He believed in it until the end but the cup failed again this year . Fiorentina lost the Conference League final in Athens against Olympiacos , with a goal by Ayoub El Kaabi in the 116th minute , in the second overtime, with 4 minutes left. For the Greeks it is the first international trophy in history.

Tonight's victory would have allowed the Tuscans to access the Europa League , giving Ivan Juric's Torino a pass to the Conference. The "sliding" effect would have in fact freed up a place for ninth in the Serie A rankings. Instead, for the second consecutive year the Viola were left with a bitter taste in their mouths.

Mister Vincenzo Italiano yesterday gathered all his players - ready for the sixth European final - in the middle of the Agia Sofia pitch in Athens, recalling the " Prague mockery ", when last year the team lost against West Ham . The stakes were very high, so much so that it pushed the coach - in the hours preceding the match - to take on the role of leader, leading a team that he followed for three years, between joys and sorrows.

Meanwhile, with the outcome still to be sweated out, 10,000 of them had left Florence, on the "journey of hope" towards the land of Ulysses, to follow the dream of the Conference until the last moment. From the Tuscan city, however, 30 thousand people followed the exploits of the purple rose on the pitch, live from the stands of the Artemio Franchi. All the others hoped for the "blessed joy" planted in front of the TVs and giant screens. But the fate of the match turned its back on Fiorentina who stopped just a breath away from the finish line.

(Unioneonline/vf)