Zeki Amdouni on Basel's European campaign and the semi-final date with Fiorentina

Basel forward Zeki Amdouni appears to have hit form at just the right time. The 22-year-old, who joined the club on a two-year loan deal from Lausanne last summer, has registered 14 goals in all competitions since the winter break, including five in the UEFA Europa Conference League to help the 20-time Swiss champions book a semi-final date with Fiorentina.

Ahead of the teams' first-leg meeting in Florence, Amdouni spoke to UEFA.com about acclimatising to life at Basel, their European journey so far and his hopes for the last-four tie.

On his debut season at Basel

I think that from a personal perspective it could be considered a good, or even a very good, season for me. You could say that I wasn't all that successful going to the World Cup, but it wasn't a disappointment. I kept on working hard and I've been working even harder since the winter break. Collectively, it's true that we're not doing all that well in the league, but you could say we're compensating for that in the Conference League.

On Basel's Europa Conference League campaign

I remember the match against Brøndby [in the third qualifying round] where we won on penalties. I think it was my best match of the season but without any goals, without any assists. I think it was one of my best matches in terms of production and physical impact.

Regarding the goal that I scored against Trabzonspor [in the knockout round play-off second leg], it happened early in the match, so it was good. With the one against Slovan Bratislava in the last minute [of the round of 16 second leg], it was already 2-1 at that point. In the end, it was the last ball and it was maybe one of the easiest goals I scored because I didn't even kick it that hard.

On the quarter-final against Nice

Our tactic was to wait for them and to let them have possession of the ball, but to stop them coming into our half too often. The penalty that I scored [in the first leg] helped us. They had two good opportunities and they scored two goals, and that's what we feared for the second leg. We managed to qualify for the semi-finals in our usual Europa Conference League fashion: Right towards the end. We didn't give up, and in the end, we managed it.

On facing Fiorentina in the last four

We don't necessarily have nothing to lose. Saying that would be a defeatist starting point, but [I mean] in the sense of us having done a lot of good things. So why stop there? I wasn't there but over the last three or four years, Basel haven't won anything, and let's just say the fans are expecting big games and trophies. They're always there but to fill a stadium, to have a great atmosphere or for the city to really be buzzing, we must win trophies.

On his style of play

As a kid, I was always a forward because I was a good finisher. I was never the typical strong forward who kept the ball, who touched five balls per half. I was always a player with technique, and I always wanted to touch the ball. I always wanted to participate in the game, I always liked to help score. This is something I still like to do, but obviously it's even better if I can help out by scoring myself. Since I was little, I have been this false nine, you could say.