The New Saints head into uncharted territory on Thursday night (KO 8pm) as Craig Harrison’s side take on Serie A outfit Fiorentina at the Stadio Artemio Franchi on Matchday 1 of the League Phase in the UEFA Conference League.
The JD Cymru Premier champions will become the first club to ever represent Wales in this stage of European competition. By comparison, Fiorentina have reached the last two finals of the UEFA Conference League but were defeated by West Ham United and Olympiacos respectively.
To understand more about the Italian side, we sat down with Italian football writer Giancarlo Rinaldo for his view on the team known as La Viola.
“The Conference League has shown that they can compete at a decent level of football and perform well on their travels,” explained Rinaldi to FAW.cymru. “It has been a long time since they won a trophy and it is now seen as a credible route to ending that lengthy drought. They have shown huge character along the way, but have fallen short, and everyone who follows them wishes they could finally win some silverware – even without playing attractive football.”
Unlike TNS, who have largely dominated on the domestic front in Wales, the last time Fiorentina lifted silverware was in 2000/01 when they defeated Parma 2-1 on aggregate to lift the Coppa Italia. In addition to the two UEFA Conference League finals, head coach Vincenzo Italiano also took them to the domestic cup final in 2022/23, but they suffered a 2-1 defeat to Inter Milan. After losing three finals, Italiano said farewell to the club during the summer to take charge of Serie A rivals Bologna.
“I think most fans felt the Vincenzo Italiano era had come to a natural end but it would have been nicer to bring it to a close with a trophy,” said Rinaldi. “He definitely created a team which was capable of going toe-to-toe with anyone by imposing their own style of play. The move to Bologna was a bit of a surprise as it looked like a bit of a sideways step, but clearly he was tempted by a new project and Champions League football.”
Raffaele Palladino will be in the opposite dugout to Craig Harrison on Thursday, but it has been a mixed start for the former Monza head coach.
“There has been a big turnover in players and an attempt to play Palladino’s favoured 3-4-2-1 formation,” explained Rinaldi. “That hasn’t worked out brilliantly so far with a fair few goals conceded. A combination of new faces settling in and some old ones struggling with the new system has seen them struggle for results, at least until a half-time tactical change against Lazio recently.”
The 2-1 win against Lazio on 22 September was their first of the season, following three draws and a 3-2 defeat to Atalanta the weekend before. On Sunday, Fiorentina played out a 0-0 draw away to Empoli and sit in mid-table in Serie A as their focus now switches to the UEFA Conference League.
Meanwhile, TNS suffered surprise back-to-back defeats to Penybont and Bala Town during the last fortnight, but responded in style last weekend with a comprehensive 6-1 win at Newtown.
“With no disrespect to The New Saints, I imagine Fiorentina may use more second string players for the tie,” Rinaldi added. “There are quite a few good players who have not seen much game time so far and they will be looking to prove their coach wrong, while anything other than a convincing win would not be welcome by the passionate and vociferous Viola support.”
Former Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea was a headline arrival at the Stadio Artemio Franchi this summer and he was joined by former Everton and Juventus striker Moise Kean, who has been in fine form for his new club. Genoa loanee Albert Guðmundsson also has the potential to make a big impression at the club this season while fans are still waiting to see the best of Andrea Colpani, who followed Palladino from Monza.
Much like the Fiorentina team, the Stadio Artemio Franchi is also going through a period of significant renovation. Extensive work began on the stadium in February and as a result the capacity has been reduced from just over 43,000 to under 25,000. However, Fiorentina are undefeated at home so far this season and have not lost a match at the Stadio Artemio Franchi since March when AC Milan claimed a 2-1 league win.
Despite their recent European pedigree in this competition, Fiorentina had a much tougher experience in the UEFA Conference League play-offs than The New Saints. While Harrison’s said were cruising to a 3-0 aggregate victory over Lithuanian outfit FK Panevėžys to book their place in the league phase, Fiorentina were taken to penalties by Hungarian side Puskás Akadémia following a 4-4 aggregate draw. Palladino’s side were reduced to eight men following three red cards, but triumphed 5-4 in the penalty shoot-out.
“It was early in the season but getting past Puskás Akadémia felt like a real watershed moment for the new manager,” said Rinaldi. “If he had failed to get through after a couple of great runs in the competition it would have been really disappointing and heaped pressure on him. The Fiorentina board has been a pretty patient one, but a poor start in the league and European elimination would have been a bad start for the Palladino age.”
You can follow Giancarlo Rinaldi on X here and check out the Rigore! Podcast for more.
