As every Fiorentina fan worth his salt now knows, the Viola will be playing Slavia Prague in a two-legged qualifying match to determine entrance to the group stages of the Champions League. The first leg will be played August 12/13 with the return on August 26/27.
In some ways, these games are the biggest of the year for Fiorentina. If they win, they will move onto the group stages, providing matches for Fiorentina to get exposure on the European stage and also make the club a little money. These games are a big, big deal. A loss, on the other hand, will deprive Fiorentina of much of the very hard-won momentum they gained by finishing fourth last season.
Word around the campfire is that this was a good draw for our boys. It seems the teams to avoid were Atletico Madrid and the Turkish teams, and we did that. The great man and the players are respectful of their opponents and know they will have to play well to win, but those in the know seem to like the Viola’s chances.
I, by the way, am generally not one of those people “in the know.” It doesn’t help that I am spending the weekend in the mountains of New Hampshire and only have a spotty internet connection. But frankly, my knowledge of Czech football is pretty limited. In fact, here is the sum total of what I know about Slavia Prague:
1). The don’t like Sparta Prague. Naturally.
2). They qualified for the Champions League group stages last year.
3). And…Er….I think they play in Prague.
Anyway, I never claimed to be the blogger for the Slavia Prague page. I don’t know much about them. If anyone actually knows things about the club and has an opinion on our chances, please feel free to leave them in the comment section below.
Take care, everyone. I’ll be back in a day or so.