Paulo Sousa assured his old club Basel are “an adversary, not an enemy” and explained why Fiorentina dropped Mario Suarez.
The Viola enter a tricky Europa League match in Switzerland on Thursday, kicking off at 18.00 GMT.
“My first thought being back here is very positive, as we had many happy moments together and in my view it’s always a pleasure to see people I shared joy with,” said the Coach who left Basel over the summer.
Paulo Sousa assured his old club Basel are “an adversary, not an enemy” and explained why Fiorentina dropped Mario Suarez.
The Viola enter a tricky Europa League match in Switzerland on Thursday, kicking off at 18.00 GMT.
“My first thought being back here is very positive, as we had many happy moments together and in my view it’s always a pleasure to see people I shared joy with,” said the Coach who left Basel over the summer.
“I see an adversary, not an enemy, albeit one we must be able to beat. We have everything required to win this game and are a team who believe more and more in ourselves. Hopefully tomorrow we’ll have a good performance against a side that in recent years has done very well in Europe.
“Obviously Basel also invested more heavily this year, as they want to reach the Final in their home stadium. I hope we can be ourselves and overcome the difficulties in this game.
“I have no expectations on how I will be welcomed in the stadium. The greatest compliment a Coach can receive is for his players to say they are satisfied with their development and felt improved on a tactical and personal level.”
Mario Suarez was left out of the squad for this trip to Switzerland, so is there an injury problem?
“It’s a technical decision. I think it’s normal because there are reduced choices in this competition. I had to make a decision based on the characteristics of tomorrow’s game. We’ll see how Borja Valero is in the final training session.”
Fiorentina fell off the top of the Serie A table at the weekend with a 2-2 draw against Empoli, having to fight back from 2-0 down.
“Even when a performance is not the best, I think you mustn’t forget about it entirely. It could happen again and therefore helps you to learn and be more concentrated in future.
“We cannot have a preference between Serie A and Europe, because a culture of victory has to be fed by consistent wins. You cannot abandon the idea of winning. We must be aware of what that all means and the petrol in the tank that has to be meted out.
“I am not a person who generally makes calculations, but who works intensely trying to improve individuals and the collective in a bid to win every game. You make calculations at the end of a competition.”