Pioli: Thrilled to return, Napoli favourites, hope Gudmundsson returns | OneFootball

Fiorentina, Pioli: “Excited for the return. Napoli is the favorite. We'll try to get Gudmundsson back

It's the eve of the challenge at the Franchi that tomorrow evening, starting at 20:45, will pit Fiorentina against Napoli. From the press room of Viola Park, the coach of the lilies, Stefano Pioli presented the match.

What kind of challenge is it with Conte? “I'm excited to return to play in Florence. Antonio is among the top in the world for the identity he knows how to give his teams and for the titles he has won. We have prepared many strategies but then it will be the players who make the difference”.

How big is the gap with Napoli? “They have won two championships in three years and have strengthened a lot. They are the favorite again this year and can also compete in Champions. Tomorrow how much the gap will be, the field will tell, we are a good team and today the level is similar: we also had 2 weeks to prepare and some absences. I have great confidence even though we know the strength of the opponents”.

How important is it to have 3 forwards who have unlocked themselves in the national team? “I hope that we can attack effectively and create difficulties. We will have to be good at reading certain situations because no one is unbeatable. Moise and Edin have regained confidence, Gud is better and we will try until the last to see if we can get him back”.

Does the championship start tomorrow? “I would like it, but there were two draws before. This week we worked well and we want to play it on par and the game will tell us at what level we are”.

Do you feel privileged to have Kean? “Very much, he is very strong and I believe he still has great room for improvement when he is without the ball”.

How has Nicolussi Caviglia fit in? “He fit in well right away, he is very intelligent, available and is in good physical shape. In these two weeks he has learned mechanisms and teammates. He sees the play and is a good acquisition”.

How has Napoli changed over the years? “It has changed excellent coaches and many great players. It has always had great footballers, centimeters and jumpers. It's a complete team today but I'm convinced that we can play it, playing our game and giving it our all”.

Will there be difficulties with the changes that Napoli can make? “We have seen many videos and they have different solutions. On the right they are very mobile, because Di Lorenzo, Anguissa and Politano are very unpredictable. We will have to be very good and communicate in the phase of non-possession. On the left they will be more fixed, with De Bruyne varying a lot. Our defensive phase will have to be very attentive and compact”.

How is Comuzzo mentally? “Pietro is fine, he lived 2-3 days with a bit of a confused head but he is a serious, applied and happy boy to have stayed here. I see him more and more determined and I consider him a certainty. Zone defense? Against Cagliari we made a mistake but these are things that can happen at the beginning of the journey”.

Were you intrigued to see Kean dialoguing so well with Retegui in the National team? “We have five offensive players now, with Fazzini who is a joker between attack and midfield. The choice of Turin was related to having freshness after the Conference game and because I wanted different solutions. The fact that Moise played well with Retegui certifies that when you know your department mate well you can always play well. I have many options, which also include Fazzini”.

Are you satisfied with the transfer market? “We had a good market, the company was good at consolidating the bases. Now we will always have to try to improve. One-two fewer players wouldn't have bothered me, but I say this for the boys, it doesn't change anything for me. Today everyone is in and motivated. Lamptey just arrived but he has very good qualities”.

What do you expect from Fagioli? “I expect a lot, because I believe he has great qualities and is complete. In Turin he struggled to find the position, but tomorrow will be another game and he will have different tasks. I think we have many players who have arrived at the right time to make the leap. We will see if they can do it, Nicolò has all the qualities to do it”.

Where do you place Fiorentina in terms of squad? “On paper it's worth nothing, what counts is what the field will say and we will have to give our best in every game. At the end of the year we will see what our value is. I alone in Milan did nothing, there was work on the part of everyone. We had a dream and every day we worked to try to reach it. It's not the coach who creates something magical, but the whole environment: technical, players, company and fans included. The director said he wants to win so there will be a lot of work because there are at least 10 clubs that want to win and in the end 2-3 succeed”.

Who is the penalty taker? “The first two are Kean and Gudmundsson”.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇮🇹 here.