Luigi Simoni has hailed the growth of Fiorentina, both on a individual level for the players, as well as the team as a whole.

Simoni, who is now the technical director of Gubbio, has been pleasantly surprised with La Viola in the current campaign, and was genuinely happy for the team in their 4-3 win over Debrecen in the Champions League.

"Fiorentina have a good chance of qualifying for the next round, not just because Liverpool is going through a bad phase, but because they have built a superior mentality and acquired security," Simoni told Fiorentinanews.

"The players have grown both individually and as a collective, rather than talking about a dream it is now a reality."

The former Inter Milan coach believes the Florence-based outfit now has a confident air about them, after a few good seasons recently.

"Fiorentina always start as a team that finish in the Europa League spots, then consistently reveals itself as an 'intruder' into the top four," Simoni said, claiming that Cesare Prandelli's men could even finish second in Serie A this season.

"The team before did not believe in their own ability, now they have a found a new dimension, even in Lyon they did not deserve to lose," he concluded.