Fiorentina back in Athens: Raffaele Palladino sees us a rematch
A useful draw to try to heal a wound that still hurts.
Fiorentina-Panathinaikos will be the next challenge in the Conference League for the violets, and the memory can only go to the 2024 final. On that occasion, the lily team played in Athens itself (albeit in the AEK stadium) and lost to another team from the Greek capital: Olympiacos. All reasons why this draw, for Raffaele Palladino, can represent a great opportunity for redemption.
"I know how much Athens represents an open wound for Florence,” Palladino told the press conference, “But for this very reason, for Fiorentina it could be a rematch. We will face Panathinaikos, a historic team that has won the Greek championship 20 times. Plus, we will find a very warm environment. We will study them thoroughly and face them at our best to pass the round".
In any case, Palladino reiterated Fiorentina's commitment to give their all in the Conference League, with the goal of winning a trophy that in recent years è seemed to take on more and more the appearance of a curse: "For me the cup è everything, I am here for that too. To say it is a trophy not up to it è absurd, I look forward to playing and trying to win it".
From this point of view, in Palladino's view, it doesn't change the fact that Fiorentina is still in contention in Europe, while direct opponents Milan, Juventus and Bologna are not. "Being in the Conference League does not have to be penalizing for us. Playing for an additional goal makes me happy. We know we have many commitments, but we will reason match by match focusing only on our path".
