James Horncastle on Fiorentina’s quest to ‘lay to rest the demons’ in UEFA Europa Conference League final v Olympiacos

TNT Sports Italian football expert James Horncastle believes Fiorentina have all the motivation required to right the wrongs of last year’s UEFA Europa Conference League final defeat when they face Olympiacos in Athens – live on TNT Sports and discovery+.

Vincenzo Italiano’s side were beaten 2-1 by West Ham United in the 2023 final, and Horncastle explained that the Viola will be eager to change their fortunes in Europe against an Olympiacos side which will essentially have home advantage in this year’s showpiece match.

"There's this reputation Fiorentina has of being absurdly unlucky in Europe, particularly in European finals going back to the 1960s,” he told TNT Sports.

"Aside from the problems that Olympiacos pose as a team, when Fiorentina learned they were playing a team from Athens in the final, it was like going into the lion's den.

"Even though they're not playing at their own stadium in Piraeus, it's essentially a home final for them. You are going to be playing against a pretty hostile atmosphere, even with the allocation which Fiorentina has which is between 7,000 and 8,000. So, managing that kind of occasion is going to be big.

"Jose Luis Mendilibar – who won the Europa League with Sevilla last year - has done an extraordinary job with Olympiacos to get them this far.

"But Fiorentina will have to lay to rest the demons of last year. They were the better side against West Ham at the final in Prague.

"I think that losing both the Coppa Italia final and Europa Conference League final last season was another motivating factor to go back to this final and make amends."

Italiano has been key to masterminding Fiorentina’s run to the final for a second year running, and Horncastle believes the 46-year-old should be held in higher esteem for his impressive achievements in Italian football.

"Italiano doesn't get the flowers he deserves, and should have a much higher profile than he does," Horncastle explained.

"There are other contemporaries of his that are far better known, like Roberto De Zerbi. Even before he moved to the Premier League, he was the subject of tactics blogs and YouTube videos breaking down his play.

"You look at what Italiano has not achieved, not only at Fiorentina; he's worked at every level in the Italian football pyramid. He's got teams in the fourth division into the play-offs, won promotion only for the team not to be allowed to go up.

"He's got teams from the third division to the second division, teams from the second division into the top flight and kept them in the top-flight, which he did with Spezia.

"Then with Fiorentina, he got them back into Europe for the first time in five years, took them to two cup finals last year - Coppa Italia and Conference League. He had never competed in Europe before as a coach, goes into the Conference League at the first time of asking last year and backs it up.

"Every year he's overachieved. To my mind, he should be on the shortlist at a lot of big clubs. If you look at upward trajectories in Serie A in the last few years - okay he's not won trophies in Serie A like Simeone Inzaghi did before he got the Inter job - but he's done everything but that. And it's somewhat surprising with the Juventus and AC Milan jobs coming up that he hasn't really been mentioned with them."

Horncastle also explained how victory in the Greek capital on May 29 would give this Fiorentina squad legendary status, and would end a lengthy wait for European glory after success in the Cup Winners Cup 63 years ago.

"It will be incredible if they were able to do it," he added.

"Even that famous 1990s Fiorentina side containing the likes of Gabriel Batistuta and Rui Costa which competed in the Cup Winners Cup, UEFA Cup and Champions League, weren’t capable of winning a a European trophy.

"A lot of the streets around the Artemio Franchi [Fiorentina’s home stadium] are named after the guys who were involved in the 60s team that won the league and got to European finals.

"If they were to win in Athens, I'm sure that part of the new training ground would be named after this team, as it was after their general manager Joe Barone, who passed away earlier this year.

"They want to honour his memory and so we'll have to wait and see if they can do it."

TNT Sports’ live coverage of the UEFA Europa Conference League final between Olympiacos and Fiorentina will be live from the AEK Arena in Athens from 7pm on TNT Sports 1, TNT Sports Ultimate and discovery+.

Expert analysis will come from Joe Cole and Don Hutchison.

TNT Sports presents the premium live sports rights previously carried by BT Sport including the Premier League, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Conference League, Gallagher Premiership Rugby, Investec Champions Cup, EPCR Challenge Cup, MotoGP, Cricket, UFC, Boxing and WWE. The streaming home for TNT Sports in the UK is discovery+, where fans can enjoy a subscription that includes TNT Sports, Eurosport and entertainment in one destination. You can also watch TNT Sports through BT, EE, Sky, and Virgin Media.