Let the dancing begin. Fiorentina-Inter kicks off the most beautiful period of the football season, namely that of the national and European finals. Never like this year will we have so many to follow, moreover with the Nerazzurri and Viola also protagonists in the Champions League and Conference League. We start with the Coppa Italia and with the third clash of the season between Italian and Inzaghi, two of the most popular coaches of the moment: an important trophy is up for grabs, a real appetizer in view of the international appointments of the next few weeks.
Fiorentina - Inter (at 21, Channel 5)
Fiorentina and Inter, for obvious reasons, they don't arrive at the Olimpico match with the same expectations: they both want to win, of course, but it is clear that Inzaghi has more obligations compared to Italian. On the other hand, however, it must be said that a victory would weigh more on the Viola's season than the Nerazzurri's, so Fiorentina, paradoxically, could take the field with a higher pressure load. Speeches that must be taken with a grain of salt, because then the ball will start to roll and really anything can happen there, as always, after all, when these two teams face each other. At least the championship precedents say this, in the light of the pyrotechnic 4-3 with which Inter defeated the Franchi on 22 October last, but also of the 1-0 with which the Viola took their revenge at San Siro the first April. The challenge between the two coaches is the first element to take into consideration: on the one hand, the Italian, a convinced offensive player with his 4-2-3-1 (or 4-3-3, depending on the men) made up of ball possession and high center of gravity, on the other Inzaghi, loyal to a different 3-5-2, yet equally devoted to maneuver and attack. Much of the Coppa Italia will pass from here, it being understood that individual plays then take over, capable of undermining any pre-match plan.
Inzaghi shows the way: “We have to be a team. My future? I'm staying 100%"
“We are facing a healthy team, in the last 24 games they have lost four times and won almost always – underlined Inzaghi -. We know what we will find, we have faced each other many times and this year we have won and lost. They deserved two finals like us, it will be open but we have to be a team and be good at holding up the game, the match will live on the moment and on the episode, we will have to be good at directing it. My future? I'm staying 100%, I've never felt precarious, I've always worked and given my best, but we coaches are always judged by the results we get."
The Italian believes it: "I want to see the same eyes as Basel, we'll give Inter a hard time"
“We are very proud to have arrived this far, it has been a fantastic journey and we won't forget the other final – replied Italiano -. We are preparing to face the Champions League finalist, it will be a very tough obstacle, but we are serene, we will play our chances: we will try to give the nerazzurri a hard time. The only cue I take from the league games against Inter is that we have shown that we have the weapons to annoy them, even though we know it will be a very difficult mountain to climb. I want to see the same Basel eyes and spirit shown lately."
Fiorentina – Inter, the formations: Italian relies on Cabral, Inzaghi responds with Dzeko
The word passes to the field, where Fiorentina and Inter will compete for the 77th edition of the Italian Cup. The Italian has all the squad available, except for the reserve goalkeeper Sirigu, so he will be able to rely on the classic 4-2-3-1 with Terracciano in goal, Dodò, Milenkovic, Ranieri (favorite over Martinez Quarta) and Biraghi in defence, Amrabat and Castrovilli in midfield, Ikoné, Bonaventura and Nico Gonzalez behind the lone striker Cabral. Inzaghi, on the other hand, in addition to the usual Skriniar, will also have to give up Mkhitaryan, whose recovery schedule is based on the Champions League final on 10 June, but otherwise he will be able to count on all the best men, in a 3-5-2 with Handanovic between the posts (the hierarchies of the Italian Cup will remain the same in the final), Darmian, Acerbi and Bastoni in the back department, Dumfries, Barella, Brozovic, Calhanoglu and Dimarco in the midfield, Lautaro and Dzeko in attack. It is played in a sold-out Olimpico, with 25 fans on each side and a few thousand "neutral" spectators, among which, however, will not be the President of the Republic Mattarella, yesterday the protagonist of the usual reception of the teams at the Quirinale. The referee of the match will be the Tuscan (from the Pistoia section) Massimiliano Irrati, already designated for the Super Cup final in Riyadh, with Mazzoleni and Marini at the Var.
