Canzi: Tough Fiorentina challenge awaits us | OneFootball

Tomorrow, Sunday 16 February, at 15:00 (CET), Juventus Women First Team will face Fiorentina away from home in the first leg of the semi-final of the Women’s Coppa Italia 2024/2025.

Massimiliano Canzi previews the challenge against the Tuscan side, as well as discussing the upcoming Serie A championship round (poule scudetto) and the renewal of Cristiana Girelli's contract.

FACING FIORENTINA

“We expect to face a very tough opponent who will probably put a lot of emphasis on this competition, they have become a team capable of competing right until the very end. We expect, therefore, a complicated game against a team that, although we have already defeated them twice in the regular league season, have shown their great quality and ability to execute an excellent game plan.

A GOOD WEEK OF WORK

“Certainly going into this match off the back of a good performance like the one we put in against Milan helps. The big advantage, though, is that we have had a whole week of work to prepare for this Coppa Italia challenge. In this season we have never had the chance to dedicate a whole week to preparing for a match in this competition and so we are happy we are now able to. I saw the girls working with great attention to detail, very focused.

SELECTION CHOICES

“First of all I would like to emphasise how satisfied I am with the squad I had and currently have at my disposal because it has allowed me to rotate players often, especially in the most intense phases of this season. I have always fielded competitive line-ups, and if this was the case it is because the squad was and is of a high level. It is clear that playing this match after a week of training, without having any midweek commitments in the schedule, allows the girls to reach the best possible physical condition. Tomorrow (Sunday 16 February) those who have shown to be in better form at this specific moment of the season will start.

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE MORE EXPERIENCED PLAYERS

“As I said from the first day I arrived at Juventus, players like Girelli, [Barbara] Bonansea, [Martina] Rosucci and [Lisa] Boattin have helped me to quickly learn what it means to work for this club. The more the matches start to hold more significance, the more decisive the contribution of winning players like them will be.

THE SERIE A CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND SCHEDULE

“We will have to face the four strongest teams in the league, those who, like us, deserve to play in the Poule Scudetto. The schedule is very intense, it will certainly be nice to finish the season at home, in front of our fans, with a special match like the Derby d'Italia. Eight difficult challenges await us, we are aware of that.

GIRELLI'S RENEWAL

“I can only be happy with the renewal of Cristiana [Girelli]'s contract. She is having an extraordinary season and has certainly greatly helped the team, but not only in terms of goals. She has been good even when she has played less because she has contributed in every training session in which she has participated. So I'm happy, first of all for her, but also for the whole group because they will be able to count on her next season too.”