The market rumors about me? They don’t interest me, they’re neither a pride nor a stimulus, I’m focused on the last two games, I only think about the good of the team. Tomorrow’s race has one value, Wednesday’s another, but we have to tackle both with the right concentration.
The Italian Cup final? We have put a Champions League finalist in difficulty for a long time so it is clear that we have done something good. We managed to propose everything that allowed us to get to two finals. There will be departmental and individual errors to be avoided: if we want to leave the pitch without crying, as we unfortunately did in Rome, we won’t have to repeat them.
We have to get to the final with enthusiasm and confidence. After the match against Inter I told the boys that we couldn’t switch off. The one against Sassuolo will be an important match, we must honor it to the fullest.
If the team has reached its horizons? Fiorentina and I in 2021 came from a championship of suffering and since I set foot in Florence I have said that the goal was not to suffer, making everyone respect me: we did it, also creating an identity for ourselves. Two finals in one year is not for everyone. The journey has been more than positive, we have gone well beyond expectations. We must never set limits, we are still seeing some horizons.
How has the team grown? We started with one point from two matches in Europe, since then we have approached every match as if it were a final: this attitude has allowed us to reach two finals. We beat worthy opponents such as Braga, Lech Poznan and Basel. We were good at always bringing out the character. Now we have to add that extra something.
Cabral? We have to evaluate everything, but we also have to face Sassuolo. I’m glad he’s better than he was a few weeks ago. It has always been available. The problem is mine as to who I should choose. The goal is to have everyone at one hundred percent in the last two games.
If Cerofolini will play tomorrow? I don’t want to give the opponent any advantage, but when he was called into question he was always ready. He didn’t suffer the jump in the category. Congratulations to him, we have discovered a guy with qualities.
Some teams do well in the league but do badly in Europe? It’s not the first time this has happened, the three competitions take energy away. Even Inter, when they won the UEFA Cup, didn’t play in a major championship. Who, like us, gets to the bottom means that he has worked well. I’m 45, I’ve only seen Inter’s treble and Barcelona’s treble. It’s hard to perform well in 60 games.
What would I do again and not do again in these two years? Many members of Fiorentina, since last year, had asked me not to suffer and to take away some great satisfaction. I, perhaps a little crazy, told them that we would certainly have fun, even if I didn’t imagine getting to two finals. I would do this again. What would I not do again? In some races I could have intervened differently. I will try to make as few mistakes as possible from here in the future.
The penalties you tried today in training? At the end of the finishing we always try the penalties. We have decided to have all the members of the squad take a penalty each as we approach a final. We have 8-9 players who are very cold, but then we will eventually see who feels like it in the final.
He West Ham? We analyzed it, one of the strongest teams arrived in the final, it is a candidate for victory. They have leg, running and quality, it’s the typical English team. They have an expert coach (David Moyes, ed), one of the most recognized in England. We know their strengths, we hope we have identified some of their defects. We will have to have maximum respect and play a game with great concentration.
Terzic? I don’t know what happened with the Serbian Federation. If I have to know what’s happening in Serbia too… I haven’t slept for a while already.
Dinner with the team? We’ve been looking for dinner one evening since the match against Inter, but we can’t find it. Foils for the final? I don’t get attached to these things. I hope I don’t see my players in tears like in Rome.
How important is Castrovilli to me? Before getting hurt he had become a total and fundamental footballer for us. Thanks to him we have achieved great results. Now he is returning to last year’s. The ups and downs are natural, but I’m liking the fact that he’s getting inside the box and also scoring some goals. He added this fundamental. From next year we will see a 100% Castrovilli again”.
June 1, 2023 (change June 1, 2023 | 16:59)
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