Fiorentina, Vincenzo Italiano extols his people’s mentality

Italian satisfied with advancement to conference league round of 16

After the 0-3 victory over Latvians Riga on the last day of the Conference League group stage, Fiorentina coach Vincenzo Italiano commented on his team’s performance and passage to the round of 16 of the third European competition.

“I wanted to start the game as the first half unfolded, immediately with aggression. We were hoping for a favorable result from Turkey but we had prepared the match that way anyway. In the second half we gave space to some youngsters and those who played less. In the first half we did what we had prepared. I am happy for Saponara and for the goal on a dead ball,” explained the coach of the lily team.

The former Spezia coach then extolled the mentality of his team: “We were ready right away with Twente. Having beaten it gave us that ability to understand what was ahead of us. We stumbled the first two but then we reacted. Approaching the match like tonight means having a maturity that can take us far.”