A Fiorentina blog for Viola fans
One of the silliest parts about signing a new manager is trying to figure out which of their former players they’ll bring to the club. It’s important, the thinking goes, to have someone in the squad who knows the mister, how he’ll operate, and effectively serve as a liaison with the squad. Never mind that […]
It was a mixed bag for the guys plying their trade away from the friendly confines of the RBCVPetc this year. Some of them were fortunate to get away from Fiorentina, thus avoiding the sea of troubles that broke against the club all year; others were part of the problem and were shipped off to […]
For the first time since Rocco Commisso bought Fiorentina in 2019, we’re heading into a season without Daniele Pradè helming the recruitment as sporting director. This will be Fabio Paratici’s first* mercato with the Viola and whoo boy does he have some work to do. Despite Paolo Vanoli heroically hauling the team back from the […]
Time to wrap up this remarkably depressing season overview with the most depressing positional group. At the start of the season, one might have thought that having Italy’s best striker, a €25 million center forward, and a genuine legend of the game would be more than enough for a functional attack. Nothing could’ve been further […]
Remember when Stefano Pioli was fuming that Max Allegri excluded the Viola from his preseason list of Champions League hopefuls? Feels like it happened the season after Beppe Iachini left town for good. What I’m saying is that this year was hellishly long for Fiorentina fans. I can’t imagine why you’d want to relive any […]
Given the formational shift Paolo Vanoli deployed halfway through the season, there’s an argument to be made that including a position group called “wingers” in this series misses the point. That’s fair enough but I’m sticking with it anyways and even tossing poor old Christan Kouamé into the mix since he was used as a […]
It’s been a while since the news leaked but now it’s official (pending the unofficial 23-day waiting period customary for World Cup winners): Fiorentina has hired Fabio Grosso as its new head coach. He’s signed a 2-year contract that will pay him €1.2 million a year with a club option for a third Grosso’s name […]
Having hit the goalkeepers, centerbacks, and fullbacks, we progress to the midfielders (something Fiorentina rarely did this year). There was quite a bit of churn in the engine room so buckle in for a long and bumpy ride. To shorten it a touch, I’m skipping Amir Richardson (he’ll be on the loanee report) and Abdelhamid […]
To nobody’s surprise, Fiorentina announced a few hours ago that the club has parted ways with Paolo Vanoli and his coaching staff, declining to pick up its option to keep him around for another year. The mister doesn’t have another job lined up as far as I know so he’ll have to sit and wait […]
Hey, look at us. Who would’ve thought? Not me. We’ve hit the big 100! 100 episodes of laughter, sadness, and McMike’s esoteric 80’s references. There have been highs, there have been lows, but most of all there has been Fiorentina. In this special centennial episode we answer your questions and then we ask the questions […]
Dodô Developed a serious case of the yips early on and made a series of increasingly wacky mistakes but eventually steadied himself. Like everyone else on the team, he was worse this year than last year and, as one of the most important players, that’s partly on him. I’d still give more of the blame […]
After starting out with the goalkeepers, we’re moving forward to the centerbacks. Spoiler alert: it’s bad! Everything’s bad! Marin Pongračić The much-maligned defender started out this season much as he started out the last one. He switched off, made horrible passes, was curiously ineffective in the air, fouled needlessly, and was generally a mess. I […]
To my astonishment as much as anyone’s, Fiorentina avoided the drop and, as a reward, gets to pick over the carcasses of the relegated teams—Cremonese, Hellas Verona, and Pisa—like everyone else. There’s always some talent in these generally talent-poor teams and it’s often available at a bargain but let’s not kid ourselves: if these rosters […]
To start off our positional reviews for this accursed season, it makes sense to go first to the men between the sticks. No further introductions. Let’s dive in. David de Gea The reigning Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year came into the season with a ton of goodwill but, like literally everyone else, didn’t do […]
Fiorentina was ass this year. I know it. You know it. The world knows it. Things started going ass in preseason and didn’t really stop. Paolo Vanoli did the unglamorous work of wrenching the club back to safety but even that process was wrought with assness. Fabio Paratici is thus left with the unenviable task […]
Despite a couple improbably wins at the end of the year, we’ve always known that Paolo Vanoli’s time in Florence would expire this summer. According to just about everyone on the internet, Fiorentina’s working on the final details to bring current Sassuolo head coach Fabio Grosso on a 2-year deal with a club option for […]
With this excruciating season finally finished on an unexpectedly high note, Fiorentina can fully turn its attention to the transfer market. The first official move is about as minor as it could be: the club announced that it will trigger its option to extend Luca Lezzerini’s contract, keeping the goalkeeper in Florence until 2028. The […]
In the buildup to the least meaningful Juventus game in recent memory, I got a chance to catch up with old friend Danny Penza of Black & White & Read All Over, who is the only Bianconero this website actively likes. Here’s our conversation talking about how Notts County Junior’s been doing and what to […]
Fiorentina’s squad for next season continues to take shape. After sorting out the futures of loanees Marco Brescianini, Giovanni Fabbian, and Daniele Rugani, the Viola announced today that the club has agreed to dissolve Tariq Lamptey’s contract, making him a free agent heading into the summer and whittling down a bloated squad just a bit […]
Fiorentina’s roster next year is as much a work-in-progress as the Stadio Artemio Franchi but, unlike the venerable stadium, we’ve received a bit of certainty on a few components. Having secured salvation with the most classic of biscotti against Genoa on Sunday, the Viola triggered the conditions to make the loans of Marco Brescianini and […]
Pre-match With neither Moise Kean (who was in the stands following his child’s birth) nor Roberto Piccoli fit, Paolo Vanoli finally did what the fans wanted and handed Priamvera star Riccardo Braschi his first start, leaving Albert Guðmundsson on the bench. Fabiano Parisi also returned to the XI for a game Fiorentina really needed a […]
Three things to watch for 1. Urgency, please Fiorentina is all but safe for next year. There’s just one scenario in which it gets relegated: lose every remaining game while Cremonese wins every remaining game, and then lose the subsequent 2-legged relegation playoff final. Given that the Grigiorossi have won just 6 games this season […]
The sun has risen across a smoky orange sky. Flocks of enormous, mutated day-bats skitter across it, waiting to plummet on anything foolish enough to cross their field of echolocation. Deep within an underground bunker draped with wires, three men wearing headsets huddle around electrical equipment, mumbling into microphones. Is this some sort of resistance […]
Pre-match Paolo Vanoli picked Marco Brescianini over Rolando Mandragora in the middle and stuck with Albert Guðmundsson up front in the absence of Moise Kean and Roberto Piccoli. Gian Piero Gasperini trotted out his expected XI, with Paulo Dybala only fit enough for the bench and Nicolò Pisilli filling in for him. The real news […]
Late news Gian Piero Gasperini hasn’t thrown any curveballs here. Paulo Dybala’s healthy but sprobably doesn’t have the fitness to start so he’s on the bench. Everything else is as expected. Paolo Vanoli, on the other hand, has dropped Roland Mandragora in favor of Marco Brescianini. I also regret to inform you that Albert Guðmundsson […]