Fiorentina pay tribute to Commisso: ‘He was a warrior, he wanted us to play’
Fiorentina director Alessandro Ferrari explains they ‘had no doubts’ President Rocco Commisso wanted them to play against Bologna, as the squad and fans pay tribute.
It kicks off at the Stadio Dall’Ara at 14.00 GMT (15.00 CET).
President Commisso died on Saturday morning at his home in America, as illness had prevented him from travelling to Italy for several months.
A minute’s silence will be held before very Serie A game this weekend, along with black armbands for the players, but the Viola did not ask for today’s fixture against Bologna to be postponed.
Fiorentina play in honour of Commisso
“He was an exceptional person who gave us his everything,” director Ferrari told DAZN Italia.
“All the messages that arrived showed the great affection he inspired, how much people recognised his heart. I thank everyone on behalf of his family. He was a warrior, a fighter, and that is why we are here today to play for him.
“I had no doubts Rocco wanted us to play. Everyone is here, including those who are injured and cannot play, because we all wanted to be here for Rocco.”
Moise Kean, Edin Dzeko and Tariq Lamptey are not fit to play, but have travelled with the squad to Bologna for this event, so they could be part of the commemorations for Commisso.
The team are warming up with special shirts in his honour, with ‘1 Rocco’ on the back, and ‘Grazie Rocco’ on the front.
“I want to send a big hug to the Commisso family from the whole squad and club, to thank him for all he did for Fiorentina, for football, and he is certainly here with us today,” goalkeeper David De Gea told DAZN Italia.
“He seemed a man of great humility, who did so much for Fiorentina and we can only thank him. We are more united than ever, have even more responsibility to achieve our objective. It’s true we had good results in recent matches, we need to build consistency and know how tough it’ll be today.”
Bologna: Ravaglia; Holm, Casale, Heggem, Miranda; Freuler, Pobega; Orsolini, Odgaard, Cambiaghi; Castro
Fiorentina: De Gea; Dodo, Comuzzo, Pongracic, Gosens; Mandragora, Fagioli; Parisi, Ndour, Gudmundsson; Piccoli