Post by Taxigirl on Feb 7, 2006 9:48:40 GMT
www.channel4.com/sport/football_italia/feb6k.html
Inter Coach Roberto Mancini has warned his side not to focus all of their attention on Serie A’s leading scorer on Wednesday night. “Fiorentina are not just about Luca Toni,” he said.
Inter face one of their toughest games of the season so far when they play the fourth-placed Viola at the Stadio Artemio Franchi and Toni represents an obvious threat as his goals continue to flow at torrential rate.
The Modena-born marksman was on target again yesterday after scoring an impressive 22nd goal of the season, but Mancini believes that it is dangerous to identify Toni as the sole threat.
“If the threat of Toni is subdued then Fiorentina lose a lot,” he said. “But I don’t think Fiorentina are just about Toni.
“The Viola have a lot of very good players like Stefano Fiore, Giampaolo Pazzini and Martin Jorgensen - it will be a very difficult game.”
The Gigliati have dropped just five points at home all season – their sole defeat coming against League leaders Juventus – but Mancio can take heart from the fact that his own side are on a run of 20 unbeaten matches themselves and have already defeated the Viola once this season.
“In our home fixture we played very well against them and created a lot of chances,” he said of the 1-0 win at the San Siro.
“I hope that the side play as well on Wednesday. We will only win if we put in an excellent performance.”
A win for the home side, on the other hand, will almost certainly gift the title to Juventus and bring Cesare Prandelli’s men to within four points of Inter.
Meanwhile, Fiorentina chief Andrea Della Valle has claimed that Toni was the difference between winning and losing the game against Lecce on Sunday.
The Azzurri striker scored the only goal in the 1-0 victory and keeps the Tuscan giants in the hunt for a Champions League place at the end of the season.
“Luca made all the difference,” insisted Della Valle. “There is a great atmosphere here and the technical miracle we have shown to reach the amount of points we have aboard is testament to that.
“To play against us at home will be difficult for anyone and it will be the same for Inter on Wednesday.”
Inter Coach Roberto Mancini has warned his side not to focus all of their attention on Serie A’s leading scorer on Wednesday night. “Fiorentina are not just about Luca Toni,” he said.
Inter face one of their toughest games of the season so far when they play the fourth-placed Viola at the Stadio Artemio Franchi and Toni represents an obvious threat as his goals continue to flow at torrential rate.
The Modena-born marksman was on target again yesterday after scoring an impressive 22nd goal of the season, but Mancini believes that it is dangerous to identify Toni as the sole threat.
“If the threat of Toni is subdued then Fiorentina lose a lot,” he said. “But I don’t think Fiorentina are just about Toni.
“The Viola have a lot of very good players like Stefano Fiore, Giampaolo Pazzini and Martin Jorgensen - it will be a very difficult game.”
The Gigliati have dropped just five points at home all season – their sole defeat coming against League leaders Juventus – but Mancio can take heart from the fact that his own side are on a run of 20 unbeaten matches themselves and have already defeated the Viola once this season.
“In our home fixture we played very well against them and created a lot of chances,” he said of the 1-0 win at the San Siro.
“I hope that the side play as well on Wednesday. We will only win if we put in an excellent performance.”
A win for the home side, on the other hand, will almost certainly gift the title to Juventus and bring Cesare Prandelli’s men to within four points of Inter.
Meanwhile, Fiorentina chief Andrea Della Valle has claimed that Toni was the difference between winning and losing the game against Lecce on Sunday.
The Azzurri striker scored the only goal in the 1-0 victory and keeps the Tuscan giants in the hunt for a Champions League place at the end of the season.
“Luca made all the difference,” insisted Della Valle. “There is a great atmosphere here and the technical miracle we have shown to reach the amount of points we have aboard is testament to that.
“To play against us at home will be difficult for anyone and it will be the same for Inter on Wednesday.”