Italiano and Biraghi: ‘Fiorentina will honour Barone’s memory’ | OneFootball

Vincenzo Italiano and Cristiano Biraghi urge Fiorentina to ‘find the strength to keep going’ and ‘honour’ director Joe Barone’s memory against Milan, with inevitable memories of Davide Astori too.

It kicks off at the Stadio Franchi at 19.45 GMT.

You can follow all the build-up and action as it happens from today’s five Serie A games on the LIVEBLOG.

This is the first match since Viola director Barone’s death, as he collapsed with a heart attack just before the Week 29 trip to Atalanta and died in hospital a couple of days later.

“These days have been difficult, moments none of us wanted to experience or face, but we must keep going. That’s what Joe would’ve asked of this team today, for us to push hard in Serie A, concentrate on this match and honour his memory,” coach Italiano told Sky Sport Italia.

“He showed such affection and love for his club over the years, we must find all the energy we have to keep going in his memory.”

It was another traumatic event for this club and squad, as captain Astori died in the team hotel hours before a Serie A game with Udinese in March 2018.

The coach at the time was Stefano Pioli, who is at the Stadio Franchi tonight with Milan.

“It’s a void that can never be filled. It’s hard to find the strength to keep going in these situations, you never know how we will react. It is one more reason for us to give everything for the rest of the season, for him and his family and for everything Joe did for Fiorentina,” added Biraghi.

“It has been a surreal atmosphere, but hopefully he can give us the push we need to achieve something important for him.”

Biraghi is one of the Fiorentina players who experienced both the death of Barone and Astori, so his teammates look to him for guidance, not just because he is the captain.

“Everyone has their own way of reacting to these situations. Just like six years ago, what gave us strength was that unity. We must help each other, give each other strength, hold each other up and try to keep going.”