Fiorentina boss Vincenzo Italiano met with the media before his team faces West Ham in the UEFA Conference League tomorrow evening.
La Viola face-off against the Hammers in Prague for their second cup final within the previous two weeks, the first being their Coppa Italia final defeat against Inter on May 24th.
“The Coppa Italia defeat against Inter was a good lesson in term of mentality. Experience can help you to have a different approach,” explained Italiano.
“We played well against Inter, we just paid for a blackout for a few minutes but the real lesson is about mentality and playing the game with freedom in our minds.”
“As for tomorrow, when we arrived here at the stadium, the first thought was remembering the start of this path, the play-offs in the Netherlands and the 14 difficult games which gave us the chance to come here to play for a trophy.”
He added, “It was an incredible path in which we grew match after match. West Ham were one of the strongest teams in the tournament and they confirmed their strength by reaching the final.”
“They have high-quality players, very strong. But we also reached the final so we are also strong and we are here to play all our cards. We are ready for it.”
“The duel in midfield between (Sofyan) Amrabat and (Declan) Rice will be between great players who can both be decisive for their teams.”
“Amrabat is very important for us. I hope he will play with the usual heart and soul and win his personal duel with Rice, because they will be facing each other often in midfield.”
