Raffaele Palladino assures Fiorentina will not underestimate St. Gallen in the Conference League and gives clues as to his choices in attack. ‘It will be a battle.’
It kicks off at the Arena St. Gallen on Thursday at 17.45 UK time (16.45 GMT).
The Viola reached the Conference League Final for the last two seasons in a row and started the current campaign with a 2-0 victory over Welsh side The New Saints.
That was a less convincing performance than expected, but it is also true that they took a while to get used to Palladino’s tactics and seem to have turned a corner with recent results.
“My lads do not know the meaning of the word ‘underestimate’ in Europe,” assured the coach in his press conference in Switzerland.
“I am sure those who will play tomorrow know they must give 100 per cent and St. Gallen will cause us problems in front of their home fans. It will be a battle and I am sure we’ll have the right attitude.”
Palladino dealing with injury problems
Fiorentina are fresh from sweeping Lecce aside 6-0 in Serie A and the squad rotation seems inevitable.
Some of that will be limited, because Albert Gudmundsson is ruled out for four to six weeks by a Grade I/II lesion to the myotendinous junction in the femoral bicep of the right thigh.
Kean has made the trip to Switzerland, but is expected to only be on the bench after turning his ankle during that Lecce game.
“We studied St. Gallen, they have a lot of talented individuals, especially upfront,” insisted Palladino.
“We have many players who can be used in place of Gudmundsson, like Lucas Beltran, maybe even Christian Kouame, Edoardo Bove or Yacine Adli. We have the characteristics to create issues for our opponents.”
Palladino was asked what has changed at the Viola most recently after their sudden upturn in results and performances.
“I do not listen to criticism or comments, I do not read the papers. My strength is that I am focused entirely on my work, I’ve been in football for over 20 years as a player and coach, so I know that when results don’t arrive, there can be criticism. Unfortunately, balance is hard to find in football, people go too quickly between euphoria and negativity.
“I always knew it was just a matter of time, I can still see improvement. It wasn’t an issue of having a three or four-man defence, it’s just getting to know each other better.”
Swiss football enjoyed an extraordinary summer, beating Italy 2-0 to knock them out of the EURO 2024 Round of 16.
“We remember the Euros well,” confessed Palladino.
“We must have the right spirit. I know Switzerland well, as I used to visit a lot to see a Swiss former teammate of mine. It’s going to be complicated, but we’ll do our best to bring the win home.”