorentina haven’t yet secured a European placement in Serie A which is why they still need to win in Cagliari on Thursday.
“We’ll do anything to get a great result. We’ll see who is not 100% fit and who may struggle to recover,” said Italiano.
“We must be at the peak of our form and will try to manage the playing tomorrow so everyone can be in competitive form in Athens.”
Captain Cristiano Biraghi is expected to be available despite a little incident in training.
“We are many, and we are all fit. Like last season, everyone’s available. Briraghi only picked up a knock today. It’s nothing serious; he’s okay. It’s really nice to reach this stage of the season in this form. We must give our best.”
Fiorentina have been struggling from the spot this season but players have been practicing ahead of the Final.
“We practice at the end of every training session and we did it again today. We must be better; we have not been perfect this season, so we practice it when we can,” concluded Italiano.
A Rice claim?
What?