Like Fiorentina a year ago they are faced with a European final to be taken with a pinch of salt, and if the value of West Ham faced last year forced the Viola to pay maximum attention this time there is also an environmental aspect that is anything but negligible. The AEK Arena promises to be bedlam as per Greek tradition, and it’s a safe bet that facing Olympiakos on Wednesday evening will also mean braving a fiery stadium and an incandescent climate (not just in the stands). However, beware of underestimating coach Mendilibar’s Greeks, who were already capable of winning a Europa League last season with Sevilla
The Prague lesson – From this point of view, the Viola are called upon not to repeat the mistakes of the past, even if even the last championship match, that of Cagliari, showed the usual flaws. A defense often caught off guard, even on set pieces, and opposing counterattacks that sliced up the midline. Certainly Italiano, in the press conference a few days ago, brought attention (and memory) to the Mandragora occasion which could have changed the outcome of the evening in Prague a year ago, confirming how the offensive approach of the His football will remain the same in Athens too. Yet it is also on the defensive placements, and on the general concentration, that the outcome of a final for which the countdown has officially begun will depend.