"We'll be facing a Lazio side that wants to win it just as much as we do," he continued. "They have already shown how well they can play in this tournament and how good they are at creating problems for their opponents. I'm sure it won't be difficult to stimulate my lads because since I first put foot into the changing rooms they showed they were mature and had ideals which went way beyond sport alone. We did play two tough matches in three days and we gave all we had on the pitch. But the team are in good shape, mentally and physically. They are enthusiastic about playing an important match like this, so it doesn't take them long to recuperate physical and nervous energy. Will Marko Livaja be fit to play? We have shown we are a squad. Marko is an important member of that squad, but if I decide to play someone, they'll know what to do and they'll have been picked for a reason."
His thoughts turned to Nerazzurri keeper Raffaele Di Gennaro, who was injured during the semi-final against AC Milan: "That's the only bitter note surrounding these last few days. We are all really sorry about what happened to Raffaele, but he's a strong kid and he'll know how to come through this difficult situation well. The lads were rocked by his injury when it happened, but during the interval between the full-time whistle and the beginning of extra time they rallied round and concentrated their energies on winning for him. Raffaele was injured defending our goal and his team-mates did everything in their power to take him with them into the final. I can assure you that even if he isn't physically with us in Gubbio everyone will feel that he's out there on the pitch fighting alongside us to win the match."
