GOAL

Mario Gomez feels that while Serie A is not as strong as it used to be, the Italian game is on the rise again.

The German striker has been buoyed by the fact that Fiorentina are one of five Italian teams through to the last 16 of the Europa League

The former Bayern Munich striker has struggled with injury during his time at Fiorentina, but finally looks to be finding his feet with important goals in February's Coppa Italia quarter-final win over Roma and Thursday's 2-0 Europa League triumph over Tottenham.

The latter victory saw the Viola progress to the last 16, where they will be joined by four other domestic rivals: Roma - whom they will face next - Napoli, Inter and Torino.

However, Gomez says that the target must be for Italian sides to start reasserting themselves in the Champions League, with only Juventus having reached the last 16 of this year's tournament.

"Something is starting to change; the teams still in the Europa League certifies that," Gomez told theGazzetta dello Sport. "But Italian football must have many teams in the Champions League, not in the Europa League. That's the Italy I knew as a child."