Fiorentina striker Nikola Kalinic insists 'if it weren't for Coach Paulo Sousa, I wouldn't be here'.
The Croatian arrived from Dnipro in summer 2015, at the same time the Portuguese boss toook over from Vincenzo Montella.
"I was very happy with the call from Fiorentina," the 29-year-old told Calcio 2000 magazine. "I remember the first training session very well, I was very excited.
Fiorentina striker Nikola Kalinic insists 'if it weren't for Coach Paulo Sousa, I wouldn't be here'.
The Croatian arrived from Dnipro in summer 2015, at the same time the Portuguese boss toook over from Vincenzo Montella.
"I was very happy with the call from Fiorentina," the 29-year-old told Calcio 2000 magazine. "I remember the first training session very well, I was very excited.
"Every time I trained, I felt this way. I liked the idea of playing in Serie A, so I accepted the offer with great joy. It was thanks to Paulo Sousa, that I moved to Fiorentina. If it were not for him as a Coach, I would never have come to play in Italy.
"[Federico] Bernardeschi has talent but he should be left free to be able to play. There's so much pressure on him, maybe too much."
The Croatian was subject to a huge salary offer from Chinese side Tianjin Quanjian in January, but he opted to remain in Florence.
"Refusal to relocate to China? There’s no mystery. I wanted to keep playing at a certain level and I did not like the idea of going to China. I think I still have a lot to give to Europe.
"Now I only think about playing at the highest level, I do not think about the future. I would love to play in the World Cup. I lived through the emotion of the Euros, it would be wonderful to wear a Croatia shirt at the World Cup. We hope, but there’s still a long time yet."