Fiorentina coach Vincenzo Montella was handed a reunion with former club Roma in an all-Italian clash that was among the highlights of the Europa League last-16 draw made yesterday.
Montella, who spent 10 years at Roma as a player and had a spell as caretaker coach, will get the opportunity to inflict a damaging blow on Roma when the teams meet in the two-legged tie.
Holders Sevilla, bidding for a fourth victory in the competition, will face fellow Spaniards Villarreal in another stand-out tie, while Inter take on Germany’s VfL Wolfsburg.
Everton have been drawn against Dynamo Kiev.
The Toffees will play their first leg at Goodison Park on March 12 but will not relish the return trip to conflict-torn Ukraine seven days later.
Country protection does not apply at this stage of the competition but Russian and Ukrainian teams were kept apart due to the ongoing instability in the region.
That saw the two Ukrainian sides separated from the main pots and Europa League ambassador Jerzy Dudek drew Everton against Dynamo, who had been placed in the first tie.
Dnipro were then paired with 1992 champions Ajax in the second tie.
Proceedings then continued as an open, unseeded draw, with Russian side Zenit St Petersburg next out and drawn against Torino. Dinamo Moscow, the fourth side affected by UEFA’s stipulation, will face 1989 UEFA Cup champions Napoli.
Infantino’s views
Before the draw, UEFA general secretary Gianni Infantino took the opportunity to condemn the crowd trouble and apparent racism which caused a significant delay in the second leg between Feyenoord and Roma on Thursday.
Roma eventually won through after a decisive goal from Ivory Coast winger Gervinho, who earlier appeared to have an inflatable banana thrown at him by home supporters at De Kuip.
Infantino said: “Unfortunately we have to acknowledge, around the previous rounds of matches, scenes of violence and racism in and out of the stadiums that neither UEFA nor any true football fan can tolerate.
“That’s why we call once again upon all stakeholders to unite and do their utmost to put a full stop to these despicable scenes that we don’t want to see any more.”
An all-Serie A clash may not be the most obvious way of calming the waters for Roma but it is Fiorentina coach Montella who was left to rue the luck of the balls, having stated beforehand that he hoped to avoid domestic opposition after being knocked out by Juventus last season.
Montella said: “Certainly the further you go, the more exciting the games get.
“Last season we were eliminated after an Italian ‘derby’ so let’s hope we can avoid another Italian team this time around.”
The games will be played on March 12 and March 19 and the final is scheduled for Warsaw on May 27.
The Last 16 pairings...
Everton (England) vs Dynamo Kiev (Ukraine)
Dnipro (Ukraine) vs Ajax (Netherlands)
Zenit St Petersburg (Russia) vs Torino (Italy)
Wolfsburg (Germany) vs Inter (Italy)
Villarreal (Spain) vs Sevilla (Spain)
Napoli (Italy) vs Dinamo Moscow (Russia)
Club Bruges (Belgium) vs Besiktas (Turkey)
Fiorentina (Italy) vs Roma (Italy)
Note: The two-legged ties will be played on March 12 and March 19.