Fernando Alonso: Why does the F1 World Champion want Olympiacos to win the Europa Conference League?

The Formula 1 World Champion was clear when asked who he wants to win the Europa Conference League.

Two-time champion Fernando Alonso spoke to Ant1, and when asked who he would like to win the European trophy, his answer was clear.

"A victory for Olympiacos in the final against Fiorentina will be something good for Spanish football. Olympiacos has been very strong so far and there are a lot of Spanish footballers playing in their team," he said.

Olympiacos and Fiorentina meet in the UEFA Europa Conference League final in Athens on Wednesday, 29 May.

Last season's runners-up Fiorentina take on an Olympiacos side in their first final, and they are bidding to make history as Greece's first-ever senior European championship at the home of domestic rivals AEK Athens.

The Viola have been tipped from the start and go into their sixth UEFA final on a club-record 13-game unbeaten run in Europe. Vincenzo Italiano's charges, who have claimed late wins in each of their knockout ties, are determined to make up for last season's disappointment when they lost 2-1 to West Ham.

Olympiacos began the season in the UEFA Europa League, transferring across for the knockouts. Thrylos have had a difficult domestic campaign, but spearheaded by competition top scorer Ayoub El Kaabi and third permanent coach of the season José Luis Mendilibar, they are one game away from immortality.

José Luis Mendilibar, Olympiacos coach: "When I came to Olympiacos, I didn't expect we'd go so far in Europe. I was collecting info about the team. However, I slowly started believing that we could do well in the league and in Europe. It is a huge source of joy to come this far – for all of us who are trying every day on the pitch and, above all, for the fans of Olympiacos."

Vincenzo Italiano, Fiorentina coach: "Olympiacos are a strong, aggressive team; if they beat Villa home and away, that means they have real quality. Their centre-forward [El Kaabi] is scoring consistently, they can close up and counter very effectively. We are [basically] in their city, so you can imagine the atmosphere we will be stepping into.

"This is our second consecutive Conference League final, though. We want to make the most of the lessons we learned from last season's experience. This is a great opportunity to bring a trophy to Florence."

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