Fiorentina spirit intoxicates Frey

The special spirit at ACF Fiorentina is the secret of their success this season according to goalkeeper Sébastien Frey, hailed as one of the world's best by none other than Dino Zoff.

UEFA Cup run
The Tuscan side, fourth in Serie A, are Italy's sole survivors in the UEFA Cup, having reached the Round of 32 – whereas some Serie A teams have hinted that European competition is not their first priority, that does not apply to Fiorentina. "The UEFA Cup is really important to us, it's one of our main goals, and we will not put it to one side in favour of the championship," 27-year-old French international Frey told uefa.com.

Collective spirit
Much of the credit goes to popular coach Cesare Prandelli, and both players and fans were able to show their affection when his wife died in November. "Prandelli is really important to us," Frey explained. "We all supported him during his difficult period because he is a great person, a special man, and it's really hard to find people like him in football. It's fantastic to deal with somebody genuine, and to talk with a person like him who is always helpful."

'Viola Fair'
Prandelli's character must be rubbing off on his squad. On 2 December, after a 2-0 home loss to one of Frey's former clubs, FC Internazionale Milano, the Viola players applauded and shook hands with their opponents as they left the pitch. So impressed was the Italian Football League that it has made the so-called 'third half' compulsory. The gesture by Fiorentina also helped to herald the Viola Fair project which aims to make their Artemio Franchi Stadium family-friendly.

Vieri experience
Prandelli's side boasts young players such as Giampaolo Pazzini, Riccardo Montolivo, Pablo Daniel Osvaldo and Zdravko Kuzmanović, yet also plenty of experience. "Christian Vieri is 34 and has won a lot during his career," Frey said. "Nonetheless, you always see him giving advice to the youngsters in training. He helps them grow up, and it is amazing to see. I believe these kind of things give us an added value which makes us work so well together. We are a fantastic squad."

Zoff praise
Vital to that group is Frey. Former Fiorentina coach Zoff, who knows a few things about playing in goal, said: "He is a great keeper, only Gianluigi Buffon is better." If delighted by such praise, Frey still wants to keep his feet on the ground. "Personally I would give the gold medal to Buffon and the silver to Petr Čech – I've always been a fan. Then, if there's a bronze medal, well I'd like to take it."

This is an edited version of an article from the uefa.com Magazine. To read in full, click here.