The Viola boss has rubbished the assumption that Thursday's meeting at the Artemio Franchi is guaranteed to produce this year's champions
Vincenzo Montella has dismissed the notion that the victors from Fiorentina's Europa League last-16 tie with Juventus are destined to win the tournament.

The two Serie A outfits are locked at one goal apiece after last week's first leg in Turin, with Mario Gomez cancelling out Arturo Vidal's opener.

Though there are a number of other quality teams left in the tournament, some pundits believe that there will be no stopping the side that emerges victorious at the Artemio Franchi on Thursday night - but that is not a view shared by Montella.

"I don't agree that this is effectively the final," the Fiorentina boss told reporters on Wednesday. "We're only at the last 16."

Montella also tried to play down the sense of expectation among the Fiorentina fans, who treasure victories over Juventus above all others.

"There are great motivations for a game of this importance at this level, against a great opponent," the ex-Italy international acknowledged.

"But it's a game of football. We need to go into it maintaining a sense of calm because Fiorentina are at their best when they play with serenity.

"Juventus know that it will be hard for them here but the Bianconeri have got used to playing games like this for many years.

"We must extract the maximum from our own capabilities and not think about nullifying those of our opponents.

"I'm expecting my team to put their own characteristics on the field and to play with joy. But there must be the necessary fear for a game like this."

Montella has been identified as a potential future Juventus boss, but while he refused to rule out the possibility of moving to Turin, he insisted that he has no desire to leave Florence any time soon.

"I am a professional," he stated. "But I hope to train Fiorentina for a long time yet."