Franck Ribery and Federico Chiesa can be for Fiorentina what Antonio Di Natale and Alexis Sanchez were at Udinese, claims Francesco Guidolin.
The two clubs face off today at 11.30 UK time (10.30 GMT), click here for a match preview.
After a little tactical tinkering, Coach Vincenzo Montella seems to have settled on a 3-5-2 formation for the Viola, with 36-year-old Ribery partnering Chiesa, who turns 22 later this month.
Franck Ribery and Federico Chiesa can be for Fiorentina what Antonio Di Natale and Alexis Sanchez were at Udinese, claims Francesco Guidolin.
The two clubs face off today at 11.30 UK time (10.30 GMT), click here for a match preview.
After a little tactical tinkering, Coach Vincenzo Montella seems to have settled on a 3-5-2 formation for the Viola, with 36-year-old Ribery partnering Chiesa, who turns 22 later this month.
“Montella had a really smart intuition to use them together and I tip my hat to him,” ex-Udinese Coach Guidolin told La Nazione newspaper.
“He found the right system with a solid defence, density in midfield and two great forwards. There are a few distinctions, obviously, but Ribery and Chiesa really remind me of the Di Natale-Sanchez pairing I had at Udinese.”
In that Udinese side of 2010-11, Alexis Sanchez scored 12 goals and provided 10 assists, while veteran striker Di Natale found the net 28 times and set up six.
“Anyone who thought Ribery’s career was over at 36 was badly wrong. In this Fiorentina, with the free role of an atypical Number 10, he can do extremely well,” added Guidolin.
Ribery was named MVP of Serie A for September after two goals and an assist in his last three games, so will receive the award before kick-off today.