The striker was over the moon with his equaliser and says the Viola are desperate to reach the quarter-finals

By Stefan Coerts

Mario Gomez has promised Fiorentina fans that he will score plenty more goals this season after netting a late equaliser in the 1-1 Europa League draw against Juventus.

Arturo Vidal put the Bianconeri in front in the first-leg of the last-16 tie, but Gomez scored his first goal since returning from a lengthy injury lay-off to set up an exciting second leg.

"Today's goal was an emotional one. I am very happy with it," the former Bayern Munich man told Mediaset Premium.

"I know how important my goals are for this club and for this city. It is not easy to get back after five to six months out of action.

"I feel that my fitness and my power are improving and I will score just like before once I'm in peak condition again."

Gomez then went on to voice his delight with his side's draw and stressed that they never gave up, not even after Vidal's early opener.

"I am pleased for the team, because it was not an easy game in Turin. Juventus are strong opponents. We want to reach the next round. We never gave up and will continue to do our utmost in the return."

The second leg takes place in Florence next Thursday.

West Ham v Cardiff England Premier League live Stream Preview 17 August,2013

 

Match Preview: Saturday 17 August,2013, One of the important match West Ham v Cardiff  of England Premier League HD Quality Live West Ham v Cardiff streaming is available here.West Ham v Cardiff Live Stream online video England Premier League Video Free The match will take plcae at Upton Park on 8/17/13 Preview Pictures and Wallpapers its mean all things are available in my blog please see and check here for latest things.West Ham v Cardiff Live Stream West Ham v Cardiff,West Ham v Cardiff online free, West Ham v Cardiff live stream video. New West Ham winger Stewart Downing is likely to feature, having signed from Liverpool this week.George McCartney (knee) misses out and fellow defender James Collins (knee) faces a race against time to be fit.Cardiff are set to hand 18-year-old left-back Declan John just his second first-team appearance as they make their Premier League bow.Striker Andreas Cornelius is a doubt, but record signing Gary Medel will go straight into the starting line-up.

Team News:
The world was a very different place when Cardiff City last dined at the top table. In the USA the charismatic JFK was President, while here at home Harold McMillan was Prime Minister. The average yearly wage was £799 and beer cost about 12p a pint. Acker Bilk had the best-selling single of the year while a little-known Liverpool band called The Beatles recruited Ringo Starr as their new drummer. It was 1962.
Many Cardiff supporters must have feared this day would never come but last season's Championship title finally turned the dream into reality after three consecutive play-off failures.
 Backed by the club's ambitious Malaysian owners and their new Premier League funds, manager Malky Mackay seems to have spent much of the summer setting and then smashing Cardiff's record transfer fee. First he spent £7.5m on young Denmark international Andreas Cornelius, then around £8m went to Tottenham for defender Steven Caulker before another £9.5m or so was splashed out on Chile midfielder Gary Medel from Sevilla.
Of the squad that achieved promotion, Peter Whittingham shone like a beacon in the Championship until the second half of last season, Frazier Campbell deserves another crack at this level, and then there's Craig Bellamy - so influential in that title success, so integral in their survival prospects.
Of course, West Ham are among Bellamy's many former clubs. These days Andy Carroll is the focal point of their attack so there couldn't be a much greater contrast in style of play. Having struck lucky with one Anfield reject, Sam Allardyce hopes to repeat the trick with the addition of Stewart Downing at a similarly huge discount.
If he and Matt Jarvis can provide the service, Carroll's towering aerial ability should do the rest. You can see the logic. Big Sam could be on to something, especially if Kevin Nolan weighs in with his normal quota from midfield.
The West Ham boss wants another top-10 finish and is targeting a 50-point haul. For Cardiff, the aim is obvious. It's all about survival in their first-ever Premier League campaign and if they can take a few points off Swansea City along the way so much the better.

Head-to-head
West Ham lost 1-0 at home to Cardiff on the opening day of the Championship season two years ago.
Otherwise, the Hammers have won four of their last five games against Cardiff without conceding a goal.
The last time Cardiff scored more than one goal at Upton Park was a 4-2 Division Two defeat in March 1948.

West Ham
The Hammers have only drawn one of their last 18 opening games (W9, D1, L8).
West Ham were the only team not to win consecutive Premier League games last season.
Goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen made a league-high 166 saves last term.

Cardiff
Cardiff have won four and drawn one of their last five opening fixtures.
Only Watford (39) claimed more Championship away points than Cardiff (36) in 2012-13.
No player picked up more red cards in Spain's La Liga (five) than Cardiff's new signing Gary Medel in the period he was at Sevilla (January 2011 - June 2013).

Competition:  England Premier League
Match:  West Ham v Cardiff   
Date: Saturday,17 August
Kickoff: 15:00  GMT
Venue: Upton Park
Live/Repeat: Live