Fiorentina Coach Stefano Pioli confirms “there’s no need to fire anyone up” to face Juventus because “this is THE game”.
The Viola face the league leaders tomorrow evening, for what is the most keenly-felt fixture of their season.
“This is THE game,” Pioli acknowledged in his pre-match Press conference.
“There’s no need to fire anyone up, the stadium will push us.
Fiorentina Coach Stefano Pioli confirms “there’s no need to fire anyone up” to face Juventus because “this is THE game”.
The Viola face the league leaders tomorrow evening, for what is the most keenly-felt fixture of their season.
“This is THE game,” Pioli acknowledged in his pre-match Press conference.
“There’s no need to fire anyone up, the stadium will push us.
“In recent years they’ve widened the financial gap to the other teams, but it’s their environment which gives you that winning mentality, not just the Coaches or the players.
“Tomorrow though all that counts is this game and giving everything we have.
“The only ones here who have won [against Juventus] are [Federico] Chiesa, Maximiliano Olivera and me as a player.
“Anyone who lives in Florence knows how important this game is, so there’s no doubt about the desire and ambition we have.
“They’re the best team in Italy, one of the best in Europe. Having a full stadium will help us, but our fans have supported us throughout the season, and that’s why we’ve done well at home. On a technical level we can’t afford to make any mistakes.
“There’s no such thing as a perfect match, but we’ll need to understand when to be aggressive and when not to be.
“It’ll be crucial to understand how to interpret the phases of the game.”
Pioli was quizzed about how to stop Cristiano Ronaldo, and which player he’d take from Juve if he could.
“Ronaldo is the best player in the world, in many ways he’s unmarkable. The best solution is to try and cut out any ball he might get as soon as possible.
“We’ll mark him very attentively, but that’s not the only thing – we need to afford him as little space as possible.
“From Juventus I’d steal their technical quality, we’ll need to play our very best, with great technique.
“As for a player, I’d take Chiellini. He’s the only one whose absence they feel when he’s out. Without him their defence is affected, he’s the one who shifts the balance.
“So I’d take him away.”