Florence aches for a football renaissance by ending their wait for silverware

Every story about a final has two sides. It may seem like an obvious thing to say, but I’m not sure we’re really considering it, especially if an English team is going for a European trophy.

It’s fantastic to see the excitement around West Ham. Their fans have flocked to Prague and it would be great for them to win the Europa Conference League, but don’t think they are the only ones with dreams. Fiorentina’s sense of fate is just as strong.

Fiorentina will always have a special place in my heart. I joined them on loan in September 2014 and although I had reservations at first, they were banned within a few weeks. It turned out to be one of my best decisions, the chance to experience a different culture in one of the world’s most historic cities.

This was a club that knew it couldn’t compete with the giants of Serie A over the course of a season, but it was the perfect place for emerging talent. In our squad we had Federico Bernardeschi, Mohamed Salah, Marcos Alonso and Stefan Savic. Alberto Aquilani, Marko Marin and Mario Gomez provided the experience.

I would compare it to Newcastle or Liverpool in terms of how football is viewed in the city. The people of Florence are in love with their team.

My highlight was the night we beat Juventus in the Coppa Italia, 2-1 in Turin, when Salah scored a goal that told me he was going to the top.

The result was against expectations and the reception we received was like nothing I had ever seen. When we got back to the station in the center of town, fans lined the streets and then ran the bus all the way to the training ground. You’d think we’d just won the World Cup, not the first leg of a knockout game.

And that’s what I mean by passion as a two-way street. Fiorentina have won only one European trophy in their history – the 1961 Cup-Winners Cup – and the last time they got their hands on silverware was the Coppa Italia in 2001.

I can’t stress enough how much these fans will be praying for this to be their moment in the sun. The team may not have many household names, but it would be a big mistake to fire them.

Sofyan Amrabat will bear the responsibility of trying to give Fiorentina the kind of high they haven’t seen since the days of Gabriel Batistuta, and his fight with Declan Rice will go a long way in determining which team takes the trophy .

I have an affinity for Fiorentina, but I would like to see David Moyes also have his moment. I have followed David closely since he loaned Dickson Etuhu, a former teammate of mine at Manchester City, to Preston.

He is a man of principles, his teams work relentlessly and he has consistently shown everyone what he can do. Now is his time to collect a trophy.