Coach Vincenzo Montella admits Fiorentina lack depth, but says they'll be 'competitive' against Juventus anyway.
The former Roma Coach faces a major test tomorrow as his team plays the first leg of the Coppa Italia semi-final against Juventus, and he understands the magnitude of the event.
“It's a special game for me. I felt that way even before coming to Florence. There are greater incentives to win, sure enough.
“We don't have much depth, but we'll be competitive as a team.
Coach Vincenzo Montella admits Fiorentina lack depth, but says they'll be 'competitive' against Juventus anyway.
The former Roma Coach faces a major test tomorrow as his team plays the first leg of the Coppa Italia semi-final against Juventus, and he understands the magnitude of the event.
“It's a special game for me. I felt that way even before coming to Florence. There are greater incentives to win, sure enough.
“We don't have much depth, but we'll be competitive as a team.
“Borja [Valero] is doing everything he can. [David] Pizarro will have to be evaluated over the next few hours. [José Maria] Basanta has a great question mark hanging over him.
“We don't want to risk [Nenad] Tomovic and [Stefan] Savic. We'll see about Mati [Fernandez], he did some good work in training today, while [Alberto] Aquilani is ready.
“As for Gomez, he had some trouble in the last game, he wasn't giving me any guarantees. But I saw him developing in the last few days, and now he's fine.
“Mohamed Salah? The objective of every Coach is to keep developing a player, all the time.
“He must keep going this way. He managed to get into the team's mechanisms right away and we're perfectly happy. Often when you try to improve a player at all costs you end up making him worse.”
Another benefit that Montella is keen to reap from tomorrow's game is the qualification to next year's Europa League, which is granted to the Coppa Italia winner.
“Since this is a semi-final, there's only one obstacle to overcome. Tomorrow represents the most direct path to reach European qualification.
“The fact that Juventus are playing with their best XI represents yet another reason to do well.
“It's understandable that they would play with their starters. After all, they already have a great lead in the championship.
“They're the best in Italy, and this represents a challenge for us. We expect a tough game.”