Montella Could Hand Ribery Starting Spot

Fiorentina boss Vincenzo Montella says Franck Ribery could be in line for his first start when Juventus visit on Saturday.

The veteran Frenchman joined La Viola during the summer as a free agent after his deal at Bayern Munich came to an end.

Ribery has managed two substitute appearances so far and could be handed a place in the first XI against the champions.

Montella was happy with the 36-year-old’s performance in a friendly against Perugia during the international break and says Ribery will feature on Saturday.

“Ribery is fit and firing,” Montella told the club website. “I’m not sure if he’s got 90 minutes in him yet but he’s trained well this week. He showed he was in good shape against Perugia – he stayed on for longer than we were expecting. He’s keen to play – he’s a great player – and as long as nothing untoward happens he will play.”

Fiorentina have lost both of their games this season, against Napoli and Genoa, and the pressure is on Montella to deliver.
The manager expects a stern test against the Bianconeri but he is looking forward to the fixture regardless and hopes his side can get a result.

He added: “I’m motivated and confident. I want to work and finally I’m able to with the full squad. Today is the first day because Pedro hadn’t even trained with the group yet [after joining from Fluminense], so I feel excited.

We want to start to write our story tomorrow, get off the mark in terms of points and start showing some consistency in our performances.”