Manuel Pasqual says Paulo Sousa has made Fiorentina “more cynical” compared to Vincenzo Montella.
The Viola will go top of Serie A, at least temporarily, if they beat Sassuolo this evening, and the defender admits they’re more hard-nosed than in previous campaigns.
“We’re more cynical,” Pasqual explained to French website Sofoot.
“In my first few years, we had deficiencies which we made up for with enthusiasm and desire to be together.
Manuel Pasqual says Paulo Sousa has made Fiorentina “more cynical” compared to Vincenzo Montella.
The Viola will go top of Serie A, at least temporarily, if they beat Sassuolo this evening, and the defender admits they’re more hard-nosed than in previous campaigns.
“We’re more cynical,” Pasqual explained to French website Sofoot.
“In my first few years, we had deficiencies which we made up for with enthusiasm and desire to be together.
“The football developed by Montella was of a very high-quality, but Sousa stands out for the capacity to be dangerous and therefore score more easily, sometimes ignoring aesthetics.
“There were times when we played beautifully but failed to capitalise and bring home the points. We were often slaughtered by the Press and the fans, we were playing beautifully but losing.
“Right now we’re playing well, we’re not conceding too much to our opponents and we’re winning. We couldn’t be doing better.
“We take pleasure, because we keep possession of the ball and the results follow, which is the most important thing.
“Unlike other teams, our directors don’t consider a new Coach to be a big transfer market coup. They don’t look at the name, but what he does, how he makes his teams play.
“[Cesare] Prandelli came from Hellas [Verona] and Parma, [Sinisa] Mihajlovic was at Catania and the same for Montella. They’d scored and played well with limited resources.
“Paulo Sousa had a profile, he’d succeeded wherever he’d been. They never looked for a [Jose] Mourinho for example, they’ve always been convinced that results can be achieved through beautiful play.
“In Montella’s first season, nobody expected the team to do as well, we only had three or four survivors from the previous season.
“Despite this revolution we finished fourth, just a point behind Milan, an extraordinary journey. The following season people were expecting more, but we finished fourth again and lost in the Coppa Italia final, so it was still a positive season.
“You always want to improve, but you don’t necessarily want to go out and buy a lot of players. Fiorentina this season is an example.
“We have a solid base, to which some excellent players have been added – but no stars – who have brought quality and enthusiasm.
“It’s good to have champions, but when they’re above the group it risks upsetting the balance.
“Our success? We’re playing a lot more directly, but don’t forget that in recent seasons our strikers were almost always on the sidelines.
“I’m of course talking about Giuseppe Rossi and Mario Gomez, that’s a detail you can’t underestimate.”
With Fiorentina competing in Serie A, the Europa League and Coppa Italia, is there a risk of burnout?
“It could have an influence physically, but when you’re a footballer you always seem to find enough incentives to want to win.
“Last year in the Europa League we went out in the semi-finals to Sevilla because they were better than us, the numbers speak for themselves.
“Numerically we did well, you can make changes and try to do as well as possible in all three competitions.
“Would we have to make a choice if we’re in the Scudetto race in February? Even if February the title race is far from over!
“You still have March, April, May… to drop the other competitions is a big risk. And anyway, the Coppa Italia and Europa League are knockout competitions, you can’t know.
“When you aspire to win, you can’t make those kind of calculations.”
Fiorentina have finished fourth for three seasons in a row, is it frustrating not to make it into the Champions League?
“Let’s say that to do better is difficult,” Pasqual mused.
“It’s true that it’s frustrating to end up in that position though, because it no longer qualifies you for the preliminaries of the Champions League.
“Competition is increasing year-on-year, the League is reaching a higher level, so to finish at the foot of the podium is still a good performance.
“The image of the club outside Italy? It’s hard to compete with Juve, Milan and Inter, even if the latter two have gone through a difficult period.
“Their history continues to make a difference. It also comes down to strategy. When I came to Florence, Hidetoshi Nakata was here, and we went on tour in Japan.
“It was madness, they were all Fiorentina fans! We should also capitalise on the image of the city. I think the club is working on that.”