We start again from the flash of Mandragora. From the laser left-footed player in the 30th minute who defaced a qualifying speech that remained intact. We start again from a feeling, that going to Bergamo, to the home of a team capable of beating Liverpool at Anfield only a handful of days ago, to defend the 1-0 from three weeks ago is a utopian discourse. Speculation is prohibited, also due to the nature of a coach like Vincenzo Italiano, whose primary philosophy – “Defend well, attack very well” – does not go well with the management of a minimum advantage. We therefore start again from a 50/50 qualifying decision but with an added incentive.
THIRTY-FOUR YEARS – The fuse that further lit the pulsating anticipation of Atalanta-Fiorentina arrived right on the lawn of the Olimpico, where Fiorentina hopes to return in twenty days. In fact, Juventus is waiting for the winner of the Gewiss crossroadscapable of resisting (not without some trouble) Lazio’s sketchy comeback. There are Dusan Vlahovic and Federico Chiesa, there is a rivalry capable of eating up everything in Florencealso fueled by the specter of another possible ending. May 15, 2024: the appointment with destiny is sealed. Fiorentina will also play for this, to deserve their place next to Juve in Rome. And especially to heal a thirty-four year old wound, from the double UEFA Cup final of 1990. It was the final of the referee Aladren, of the return to a neutral field in Avellino and of Baggio’s suspended passage from one side of the barricade to the other. The memory of those who were there, fueled also by the stories for those who weren’t there, is enough to provide extra fuel for tonight’s challenge.
DOUBTS – But then there is the field. Facing a team that has almost always done better than Fiorentina in recent years. And a duel not to be missed against the (sporting) enemy Gasperini: it was a night of doubts and thoughts for Vincenzo Italiano, who probably only made a decision on what to do this morning. Salerno’s turnover seems to have borne fruit: Bonaventura, Nico Gonzalez, Beltran, Belottiall saved on Sunday against Salernitana, are recovered. However, Italiano also thinks about the possible one hundred and twenty minutes and therefore it is possible that one of the four arrows (probably one between Bonaventura and Beltran, both not at their best) can remain in the quiver to be fired during the match in progress. For the rest, choices are already clear, from the faithful (Ranieri, Biraghi, Mandragora) the three leaders of the locker room, to the safe returns of Nico and Belotti, to the Terracciano safety between the posts. The once de gala (with the necessary question marks) for a night worth half a season.
