August 21, 2000

                  Fiorentina can win Scudetto, says Toldo

 Fiorentina will be a serious challenger for the Scudetto this season
 despite the loss of Gabriel Batistuta, according to goalkeeper Francesco
 Toldo.

 "Fiorentina will be among the teams that will challenge for the
 Scudetto," said Toldo. He went on to deny suggestions that the loss of
 Batistuta would have a major impact on the team.

 "We operated well on the market and everybody has the will to win," he
 said. "There are many who are trying to say that Fiorentina are not
 among the big sides, but I have always believed that before judging
 something or someone you should wait for facts.

 "It is true that Batistuta has left, but this doesn't mean that we don't
 have ambitions or means: on the contrary, here nobody wants to give up
 and the football of Terim is really aggressive.

 "With this football we will replace Gabriel. This Fiorentina will be a
 team that will attack for 90 minutes and the opposition will have to
 sweat."

 Toldo returned from Euro 2000 as a hero, and began training in Florence
 on Saturday with Angelo Di Livio, Manuel Rui Costa and new signing Nuno
 Gomez, who also featured in the Low Countries.

 It was an astonishing summer for Toldo, who headed to the European
 championships as Italy's second choice behind Gianluigi Buffon. Buffon
 broke his hand in the last friendly before the tournament, and Toldo was
 thrust into the limelight.

 He seized his opportunity with both hands, and was voted joint
 top-goalkeeeper in the tournament with Fabien Barthez. To cap it all, he
 married seven days after the final. He remains, though, unfazed by his
 new-found fame.

 "All this popularity doesn't bother me, but I am certainly more famous
 after Euro 2000. I was in Polynesia on my honeymoon, and some French
 fans asked me for my autograph," he said.

 The goalkeeper is looking forward to the new season. "I am keen to start
 this new adventure which looks exciting with many novelties, both with
 Fiorentina and with the national side.

 "With the Azzurri I will meet my former coaches Trapattoni and Bardin. I
 had two exceptionally happy years with both."

 Although several clubs across Europe have expressed an interest in
 signing the keeper, he remains committed to Fiorentina. "In football
 anything can always happen, but what links me with Fiorentina is a great
 love."

 His Portuguese team-mate Rui Costa seems finally to feel the same. After
 months of doubt and negotiation, he has now committed his future to the
 Florence club. "Gabriel unfortunately is not with us anymore and for
 Fiorentina this is now the beginning of a new phase," he said.

 The midfielder was no less confident than his goalkeeper about his
 team's prospects for next season. "I have a lot of faith and I can
 promise that Fiorentina will deliver a good year to its city, fighting
 for the Scudetto and in Europe."

                 Saturday 5th August 2000; From Onefootball

                           www.fiorentina2000.net