Fiorentina serious about UEFA Cup!

Gigliati wrote:I rather see Fiorentina finish in the top 4 of Serie A.

UEFA Cup is a micky mouse trophy. The day they let 4 teams into the CL, UEFA Cup lost all its meaning.

That may be true, but it effects UEFA ranking. If Fiorentina do well this year, Italy will receive a major boost, which could see us make some ground on 2nd place.

Tweedle wrote:@ bluenine

I think he was joking

Inter may be ranked fourth but the do seem to underachieve, going out to Valencia and Villarreal the last two seasons

@ bobo

Roma!

Haven't they only got to the last 16 twice in about ten years?

Bluenine is very catennacio regarding Italian teams bless him. Far too easily taking the bait

I get the point being made by our Italian friends. However I do think they are skirting over the simple fact that Serie A is not the dominant force in Europe it was in the past - 90's in particular, so perhaps there is a mix here between a nonchalant attitude towards the UEFA cup, and the more level strength of teams around Europe who are no longer miles behind them in terms of quality...

Handsome Prince Of Saxony wrote:

Tweedle wrote:@ bluenine

I think he was joking

Inter may be ranked fourth but the do seem to underachieve, going out to Valencia and Villarreal the last two seasons

@ bobo

Roma!

Haven't they only got to the last 16 twice in about ten years?

Bluenine is very catennacio regarding Italian teams bless him. Far too easily taking the bait

I get the point being made by our Italian friends. However I do think they are skirting over the simple fact that Serie A is not the dominant force in Europe it was in the past - 90's in particular, so perhaps there is a mix here between a nonchalant attitude towards the UEFA cup, and the more level strength of teams around Europe who are no longer miles behind them in terms of quality...

really? no $h!t!

I dont see any of the italian posters saying Serie A is the best league in the world.

Since the UEFA cup changed format, we havnt had a finalist. In the old format, we had a finalist practically every year. This is because the cup has lost its prestige. The UEFA cup is no consolation for underperforming in Serie A.

I agree with Forza. This attitude needs to change!!!!

Tho Inter and Milan are both guilty of the same thing a few years ago when both reached the semis of the UEFA Cup... I remember posting on the Inter list then that we should go for a win, and then beat Milan in the final. Most posters didn't care a $h!t, and wanted Inter to field the primavera team!!! Both the milan clubs fielded reserves and lost. Its sad.

Maybe UEFA should grant a CL spot for the UEFA Cup semi finalists... that would catch everyones imagination!!

Forza Italia!Forza Milan! wrote:

Gigliati wrote:I rather see Fiorentina finish in the top 4 of Serie A.

UEFA Cup is a micky mouse trophy. The day they let 4 teams into the CL, UEFA Cup lost all its meaning.

That may be true, but it effects UEFA ranking. If Fiorentina do well this year, Italy will receive a major boost, which could see us make some ground on 2nd place.

BoBo Vieri wrote:

Handsome Prince Of Saxony wrote:

Tweedle wrote:@ bluenine

I think he was joking

Inter may be ranked fourth but the do seem to underachieve, going out to Valencia and Villarreal the last two seasons

@ bobo

Roma!

Haven't they only got to the last 16 twice in about ten years?

Bluenine is very catennacio regarding Italian teams bless him. Far too easily taking the bait

I get the point being made by our Italian friends. However I do think they are skirting over the simple fact that Serie A is not the dominant force in Europe it was in the past - 90's in particular, so perhaps there is a mix here between a nonchalant attitude towards the UEFA cup, and the more level strength of teams around Europe who are no longer miles behind them in terms of quality...

really? no $h!t!

I dont see any of the italian posters saying Serie A is the best league in the world.

Since the UEFA cup changed format, we havnt had a finalist. In the old format, we had a finalist practically every year. This is because the cup has lost its prestige. The UEFA cup is no consolation for underperforming in Serie A.

No, the change of format coincided with a fall in the money floating about in Serie A. What you are saying is that because the UEFA cup format has changed, Italian teams cant be bothered, and hence no more finalists.

Therefore you are pretty much suggesting other teams from other countries are doing well only because the Italian sides arent taking it seriously. Which on its own is pompous bollocks. Yes Italian teams might bnot be taking it as seriously in the past, but equally the Italian teams who have been playing in the UEFA cup since the likes of Lazio, Juve, Parma, Fiorentina went bust or relegated just aint all that.

Italy has 3 very strong sides - Milan, Inter and Roma (and Juve in the past).

The rest mix and match, with no other outstanding side(s). This is the truth of it.

Dude, if you see Serie A, you will realise how strong some teams are apart from Inter, Milan and Roma....

Fiorentina has an extremely talented squad, a bit on the younger side, but a coach who is excellent in getting the best out of youngsters.

Juve are back, in case you hadn't noticed.

The likes of Lazio and Palermo are very strong too, and can do very well in uefa cup if they focus.

And the mid table teams are Napoli, Sampdoria, Udinese, etc are no pushovers.

We are NOT saying that other teams are doing well because Italian teams are not taking uefa cup seriously. We are not implying that Italian teams will walk all the way to the title if they focus. No. All we are saying is that Italian teams would do better if they take the competition seriously. So I don't undertsnad what you are debating about - I think that much is pretty straight forward...

Handsome Prince Of Saxony wrote:

Italy has 3 very strong sides - Milan, Inter and Roma (and Juve in the past).

The rest mix and match, with no other outstanding side(s). This is the truth of it.

bluenine wrote:This is good for Italian football. The Gigliati have the squad to rotate and compete at 2 competitions. And from what I hear, looks like they are serious about the UEFA Cup.

I hope they set an example to other Serie A sides who play reserves at uefa cup - and hurt Italys uefa ranking. And a Bayern-Fiorentina game down the line would be great for UEFA Cup!

Donadel has Dutch courage
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fiorentina midfielder Marco Donadel is full of confidence ahead of the Viola’s UEFA Cup trip to Dutch side Groningen. The Gigliati can be forgiven for approaching Thursday’s Euroborg clash with quiet confidence as their opponents finished eighth in the Eredivisie last term.

While Fiorentina were held by Atalanta last weekend, they have enjoyed a positive start to the campaign with a win over Tuscan rivals Empoli and a battling draw against Milan. The excitement is building in Florence and the determination to succeed on the European stage is intense after the club was stripped of Champions League football in the aftermath of the Calciopoli sacndal.

“We are playing consistently well,” Donadel stated. “We regret losing two points against Atalanta, but we are happy with the way that we performed. “We are focused on the UEFA Cup, but I don’t think that it will be an easy game. Loads of our fans will make the trip to Holland and we believe they will have a good evening.

The Fiorentina fans say they want to watch the game but the real reason is THEY cannot watch it at home....

Because the game is on a PORN channel...! The misses doesn't like that...

Code:

Loads of our fans will make the [b]trip to Holland[/b] and we believe they will have a [b]good evening[/b].

this is a code for I want to watch PORN with some good DRUGS

Juve are hardly the team they were though. Del Piero is two years older, as is Nedved. Buffon is still a world class keepr and Iaquinta and Trez are both top class strikers, Tiago is also a very good midfielder but they're hardly at the level they were two years ago when they had the likes of Thuram, Cannavaro, Vieira, Emerson, Ibrah etc

bluenine wrote:Dude, if you see Serie A, you will realise how strong some teams are apart from Inter, Milan and Roma....

Fiorentina has an extremely talented squad, a bit on the younger side, but a coach who is excellent in getting the best out of youngsters.

Juve are back, in case you hadn't noticed.

The likes of Lazio and Palermo are very strong too, and can do very well in uefa cup if they focus.

And the mid table teams are Napoli, Sampdoria, Udinese, etc are no pushovers.

We are NOT saying that other teams are doing well because Italian teams are not taking uefa cup seriously. We are not implying that Italian teams will walk all the way to the title if they focus. No. All we are saying is that Italian teams would do better if they take the competition seriously. So I don't undertsnad what you are debating about - I think that much is pretty straight forward...

Handsome Prince Of Saxony wrote:

Italy has 3 very strong sides - Milan, Inter and Roma (and Juve in the past).

The rest mix and match, with no other outstanding side(s). This is the truth of it.

Yeah fair enough. I do know there are plenty of good teams in Serie A, Im not debating that.

My point is only that the UEFA cup now influxes teams knocked out of the CL aswell as Champions from other divisions who didnt even make the CL proper.

That in itself presents a problem to lower level sides in the "big" leagues in the UEFA cup, because the standard/competition is tough. In the past Italy also had massive teams entering the comp because at the time Serie A had at least 7 World Class teams - Juve, Milan, Inter, Parma, Fiorentina, Roma, Lazio who all dominated the top half of the table. Meaning those Italian sides in the UEFA cup who missed out on the CL were all brilliant.

Its not like that anymore though which is my point- yes Fiorentina are a good side, but better than the team led by Batistuta by in the day? Clearly not.

Teams in Italy are looking for stability- the table from 3rd place down has changed so much between seasons since Serie A imploded financially that clearly the lower tiered sides need that stability which the UEFA cup cannot provide.

Hence, they dont take it as seriously, choosing to play reserves in order to maintain their best players for the league.

It all makes sense if you ask me- a number of factors that have come together and left the Italian campaign in the UEFA over the last couple of years pretty weak.

Handsome Prince Of Saxony wrote:

BoBo Vieri wrote:

Handsome Prince Of Saxony wrote:

Tweedle wrote:@ bluenine

I think he was joking

Inter may be ranked fourth but the do seem to underachieve, going out to Valencia and Villarreal the last two seasons

@ bobo

Roma!

Haven't they only got to the last 16 twice in about ten years?

Bluenine is very catennacio regarding Italian teams bless him. Far too easily taking the bait

I get the point being made by our Italian friends. However I do think they are skirting over the simple fact that Serie A is not the dominant force in Europe it was in the past - 90's in particular, so perhaps there is a mix here between a nonchalant attitude towards the UEFA cup, and the more level strength of teams around Europe who are no longer miles behind them in terms of quality...

really? no $h!t!

I dont see any of the italian posters saying Serie A is the best league in the world.

Since the UEFA cup changed format, we havnt had a finalist. In the old format, we had a finalist practically every year. This is because the cup has lost its prestige. The UEFA cup is no consolation for underperforming in Serie A.

No, the change of format coincided with a fall in the money floating about in Serie A. What you are saying is that because the UEFA cup format has changed, Italian teams cant be bothered, and hence no more finalists.

Therefore you are pretty much suggesting other teams from other countries are doing well only because the Italian sides arent taking it seriously. Which on its own is pompous bollocks. Yes Italian teams might bnot be taking it as seriously in the past, but equally the Italian teams who have been playing in the UEFA cup since the likes of Lazio, Juve, Parma, Fiorentina went bust or relegated just aint all that.

Italy has 3 very strong sides - Milan, Inter and Roma (and Juve in the past).

The rest mix and match, with no other outstanding side(s). This is the truth of it.

you talk rubbish

the uefa cup changed format in 1999, this is when Serie A had loads of cash floating about. I mean Inter paid a ridiculous amount for Vieri at the time, and Lazio paid an even more ridiculous amount for Crespo the season after, plus there were numerous other big money buys after that - Lopez, Mendieta, Rui Costa etc...

And your last line is true, though again i dont see anyone talking about the seven sisters anymore, so i dont see what your point is.

Juve may not be as strong as they used to be (they did a below expected job of rebuilding, I expected them to do what Bayern did), but they are still much better than say Lazio. So are Fiorentina. Palermo are about the same level as Lazio.

There is not much of a difference between the top 3 (Inter, Roma, Milan) and Fiorentina/Juve as there is made out to be... there is a bigger gap between Newcastle/Spurs when compared to a ManU/Chelsea, for example.

Tweedle wrote:Juve are hardly the team they were though. Del Piero is two years older, as is Nedved. Buffon is still a world class keepr and Iaquinta and Trez are both top class strikers, Tiago is also a very good midfielder but they're hardly at the level they were two years ago when they had the likes of Thuram, Cannavaro, Vieira, Emerson, Ibrah etc

bluenine wrote:Juve may not be as strong as they used to be (they did a below expected job of rebuilding, I expected them to do what Bayern did), but they are still much better than say Lazio. So are Fiorentina. Palermo are about the same level as Lazio.

There is not much of a difference between the top 3 (Inter, Roma, Milan) and Fiorentina/Juve as there is made out to be... there is a bigger gap between Newcastle/Spurs when compared to a ManU/Chelsea, for example.

Tweedle wrote:Juve are hardly the team they were though. Del Piero is two years older, as is Nedved. Buffon is still a world class keepr and Iaquinta and Trez are both top class strikers, Tiago is also a very good midfielder but they're hardly at the level they were two years ago when they had the likes of Thuram, Cannavaro, Vieira, Emerson, Ibrah etc

Newcastle isn't a particularly good example as they came 14th last season. That's like comparing Milan to Catania

Spurs have just had a bad start, many expected them to crack the big 4 this season before it kicked off

13th.

Do you still think that Arsenal and Fiorentina are evenly matched Bluenine?

Newcastle have a better squad than a bolton, hence I took their example. You can insert any team outside the top 4 in their place, what I was trying to imply still stands true.

Let me illustrate:

EPL---------------------------------------------Serie A
ManU/Chelsea---------------------------------Inter/Milan/Roma
Small gap---------------------------------------Small gap
Liverpool/Arsenal------------------------------Fiorentina/Juve
BIG GAP----------------------------------------Small Gap
Spurs/Everton/Etc-----------------------------Lazio/Palermo

Before you explode/implode, I am NOT saying that Juve are the same level as Liverpool or anything like that. Just saying that the gaps in Serie A are smaller at the top end of the table. In Serie A, the race for CL spots is far more difficult to predict than in EPL.

Tweedle wrote:

bluenine wrote:Juve may not be as strong as they used to be (they did a below expected job of rebuilding, I expected them to do what Bayern did), but they are still much better than say Lazio. So are Fiorentina. Palermo are about the same level as Lazio.

There is not much of a difference between the top 3 (Inter, Roma, Milan) and Fiorentina/Juve as there is made out to be... there is a bigger gap between Newcastle/Spurs when compared to a ManU/Chelsea, for example.

Tweedle wrote:Juve are hardly the team they were though. Del Piero is two years older, as is Nedved. Buffon is still a world class keepr and Iaquinta and Trez are both top class strikers, Tiago is also a very good midfielder but they're hardly at the level they were two years ago when they had the likes of Thuram, Cannavaro, Vieira, Emerson, Ibrah etc

Newcastle isn't a particularly good example as they came 14th last season. That's like comparing Milan to Catania

Spurs have just had a bad start, many expected them to crack the big 4 this season before it kicked off

bluenine wrote:Just saying that the gaps in Serie A are smaller at the top end of the table. In Serie A, the race for CL spots is far more difficult to predict than in EPL.

Good point. It is good that that part of the table stays competitive, it brings even more excitment to Serie A.

I have always said that they are making similar investments in youth, and yes, making some of the same mistakes. The resemblance is clear. Thats what I said before, when some gunners here went crazy...

IMO Arsenal are a year or two ahead in their youth program than Fiorentina... Yes, Fiorentina are as good as Arsenal were a year ago, and next season I expect them to be as good as Arsenal are now.

But again, you see the difficulty in comparing teams from different leagues, specially when projecting it into the future?? I mean, if for example Fiorentina fire Prandelli this season, they could go 2 years behind and never reach there... anything can happen.

Do I think Prandelli is as good a coach as Wenger when it comes to bring the best out of their youthful teams? Yes. I have very high regard for Prandelli. I rate him above Mancini/Ancellotti/Spalletti/Donadoni as well. But he is untested at the top level. Points wise, he has managed to take his youthful side to top 4 in Italy for teh past 2 seasons. If he does it again, we will all see how good he is at the CL - that will show whether he can realise his potential as a coach at the highest level. But he has done wonders already, considering what he inherited.

Cesc wrote:Do you still think that Arsenal and Fiorentina are evenly matched Bluenine?

I'm sorry, but Fiorentina do not compare to Arsenal.

Last season we struggle because our two main strikers, Henry and RVP only managed 37 appearances between them. The season before we struggled because Cole, Campbell and Lauren were out for most of the season.

In every position I look at both of the teams, Arsenal are stronger.

Tweedle wrote:I'm sorry, but Fiorentina do not compare to Arsenal.

Last season we struggle because our two main strikers, Henry and RVP only managed 37 appearances between them. The season before we struggled because Cole, Campbell and Lauren were out for most of the season.

In every position I look at both of the teams, Arsenal are stronger.

I'm sorry Tweedle, i don't know if this is something new to you, but injuries happen in football and happen every team. They are not an excuse. Thats the reason why you have a squad.

Well thats all really down to personal opinion, and your opinion would be that since you are an Arsenal fan.

BoBo Vieri wrote:

Tweedle wrote:I'm sorry, but Fiorentina do not compare to Arsenal.

Last season we struggle because our two main strikers, Henry and RVP only managed 37 appearances between them. The season before we struggled because Cole, Campbell and Lauren were out for most of the season.

In every position I look at both of the teams, Arsenal are stronger.

I'm sorry Tweedle, i don't know if this is something new to you, but injuries happen in football and happen every team. They are not an excuse. Thats the reason why you have a squad.

Well thats all really down to personal opinion, and your opinion would be that since you are an Arsenal fan.

Well what's your opinion then?

And how do you you think Fiorentina would do if they lost Mutu and Pazzini for most of the season?

Tweedle wrote:

BoBo Vieri wrote:

Tweedle wrote:I'm sorry, but Fiorentina do not compare to Arsenal.

Last season we struggle because our two main strikers, Henry and RVP only managed 37 appearances between them. The season before we struggled because Cole, Campbell and Lauren were out for most of the season.

In every position I look at both of the teams, Arsenal are stronger.

I'm sorry Tweedle, i don't know if this is something new to you, but injuries happen in football and happen every team. They are not an excuse. Thats the reason why you have a squad.

Well thats all really down to personal opinion, and your opinion would be that since you are an Arsenal fan.

Well what's your opinion then?

And how do you you think Fiorentina would do if they lost Mutu and Pazzini for most of the season?

well you probably wouldnt agree anyway, and i will get flamed

IMO Frey>Lehman, Vieri>Adebayor, Pasqual>Clichy, Semioli/Jorgenson>Hleb, Ujfalusi>Eboue, Montolivio=Fabregas, Mutu=RVP, For the rest of the positions, Arsenal players are better.

BoBo Vieri wrote:

Tweedle wrote:

BoBo Vieri wrote:

Tweedle wrote:I'm sorry, but Fiorentina do not compare to Arsenal.

Last season we struggle because our two main strikers, Henry and RVP only managed 37 appearances between them. The season before we struggled because Cole, Campbell and Lauren were out for most of the season.

In every position I look at both of the teams, Arsenal are stronger.

I'm sorry Tweedle, i don't know if this is something new to you, but injuries happen in football and happen every team. They are not an excuse. Thats the reason why you have a squad.

Well thats all really down to personal opinion, and your opinion would be that since you are an Arsenal fan.

Well what's your opinion then?

And how do you you think Fiorentina would do if they lost Mutu and Pazzini for most of the season?

well you probably wouldnt agree anyway, and i will get flamed

IMO Frey>Lehman, Vieri>Adebayor, Pasqual>Clichy, Semioli/Jorgenson>Hleb, Ujfalusi>Eboue, Montolivio=Fabregas, Mutu=RVP, For the rest of the positions, Arsenal players are better.

I think the funnies one was Cesc=Montolivo. Now I'm a big Montolivo fan but I wouldn't go that far!

Vieri over Adebayor is equally as controversial

Tweedle wrote:

BoBo Vieri wrote:

Tweedle wrote:

BoBo Vieri wrote:

Tweedle wrote:I'm sorry, but Fiorentina do not compare to Arsenal.

Last season we struggle because our two main strikers, Henry and RVP only managed 37 appearances between them. The season before we struggled because Cole, Campbell and Lauren were out for most of the season.

In every position I look at both of the teams, Arsenal are stronger.

I'm sorry Tweedle, i don't know if this is something new to you, but injuries happen in football and happen every team. They are not an excuse. Thats the reason why you have a squad.

Well thats all really down to personal opinion, and your opinion would be that since you are an Arsenal fan.

Well what's your opinion then?

And how do you you think Fiorentina would do if they lost Mutu and Pazzini for most of the season?

well you probably wouldnt agree anyway, and i will get flamed

IMO Frey>Lehman, Vieri>Adebayor, Pasqual>Clichy, Semioli/Jorgenson>Hleb, Ujfalusi>Eboue, Montolivio=Fabregas, Mutu=RVP, For the rest of the positions, Arsenal players are better.

I think the funnies one was Cesc=Montolivo. Now I'm a big Montolivo fan but I wouldn't go that far!

Vieri over Adebayor is equally as controversial

haha
why? both equal in abilities IMO

Vieri over Adebayor any day, even if he is on the decline.

Well, if you ask, Cesc is our most important player. So by saying that Montolivo = Cesc, you're either saying that Montolivo is the Viola's best player, or you're saying that the Viola have a far superior team to Arsenal

Last season Cesc got us 12 assists in the EPL alone. It was a similar story the season before. He's easily for me Arsenal's most important and best player

Tweedle wrote:Well, if you ask, Cesc is our most important player. So by saying that Montolivo = Cesc, you're either saying that Montolivo is the Viola's best player, or you're saying that the Viola have a far superior team to Arsenal

Last season Cesc got us 12 assists in the EPL alone. It was a similar story the season before. He's easily for me Arsenal's most important and best player

nope thats not what im saying, im not comparing importance, i am comparing abilties.

Montolivio is not as important for Fiorentina since they have players like Liverani and Donadel who can do a similar job.

BoBo Vieri wrote:

Tweedle wrote:Well, if you ask, Cesc is our most important player. So by saying that Montolivo = Cesc, you're either saying that Montolivo is the Viola's best player, or you're saying that the Viola have a far superior team to Arsenal

Last season Cesc got us 12 assists in the EPL alone. It was a similar story the season before. He's easily for me Arsenal's most important and best player

nope thats not what im saying, im not comparing importance, i am comparing abilties.

Montolivio is not as important for Fiorentina since they have players like Liverani and Donadel who can do a similar job.

Well we have players like Rosicky, Hleb and Denilson that can also do the job, just not as well.

I like Montolivo but there is no way he is Cesc quality

You did read my post, did ya?

I said that Fiorentina are a year or two behind Arsenal, but clearly headed in the same direction. Do you disagree with that??

Let me post the fiorentina squad for you to illustrate my point:

No Name Pos DOB Nat Team 2006-07
25 AVRAMOV Vlada G 5/4/79 SRB Treviso
1 FREY Sebastien G 18/3/80 FRA Fiorentina
12 LUPATELLI Cristiano G 21/6/78 ITA Fiorentina
31 PAZZAGLI Edoardo G 11/4/89 ITA Fiorentina
17 BALZARETTI Federico D 6/12/81 ITA Juventus
3 DAINELLI Dario D 9/6/79 ITA Fiorentina
5 GAMBERINI Alessandro D 27/8/81 ITA Fiorentina
2 KROLDRUP Per D 31/7/79 DEN Fiorentina
15 MAZUCH Ondrej D 15/3/89 CZE FC Brno
23 PASQUAL Manuel D 13/3/82 ITA Fiorentina
6 POTENZA Alessandro D 8/3/84 ITA Fiorentina
33 TAGLIANI Massimiliano D 4/4/89 ITA Fiorentina
21 UJFALUSI Tomas D 24/3/78 CZE Fiorentina
13 VANDEN BORRE Anthony D 24/10/87 BEL Anderlecht
4 DONADEL Marco M 21/4/83 ITA Fiorentina
19 GOBBI Massimo M 31/1/80 ITA Fiorentina
16 HABLE Jan M 4/1/89 CZE Hradec Kralove
20 JORGENSEN Martin M 6/10/75 DEN Fiorentina
22 KUZMANOVIC Zdravko M 22/9/87 SUI Basel/Fiorentina
11 LIVERANI Fabio M 29/4/76 ITA Fiorentina
18 MONTOLIVO Riccardo M 18/1/85 ITA Fiorentina
8 PAZIENZA Michele M 5/8/82 ITA Fiorentina
24 SANTANA Mario M 25/12/81 ARG Fiorentina
7 SEMIOLI Franco M 20/6/80 ITA Chievo
27 DI CARMINE Samuel F 20/9/88 ITA Fiorentina
34 LEPILLER Matthias F 12/6/88 FRA Fiorentina
14 LUPOLI Arturo F 24/6/87 ITA Derby County
10 MUTU Adrian F 8/1/79 ROM Fiorentina
9 OSVALDO Pablo F 12/1/86 ARG Lecce
29 PAZZINI Giampaolo F 2/8/84 ITA Fiorentina
32 VIERI Christian F 12/7/73 ITA Atalanta

Thats an extremely gifted squad, even tho on the younger side.

Tweedle wrote:I'm sorry, but Fiorentina do not compare to Arsenal.

Last season we struggle because our two main strikers, Henry and RVP only managed 37 appearances between them. The season before we struggled because Cole, Campbell and Lauren were out for most of the season.

In every position I look at both of the teams, Arsenal are stronger.

Hmpf, I'm hearing a shitload of sirens at the moment...

Is trouble expected at the FC Groningen - Fiorentina match ?

Fiorentina fans are among the most peace loving around... unless you are Juventus

Axeslammer wrote:Hmpf, I'm hearing a shitload of sirens at the moment...

Is trouble expected at the FC Groningen - Fiorentina match ?

Fiorentina have a young squad. I'm not sure what you mean with the comment 'they're a couple of years behind Arsenal'.

I can only assume that you mean that in two years, they'll be as good as Arsenal are now. But whose to say that Arsenal aren't also two years better than they are now

Also if Fiorentina don't get CL football at the end of this season, can they hang onto all their star players?