Olympian Montolivo: Awake For Viola

Riccardo Montolivo is in China with the Italian Olympic squad setting the football tournament alight with the Azzurrini. Meanwhile, his Viola teammates have an important Champions League qualifying  match against Slavia Prague. Even though the midfielder won't be able to lend a hand on the pitch, he will be awake and supporting them from Beijing.  

“The night before the Honduras match I stayed awake until 4am, but this time I will do something different,” said the midfielder.

Fiorentina's third round qualifying match starts at 2.45am Chinese time, and Montolivo has no intention of missing the game. “I'll set my alarm to wake me at half past two and then go to bed early,” the 23-year-old former Atalanta player added.  

Montolivo went on to reveal that he intends to phone one or two players to wish them luck before he goes to sleep, naming Giampaolo Pazzini and Alessandro Gamberini as the likely recipients of a morale-boosting call. He won't phone the coach, though, insisting: “I don't think I'll phone [Cesare] Prandelli; I don't think I should disturb him.”

The player is at this point unsure how he'll go about watching the game. He admitted: “It will be difficult to see the game, but if no one sends me a website address the I will search for it myself on the internet.”  

Montolivo's roommate Marco Motta may not be too pleased to be kept awake by the Viola man, but the midfielder says he should have patience, “Even if he wakes up, even if he hears shouting, what can I do. Fiorentina is Fiorentina!”  

In a match of this magnitude concentration and tensions will be high, but the Viola can count on the Olympic support of Riccardo Montolivo, all the way from Beijing.    

Peter Pedroncelli