Vincenzo Italiano reacted to the suggestion that Dusan Vlahovic might come off the bench in Fiorentina-Juventus: “I can not comment on what Massimiliano Allegri thinks. Those are his issues and his decisions to make. Regardless of their lineup, we will have to be a true team to face them properly. We will need great maturity. We hoped to be in a better mood after the Sassuolo game. However, we will use the anger to be more focused.”
“It is clearly a particular situation, as their top striker was here up until a few weeks ago. He knows us, but we are also aware of how he could hurt us. We have been careless in some instances, and we failed to perceive the danger. That will not be the case tomorrow, and we can not make mistakes. His undeniable gift is that if he gets two good balls, he scores three times. We hope to go to Turin still with a chance of reaching the final.”
Italiano sidestepped the question about the likely heated welcome for Vlahovic: “It is not part of our preparation and my worries. They are strong up front, and they can do damage at any time. They are coming off 13 positive results in a row, so that aspect does not matter. We hope the stadium will propel us towards a favorable outcome. The fans can be our 13th man.”
The coach underlined the magnitude of the game for Fiorentina: “Considering its importance and the rivalry, we have to honor it to the fullest. When you move to a place, you get to know the environment, the habits, and the situations that could galvanize the crowd. We have to exploit that, also recognizing the fact that we are facing a great team on a winning streak.”