From: UEFA.COM
Thursday, 10 April 2003
By Paddy Agnew
This time last year midfield player Stefano Fiore had been discarded by
the Italian national side ahead of the FIFA World Cup while Lazio were
struggling to finish sixth in Serie A. Now, however, the Roman club are
in line for UEFA Champions League qualification, in the semi-finals of
both the UEFA and Italian Cups and Fiore has regained his place in the
Azzurri squad. Before Thursday's UEFA Cup semi-final first leg at FC
Porto, Fiore talked to uefa.com.
uefa.com: Last summer could you possibly have predicted the way things
would go this season?
Fiore: It was hard to imagine us doing as well but just when we seemed
in real trouble we're having a great run. It was a terrific
personal victory to get back into the national squad as plenty
of people had written me off.
uefa.com: What went wrong for you last season?
Fiore: Rome can be a hostile environment for a new player when there are
high expectations of you. We were not playing well, had low self-
confidence and the season just went from bad to worse.
uefa.com: How important has coach Roberto Mancini been in regenerating the
players?
Fiore: He's a key figure in our revival. His great strength was having faith
in us, convincing us what happened last year was merely a one-off.
He has no favourites and makes everyone feel they have an important
role to play. He has our total respect. He was a Lazio player so he
knew the club, the environment and everything that goes with it.
uefa.com: How important would it be to win the UEFA Cup?
Fiore: Very important. We want to win something, otherwise people will be
saying 'you lot were good, but what did you win?'
uefa.com: What do you know about Porto?
Fiore: I haven't seen them play but the coach has and he tells us they are
a good team, full of the sort of technical quality you expect of
Portuguese sides. They're leading their league too and even if is
not as competitive overall as Serie A, it can still throw up a side
that could give us plenty of trouble.
uefa.com: Do you know any of the Porto players?
Fiore: I don't know many apart from Deco who is an excellent player.
uefa.com: How have the players coped with Lazio's financial problems.?
Fiore: We have concentrated exclusively on football. There have been moments
when we have been worried about our future, but we have a great team
spirit and desire to prove that last year's Lazio was not a true
reflection of our merits.
uefa.com: It is true that the players are willing to accept shares in the
club in lieu of outstanding wages?
Fiore: Yes, we may accept something like that. You have to acknowledge Europe-
wide that players' wages have got out of control. Clubs can no longer
spend more than they earn. If a club like Lazio were to fold then
something is very seriously wrong with football.
uefa.com: What does it mean to see three Italian sides in the quarter finals
of the Champions League?
Fiore: It's very satisfying. Italian clubs have been out of the top flight of
European competition for too long. There is a great chance of an Italian
side making the final this year.
uefa.com: With so much media attention focused on the war in Iraq, do you
sometimes find it difficult to concentrate on football?
Fiore: I watch the news, but I'm not obsessive about it because the images
are ugly. Let's just hope that the war finishes soon and that peace
returns.
---
Hope peace return soon....
--
有心 沒心 心在芬蘭
多情 薄情 情繫 Ajax
--
※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.csie.ntu.edu.tw)
◆ From: 61.59.230.194