UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE - 2014/15 SEASON MATCH PRESS KITS - Florence Thursday 12 March 2015 21.05CET (21.05 local time) ACF Fiorentina Round of 16, First leg AS Roma Last updated 02/06/2015 04:25CET

Match background 2 Legend 4

1 ACF Fiorentina - AS Roma Thursday 12 March 2015 - 21.05CET (21.05 local time) Match press kit Stadio Artemio Franchi, Florence

Match background

ACF Fiorentina and AS Roma have reason to be cautious as they approach the all-Italian UEFA Europa League round of 16 ties, both having had unhappy European encounters with domestic rivals in the past. What they say Vincenzo Montella, Fiorentina coach: "The defeat at Lazio hasn't had too much of an impact. This is a new match, the strategy will be important. It will be a tough match. Roma have a great team, one built to win championships. Their players will want to get revenge [for the cup defeat]. If [Francesco] Totti plays, they play in a certain way; without him, the game changes." Rudi Garcia, Roma coach: "We've played Fiorentina three times already this season. I think tomorrow will be different as we have 180 minutes ahead of us. We are without our captain, Totti. I think you will see some interesting tactical choices. I'm confident in my players' ability – they are very capable of playing as well as they were until recently." Previous meetings • The sides have yet to meet in UEFA competition, but know each other well from . • The teams met in a knockout tie in this season's quarter-finals. On 3 February, a Mario Gomez double at the Stadio Olimpico gave Vincenzo Montella's Fiorentina a 2-0 win – the coach's first against his old club with the Viola. • Roma were 2-0 home winners against Fiorentina on 30 August 2014, the first day of the Serie A season, thanks to goals from Radja Nainggolan (28 minutes) and Gervinho (90+3). The game in Florence on 25 January finished 1-1, Adem Ljajić (49) cancelling out Gomez's opener (19). • In 159 competitive domestic meetings Roma have managed 52 wins to Fiorentina's 49, with 58 games drawn. Form guide • Having lost over two legs to Juventus in the 1989/90 UEFA Cup final (3-1 a, 0-0 h), Fiorentina bowed out to their Serie A rivals again in last season's round of 16 (1-1 a, 0-1 h). Their record in four European games against Italian sides is therefore W0 D2 L2. • Roma's only previous European encounters with Italian opponents were in the final of the 1990/91 UEFA Cup, where a 1-0 home win failed to overturn a 2-0 deficit against FC Internazionale Milano. • Fiorentina's home record this season is W2 D1 L1, with that lone defeat a 2-1 against FC Dinamo Minsk in their final group stage game. • Roma's 2-1 round of 32 success at Feyenoord ended a run of six European away games without a win (D3 L3), stretching back to 2010. • Roma last reached the round of 16 in this competition in 2005/06, when they were beaten by Middlesbrough FC. They were eliminated in the UEFA Cup quarter-finals in 1992/93, 1995/96 and 1998/99. • Fiorentina last made it through the last 16 in 2007/08, when they were beaten by Rangers FC on penalties in the semi-finals. Trivia and links • Fiorentina's David Pizarro (2006–12) and Alberto Aquilani (2002–09) both spent significant spells at Roma, while Ljajić left the Viola to join Roma in summer 2013 after three seasons in Tuscany. • Roma midfielder Alessandro Florenzi turns 24 the day before the first leg; Fiorentina defender Manuel Pasqual (33) and midfielder Marko Marin (26) have birthdays the day after the match. • Marin and Roma's Ashley Cole were team-mates at Chelsea FC from 2012 to 2014, though the German was out on loan for much of that period. • Roma and Fiorentina are among five Italian clubs in the round of 16; only once before has one nation been represented by so many sides at this stage, West Germany having provided five contenders in the 1979/80 UEFA Cup. The coaches • Fiorentina boss since June 2012, Montella was known as 'L'Aeroplanino' (the Little Aeroplane) because of his modest stature and trademark goal celebrations during his time as a striker. An Italian international, he won the 2000/01 Serie A title with Roma, and scored 83 goals in all competitions for the club from 1997–2008. • Montella also started his coaching career at Roma. Initially a youth coach, he replaced Claudio Ranieri at the helm in February 2011 and helped them to finish sixth in the league. He later coached Calcio Catania.

2 ACF Fiorentina - AS Roma Thursday 12 March 2015 - 21.05CET (21.05 local time) Match press kit Stadio Artemio Franchi, Florence

• The son of a footballer, Roma's French coach Rudi Garcia was a midfielder for LOSC Lille and SM Caen, among others, though he was forced to retire aged 28. He studied and did media work before making his name as a coach with AS Saint-Étienne and Dijon FCO. His attack-minded LOSC side won the French title and Coupe de France in 2010/11, with Roma bringing him in as coach in June 2013.

3 ACF Fiorentina - AS Roma Thursday 12 March 2015 - 21.05CET (21.05 local time) Match press kit Stadio Artemio Franchi, Florence Legend Competitions

Club competitions National team competitions UCL: UEFA Champions League EURO: UEFA European Football Championship ECCC: European Champion Clubs' Cup WC: FIFA World Cup UEL: UEFA Europa League CONFCUP: FIFA Confederations Cup UCUP: UEFA Cup FRIE: Friendly internationals UCWC: UEFA Cup Winners' Cup U21FRIE: Under-21 friendly internationals SCUP: UEFA Super Cup U21: UEFA European Under-21 Championship UIC: UEFA Intertoto Cup U17: UEFA Under-17 Championship ICF: Inter-Cities Fairs Cup U16: UEFA European Under-16 Championship U19: UEFA Under-19 Championship U18: UEFA European Under-18 Championship WWC: FIFA Women's World Cup WEURO: UEFA European Women's Championship Competition stages Other abbreviations F: Final GS: Group stage (aet): After extra time pens: Penalties GS1: First group stage GS2: Second group stage No.: Number og: Own goal 3QR: Third qualifying round R1: First round ag: Match decided on away P: Penalty R2: Second round R3: Third round goals agg: Aggregate R4: Fourth round PR: Preliminary round Pld: Matches played AP: Appearances SF: Semi-finals QF: Quarter-finals Pos.: Position Comp.: Competition R16: round of 16 QR: Qualifying round Pts: Points D: Drawn R32: Round of 32 1QR: First qualifying round R: Sent off (straight red card) DoB: Date of birth 1st: first leg 2QR: Second qualifying Res.: Result ET: Extra Time round sg: Match decided by silver GA: Goals against 2nd: second leg FT: Final tournament goal t: Match decided by toss of a PO: Play-off ELITE: Elite round coin Rep: Replay 3rdPO: Third-place play-off GF: Goals for W: Won PO - FT: Play-off for Final GS-FT: Group stage – final gg: Match decided by golden Y: Booked Tournament tournament goal L: Lost Y/R: Sent off (two yellow Nat.: Nationality cards) N/A: Not applicable f: Match forfeited Statistics -: Denotes player substituted +: Denotes player introduced *: Denotes player sent off +/-: Denotes player introduced and substituted Squad list D: Disciplinary *: Misses next match if booked S: Suspended QUAL: All UEFA qualifiers UEL: Current season total UEFA Europa League appearances from the group stage onwards prior to the current matchday UEL: Total appearances in the UEFA Europa League, group stage to final only UEFA: All-time total appearances in UEFA club competition including qualifying Disclaimer: Although UEFA has taken all reasonable care that the information contained within this document is accurate at the time of publication, no representation or guarantee (including liability towards third parties), expressed or implied, is made as to its accuracy, reliability or completeness. Therefore, UEFA assumes no liability for the use or interpretation of information contained herein. More information can be found in the competition regulations available on UEFA.com.

4