Late Goal Sinks Fiorentina in Conference League Final

[00:00:00] At Bet365, we don't do ordinary.

[00:00:03] We believe that every sport should be epic.

[00:00:06] Every home run, every hit, every inning, every play.

[00:00:10] From the moments that are legendary to the ones that fly under the radar.

[00:00:14] Whether it's a walk-off grand slam or a base hit to center field.

[00:00:18] Whatever the sport, whatever the moment.

[00:00:20] It's never ordinary at Bet365.

[00:00:24] 21 plus only must be physically located in Virginia.

[00:00:26] Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.

[00:00:29] At Bet365, we don't do ordinary.

[00:00:33] We believe that every sport should be epic.

[00:00:35] Every home run, every hit, every inning, every play.

[00:00:39] From the moments that are legendary to the ones that fly under the radar.

[00:00:42] See for yourself when you sign up today and get $150 in bonus bets when you bet just $5.

[00:00:48] Whatever the sport, whatever the moment.

[00:00:50] It's never ordinary at Bet365.

[00:00:54] 21 plus only must be physically located in Virginia.

[00:00:56] Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.

[00:00:59] Terms and conditions apply.

[00:01:00] At Bet365, we don't do ordinary.

[00:01:04] We believe that every sport should be epic.

[00:01:07] Every home run, every hit, every inning, every play.

[00:01:11] From the moments that are legendary to the ones that fly under the radar.

[00:01:15] Whether it's a walk-off grand slam or a base hit to center field.

[00:01:19] Whatever the sport, whatever the moment.

[00:01:21] It's never ordinary at Bet365.

[00:01:24] 21 plus only must be physically located in Virginia.

[00:01:27] Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.

[00:01:34] Hi everyone.

[00:01:36] I'm actually fighting a little bit of a bug right now.

[00:01:39] Either that or I have just a hideous case of hay fever, which I'm trying to figure out.

[00:01:45] But I have been somewhat in bed trying to fight all these symptoms

[00:01:51] and watching Italian teams lose finals yet again.

[00:01:55] I actually got a little bit down about it because I was like,

[00:01:57] why is it that we're not winning these titles?

[00:01:59] Because I was thinking of Inter, I was thinking of obviously Fiorentina.

[00:02:03] And then I remembered and I had to remind myself that Atalanta

[00:02:07] managed a glorious win in the Europa League final against Bayer Leverkusen

[00:02:12] and it made me relax a little bit.

[00:02:14] But sadly for Fiorentina, it's yet another loss in a major final.

[00:02:20] So they lost the Coppa Italia final last season.

[00:02:23] They lost the Conference League final last year to West Ham

[00:02:27] and it was a 90th minute goal from Jared Bowen that knocked them out

[00:02:31] and saw them suffer.

[00:02:34] And this time around, it was a goal in the hundredth and sixteenth minutes

[00:02:37] so deep in extra time to give Olympiakos the trophy in Athens.

[00:02:45] A goal from Ayub El-Kabi who's been having actually a terrific season

[00:02:49] but didn't play his best game in this particular match until the end.

[00:02:55] Important thing to know is, and this is a great story,

[00:02:58] is that this is Olympiakos' third coach, José Luis Mendelebar

[00:03:03] had come in in February to coach this team.

[00:03:06] It's been a rather chaotic season for Olympiakos in general.

[00:03:09] So their coach, Michel, had resigned.

[00:03:13] Then you had an interim coach and then Mendelebar got the job in early February.

[00:03:19] He led the team to third in the league and now has lifted a European trophy with them.

[00:03:24] Now this is his second in a row, second overall in his career.

[00:03:28] His last one was last year when he was coach of Sevilla

[00:03:32] and they defeated Jose Mourinho's Roma side in the Europa League.

[00:03:37] So it's quite an extraordinary season,

[00:03:40] quite an extraordinary two years for Mendelebar as well

[00:03:43] because when he took over at Sevilla, that was a very chaotic club

[00:03:46] and situation as well.

[00:03:48] So it's been incredible how he's just come in,

[00:03:51] takes over and wins European trophies.

[00:03:54] And maybe Italian teams should go for him when they make a final

[00:03:58] and see what happens.

[00:04:01] But it's difficult to not feel sympathy for Fiorentina

[00:04:05] and you could tell that this hurts.

[00:04:07] This is exactly what Vincenzo Itaniano said afterwards.

[00:04:11] He said it's another late goal and it's another loss

[00:04:15] and this one hurts even more.

[00:04:17] And I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that they were

[00:04:19] favourites to win this even though the game was being played in

[00:04:23] Greece.

[00:04:25] And while it wasn't Olympiakos' home stadium,

[00:04:29] it still felt like a home game for them.

[00:04:32] 9,000 Fiorentina fans had travelled and 30,000 fans

[00:04:36] had gone to the Ars Emeo Franci to watch and to applaud

[00:04:41] their team and watch from Italy.

[00:04:43] And this was going to be a game that they wanted,

[00:04:45] well, hopefully a win that they would offer as a tribute to their

[00:04:50] director Joe Barone who passed away sadly a few months ago.

[00:04:54] They had wanted to, you know, having managed another final,

[00:04:57] they really wanted to win this one to prove that they have

[00:05:00] what it takes and really to thank the project,

[00:05:04] I guess, as a culmination of this project that they have been

[00:05:07] building and a lot of money spent.

[00:05:12] Although you can question how efficiently that money has been

[00:05:15] spent, but unfortunately for them it didn't go that way.

[00:05:19] This is the first time a Greek team has lifted the European

[00:05:22] trophy.

[00:05:23] So just imagine how big this is for the opponent, but

[00:05:26] Fiorentina, there are lots of question marks as to why

[00:05:31] they lost this particular final and in the words of Italiano,

[00:05:36] he feels that what his team lack is that,

[00:05:40] that understanding, that experience, that know-how to win

[00:05:43] a final, that little bit of edge.

[00:05:51] How do you get that right?

[00:05:53] You have to reach finals and win them to get that, but how

[00:05:55] do you win the first one to be able to continue that?

[00:05:59] But the team was surprisingly weak in the latter stages

[00:06:03] of this game.

[00:06:04] It was almost like they started to get too scared.

[00:06:07] They were filled with anxiety and perhaps it's something

[00:06:10] that they felt, but the coach needs to look at that because

[00:06:13] it's too many finals in which you don't see necessarily

[00:06:17] the best of Fiorentina at all times.

[00:06:20] They started the match differently.

[00:06:21] They were playing such good football and they do, they

[00:06:23] always play such good football and it's difficult to

[00:06:27] look at the side because they create so many opportunities,

[00:06:30] right?

[00:06:30] Like Bonaventura had two great chances in quick

[00:06:33] succession and they should have gotten a goal in the

[00:06:36] first half.

[00:06:37] They also had another one in the 70th minute when

[00:06:39] Kwame Skofte is shot.

[00:06:41] So they do create these opportunities.

[00:06:43] In fact, I think they've created the most opportunities

[00:06:45] in the Europa League with the smallest efficiency rate,

[00:06:49] which goes to tell you a lot about maybe not the tactics,

[00:06:52] but rather the lack of a great number nine and that

[00:06:56] has been a problem for them and we've seen that ever

[00:06:58] since Vlaović left the club.

[00:07:01] There just hasn't been somebody to have really made

[00:07:04] the number nine his own and sparkle in that position,

[00:07:08] whether it be Andrea Bellotti or Zola or Lucas Beltran.

[00:07:12] There hasn't been one who has been capable of efficiently

[00:07:16] finishing off all the opportunities that they create

[00:07:19] or at least enough opportunities even when they

[00:07:22] have managed to win penalties throughout the season.

[00:07:25] They couldn't even score that.

[00:07:26] I mean, so there's a serious problem when it comes

[00:07:29] to Fiorentina and converting chances and so this

[00:07:33] is not something you can ever blame a coach for.

[00:07:35] This is something that needs to be looked at within

[00:07:37] the team and needs to be addressed through the transfer

[00:07:40] market, but it's obviously hard to do when you consider

[00:07:42] the budgets.

[00:07:43] So this has been a problem for them in general.

[00:07:47] And if you look at the actual stats, let me bring

[00:07:51] that up here.

[00:08:07] When you sign up today and get $150 in bonus bets

[00:08:10] when you bet just $5.

[00:08:12] Whatever the sport, whatever the moment, it's never

[00:08:15] ordinary at Bet365.

[00:08:17] 21 plus only must be physically located in Virginia.

[00:08:20] Gambling problem call 1-800-GAMBLER.

[00:08:22] Terms and conditions apply.

[00:08:24] At Bet365 we don't do ordinary.

[00:08:27] We believe that every sport should be epic.

[00:08:30] Every home run, every hit, every inning, every play

[00:08:33] from the moments that are legendary to the ones

[00:08:36] that fly under the radar.

[00:08:37] See for yourself when you sign up today and get $150

[00:08:40] in bonus bets when you bet just $5.

[00:08:43] Whatever the sport, whatever the moment, it's never

[00:08:46] ordinary at Bet365.

[00:08:48] 21 plus only must be physically located in Virginia.

[00:08:51] Gambling problem call 1-800-GAMBLER.

[00:08:53] Terms and conditions apply.

[00:08:55] At Bet365 we don't do ordinary.

[00:08:59] We believe that every sport should be epic.

[00:09:01] Every home run, every hit, every inning, every

[00:09:04] play from the moments that are legendary to the ones

[00:09:07] that fly under the radar.

[00:09:09] Whether it's a walk-off grand slam or a base hit

[00:09:12] to center field, whatever the sport, whatever the

[00:09:15] moment, it's never ordinary at Bet365.

[00:09:19] 21 plus only must be physically located in Virginia.

[00:09:22] Gambling problem call 1-800-GAMBLER.

[00:09:25] 17 shots and five on target for Fiorentina,

[00:09:29] six and two for Olympiacos.

[00:09:31] They had a higher XG, 1.03 comparison to about 0.5 for

[00:09:38] Olympiacos.

[00:09:39] And if you look at the game, I mean forget the stats.

[00:09:41] The first half they played some great football and then

[00:09:45] something started to happen in the second half where it

[00:09:47] looked like they just started to tire.

[00:09:49] They looked like they had lost faith in their ability

[00:09:52] to get this goal, to get this win and it started to

[00:09:55] go south because as soon as they took their foot off

[00:09:58] the gas and as soon as they started to lose the main

[00:10:01] principles of their game, their attacking game,

[00:10:04] their courageous game, then you saw the opponent

[00:10:07] start to grow in strength and in confidence.

[00:10:11] Now Olympiacos started to smell blood and it looked

[00:10:16] like they had an opportunity there to potentially

[00:10:18] just nick it.

[00:10:20] And this is what worries me about Fiorentina and

[00:10:22] this is what I really do feel sorry for when it

[00:10:24] comes to Italiano when he says there's something

[00:10:26] that's missing in the final.

[00:10:28] There isn't that bit between your teeth where you're

[00:10:30] just desperate, you're hungry.

[00:10:31] It's almost like they lost their hunger.

[00:10:35] And yeah, I mean it was a controversial goal in

[00:10:41] many ways because just before that there was

[00:10:45] there was an initial cross that was cut out

[00:10:48] by Milinkovic and then it looked like he had

[00:10:50] been fouled and then the referee was about

[00:10:53] well, it looked like he was about to award a

[00:10:55] free kick and all the Fiorentina, a few of the

[00:10:58] Fiorentina players had started to complain but

[00:11:01] the whistle didn't come and the game went on

[00:11:05] and obviously that's how the goal was eventually

[00:11:07] scored because it was another cross that came

[00:11:10] in and El Cabi was at the end of it and

[00:11:13] it was a goal.

[00:11:14] And it is about playing to the whistle.

[00:11:17] It is about showing her a certain level of

[00:11:19] hunger and anger and confidence and bravery

[00:11:24] towards the end and that's something that

[00:11:26] we've only really seen from Atalanta.

[00:11:28] That was what was so brilliant about Atalanta's

[00:11:30] win was that they played with such bravery

[00:11:33] and heart and determination and as much as

[00:11:37] Fiorentina showed us the beauty of their play

[00:11:39] at several moments, it looked like a team

[00:11:42] that was anxious.

[00:11:43] It looked like a team that was fearful of this

[00:11:46] not going their way and that is the difference.

[00:11:48] There seems to be a disconnect on a psychological

[00:11:52] level for Fiorentina and that's another thing

[00:11:54] they need to address and that does come from

[00:11:57] the coach.

[00:11:58] So having said that he has his alibis because

[00:12:02] this isn't a great team, but they do need to

[00:12:05] work on this determination if you will and

[00:12:11] it's a shame really.

[00:12:11] It's a shame because this was going to be

[00:12:13] the tribute to Joe Barone.

[00:12:16] This was going to be a way that Italy would

[00:12:18] have nine teams in European competition, but

[00:12:22] the loss means that Torino don't make it now

[00:12:24] into Europe.

[00:12:27] It just seems like you know, we were so

[00:12:29] happy.

[00:12:29] We were like maybe we're going to have six

[00:12:31] in the Champions League and we're going to

[00:12:32] have this number in in the Europa League

[00:12:34] and this number of Italian teams in Europe

[00:12:36] in general, but we've ended up with five

[00:12:39] in the Champions League and eight in Europe

[00:12:42] overall, which is still a remarkable achievement,

[00:12:45] but perhaps we just dreamt a little bit too

[00:12:48] much.

[00:12:50] So a sad night for Fiorentina.

[00:12:53] What happens now is that they still have

[00:12:55] that one game left that they have to play

[00:12:58] against Atalanta.

[00:13:01] Vincenzo Italiano's contract comes to an

[00:13:04] end in June and we're interested to see

[00:13:07] what happens next.

[00:13:09] There's obviously still the opportunity of

[00:13:11] him choosing to stay on or he might go

[00:13:15] elsewhere and feel like his cycle has

[00:13:19] ended at Fiorentina.

[00:13:20] I don't know if it has, but I am interested

[00:13:24] to see that if he stays on if they make

[00:13:26] it to another final next season because

[00:13:29] they really really deserve to actually

[00:13:31] celebrate at some point.