Fiorentina captain Cristiano Biraghi on Vincenzo Italiano, a resurgent Serie A and the UEFA Europa Conference League final against West Ham – interview
Wednesday, June 7, 2023
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"Whatever happens, we will definitely have no regrets," says Fiorentina captain Cristiano Biraghi as his side prepare to give their all in the UEFA Europa Conference League final against West Ham.
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Signed by Fiorentina in 2018, left-back Cristiano Biraghi has seen his side's fortunes improve dramatically in recent years, the arrival of new coach Vincenzo Italiano in 2021 heralding a return to European football and two major finals this season.
The Viola lost the Coppa Italia to Biraghi's old club, Inter, in May, but an even greater prize is up for grabs in Prague as they take on West Ham in the UEFA Europa Conference League decider. The 30-year-old expects a tough encounter, but with Serie A sides riding high in Europe, he feels his team have nothing to fear.
On West Ham
We have nothing but respect for West Ham as they have important players, and many of them are more used to playing in European competitions than us. They play in the Premier League, which is a very tough league, so we respect them. It's the final so it's impossible to predict how it will go.
When we played the Coppa Italia final against Inter, everyone thought Inter, which was the stronger team, would win and dictate the rhythm of play. Instead, the opposite was the case. I think the final outcome depends on different factors. Just like in the Coppa Italia final [where the Viola were unlucky to lose 2-1], whatever happens, we will definitely have no regrets.
On what it means to be back in European football
It meant the world to us, and probably even more for the city and our fans. Let's be honest: in order to play in Europe, a team needs to display a 'European' level, both on and off the pitch. In the last few years, we were very far from that level, I'm not going to lie. But with our new president Rocco [Commisso] and Joe Barone [Fiorentina's general manager], things started to change.
They firmly believe in this new course and support us however they can; we're like a big family, and in my opinion, this was a huge factor in us managing to qualify for a European tournament. Then when our new coach joined us, the team improved even more, and we qualified for a UEFA competition in his very first year ... and here we are in the final.
On Vincenzo Italiano
I think the coach is addicted to soccer. I mean, he tells us football is his life. He always talks about football, working on improving and learning every day. Over the last couple of years, we never saw him complacent. Aside from the tactical side and on the pitch, which is definitely strong and has helped us a lot, I think his ability to communicate his passion is very important for us, as all of us feel the need to improve every day.
And since he is the captain of the ship and always thinks about football, even before he goes to sleep – if he even goes to sleep at all – it's obvious that all of us crew members are going to follow him into battle.
On the fact that there are Serie A sides in all three major club finals this season
People are used to Italian football being very competitive. We’ve had a few years where the level dipped a little, but it remained high regardless. When you are used to a certain level and that drops a little, it looks like a failure. But in actual fact, the level of the Italian league has always been high. There have always been great Italian players, but maybe there just weren't enough major achievements.
Now there are three finalists in three different European championships. Two semi-finalists in the Champions League. Napoli played in the quarter final. I think Italian football as a whole can be happy with these achievements.