Paratici: ‘Fiorentina send strong signal, courageous to quit Tottenham’
Fiorentina director Fabio Paratici sees ‘a strong signal’ with the number of academy products against Jagiellonia in the Conference League and defends his ‘courageous’ decision to leave Tottenham.
It kicks off at Chorten Arena in Bialystok at 20.00 GMT (21.00 CET).
The second leg will be at the Stadio Artemio Franchi on February 26.
While the Tuscans have traditionally done very well in the Conference League, reaching the Final twice and then the semi-final, this season it feels like a distraction from the focus of avoiding Serie A relegation.
Paratici has faith in Fiorentina future
“We are going through a delicate period, but we must divide Europe from Serie A, giving our all in every game,” Paratici told Sky Sport Italia.
“This evening we want to send a strong signal of motivation to the youth academy, as 13 players in the squad today were developed within the club. We are also playing with nine Italians, and four of the five defenders were formed in our club.
“We want to set the example, hoping to create something lasting for the future of Fiorentina.”
Fiorentina have David De Gea and Albert Gudmundsson injured, Manor Solomon has flu symptoms, Moise Kean and Dodo didn’t make the trip as they are carrying knocks, while Marco Brescianini, Oliver Christensen and Daniele Rugani are not on the Europa League list.
“We are trying to build a team that is functional to what the coach wants to do tactically,” continued Paratici.
“We wanted to move from a three-man defence to four, with midfielders who could take players on and give more quality.
“I was only partly involved in the January transfer window, because I was still working for Tottenham. We tried to build the best possible squad for the vision of this coach.”
Circa 350 brave Fiorentina fans have made the trip, greeted by reported temperatures of -8C in Bialystok this evening.
Considering the difficult situation that the club found itself in this season, sitting in the bottom three, why did Paratici leave Tottenham for this role?
“It might’ve seemed a mad decision, but instead it was courageous,” insisted the former Juventus director.
“Being courageous means being aware of the risks you are taking. Even in this difficult situation, I was convinced Fiorentina had the resources to emerge from this moment and build something for the future too.
“This is why I signed a very long contract. I’ve always spent many years at clubs in my career, I’ve never been someone just passing through.”