The next 5-0 for SK Rapid is unlikely to be announced today. In qualifying for the Conference League, Fiorentina, last season’s finalists, are building up as the final hurdle for promotion to the group stage. The Viennese respect for the first leg is there, but it shouldn’t paralyze them. “If we stand like the rabbit in front of the line, we will not be 100 percent successful,” said Zoran Barisic. Rapid’s coach recently saw away victories in Debrecen and Blau-Weiss Linz, Rapid showed great efficiency. However, Fiorentina is of a different caliber. Goal number 1 against the eighth of the past Serie A must be to make the away trip to Tuscany in the coming week not just a company outing.
“Very, very good team”, a “Capacunder” waiting for Rapid!
“We want to have another chance in the second leg,” said Barisic. “But everything has to be right for us, we need two perfect days.” The opponents weren’t stingy with goals last weekend either. The “Viola” won the season opener in the league at Genoa 4:1. After just eleven minutes, captain Cristiano Biraghi and Giacomo Bonaventura scored their goals for a 2-0 lead. Barisic described the Florentines as extremely ball-safe, flexible, with a dangerous offensive and variable in standard situations. It is just a “very, very good team”, a “capacitor” who is waiting for Rapid.
“You want to play against such opponents, such games will take you further!”
The resistance should be correspondingly vehement. “For me, there is a simple answer: We want to appear with courage, with the enthusiasm that we are happy to face the challenge,” emphasized Barisic emphatically. With luck on the part of his team, there is a chance of a good result. In principle, the 53-year-old stated that he likes to take on big tasks. “You want to play against opponents like that, games like that take you further.” Of course, says Barisic, you would like to measure yourself against opponents like that in the group phase. Rapid’s finance department would also be happy: there is 2.9 million euros in entry fees alone, 500,000 euros for a win.
“All I can say is that in football, the strongest don’t always win!”
Little is likely to change in the green-white team compared to the win at the weekend. Maximilian Hofmann will probably move into central defense in place of defense chief Nenad Cvetkovic, who was out in Linz with a cruciate ligament tear. Barisic left it open whether Nicolas Kühn and Patrick Greil, who were ill, would be back. New signing Lukas Grgic will only start team training later this week, he was also ill recently. Captain Guido Burgstaller is set in front. The center forward told his opponent in an interview with “Corriere dello Sport”: “I can only say that in football the strongest doesn’t always win.”