Viola meet AEK with heavy hearts

Shaken by the death of coach Cesare Prandelli's wife earlier this week, ACF Fiorentina are in sombre but determined mood as they take on AEK Athens FC.

Sad occasion
Top of UEFA Cup Group C after picking up four points from their first two games, tonight's match in Greece could have been a time for proud reflection as the Viola prepare to play their 100th game in UEFA club competition. However, the death of Prandelli's wife Manuela at the age of 45, following a long illness, has given everyone at the club something more serious to consider.

Pin to deputise
The team flew out to Athens yesterday after attending the funeral, with assistant coach Gabriele Pin set to lead the side in Prandelli's absence, as he did in Sunday's 0-0 draw at Reggina Calcio. "In these moments words are meaningless," said Pin. "Today we saw that sometimes it's better not speak out loud. Gestures are sometimes more important than words."

'Very moved'
Now, the club are hoping that grief will not cloud their resolve as they seek a win to seal their place in the last 32. "I hope the team can play normally despite what has happened," said Danish midfielder Martin Jørgensen. "We were all very moved for our coach. We will play to win even though we know AEK are very strong at home. We have to be ready for a tough test."

Match plans
Pin added: "As usual we will use a rotation system because it's impossible to play several games in a row with the same players. However, I'm sure that the team will be able to play a good game. Cesare has done such a tremendous job with this team and everybody knows exactly what to do. I'm sure our mentality will not change. AEK have plenty of experience in Europe but we will not be playing to avoid defeat. We always want to achieve maximum points from any game we play. We are an attack-minded team."