Logistical difficulties and war around the corner. Hunting and tights. A chilling atmosphere. And tonight it will be -9°C. & more related news here

The cold stings your face and leaves you breathless. Fiorentina landed yesterday early afternoon in Poland and they found an ice trap waiting for them: -9°C marked the thermometer upon their arrival in Bialystok, after almost three hours by bus from Warsaw airport. The same temperature that will accompany the Viola this afternoon, when at 9 p.m. it will face the jaguellonia in a match that promises to be delicate and extreme from a climate point of view.

In recent months, both clubs had asked UEFA to move the kick-off to 18:45 pm for weather and logistical reasons (Fiorentina will be forced to resume play until tomorrow morning), but scheduling constraints prevented this. At the same time, Lech Poznan will play in Finland in the Conference League playoffs against KuPS, where the game will be played at -15 degrees in the late afternoon. However, to avoid being blindsided, Fiorentina came fully equipped: each player was provided with tights, thermal underwear, gloves and neck warmers, as well as a diet designed to counteract energy loss.

But Bialystok’s harsh climate is not just about the weather. The city, one of the largest in eastern Poland, is located in a sensitive area, near the borders with Belarus and Ukraine. Between 2025 and early 2026 it recorded several incursions by Russian drones into its airspace, especially in the east.

Warsaw responded by activating its own fighters and allies. NATOin a context inevitably affected by the conflict between Moscow and kyiv. A truly tense atmosphere, far from the carefree atmosphere of other European away games. However, at least tonight, for 90 minutes, football will take center stage. The Miejski Stadium is expected to sell out, as only a few thousand tickets were on sale yesterday.

The Giallorossi cauldron promises to heat things up more than any stove, turning the bitter cold into a… sporting hell. Fiorentina knows it well: to emerge unscathed from the Polish night, especially with so many secondary players expected on the field, they will need to stay calm (literally) and keep their nerves “hot”.

Andrea Giannattasio