Pre-match We all hopped in a time machine back to a happier moment when Raffaele Palladino reappeared on the touchline of the Stadio Artemio Franchi, but the scenery fell away to reveal that we remain in hell as he walked over to the Atalanta dugout. Neither he nor Paolo Vanoli did any weird stuff with […]
2 months ago | 3 reads
Late news Old friend Raffaele Palladino doesn’t change up much from his predecessor. Paolo Vanoli follows suit. Lineups Atalanta (3-4-1-2): Carnesecchi; Djimsiti, Hien, Kossounou; Zappacosta, Éderson, de Roon, Bellanova; de Ketelaere; Lookman, Scamacca Fiorentina (3-5-2): de Gea; Ranieri, Marí, Pongračić; Parisi, Sohm, Fagioli, Mandragora, Dodô; Kean, Piccoli How to watch Check the safe, reliable, and […]
2 months ago | 4 reads
When you post on SB Nation, we don’t want you to miss all the conversations and responses that follow. So starting today, whenever a user replies to your comment or to your post on the Feed, you’ll see a notification at the top right corner of the page. And of course, this means that when […]
3 months ago | 3 reads
Player grades David de Gea—7.5: Saved Lorenzo Colombo’s penalty and made a couple good saves in the second half. His inexplicable ramble around the penalty box during the second goal wasn’t great but Fiorentina doesn’t get a point from this game without him. Luca Ranieri—3: Yikes, man. Giving up a penalty like that, just purely […]
3 months ago | 2 reads
Pre-match In a battle of debuting managers, both had some key absences. Genoa’s Daniele de Rossi watched from the press box due to a suspension, leaving Guillermo Giacomuzzi to lead the team. He had to make do without Ruslan Malinovskyi, while Fiorentina’s Paolo Vanoli was missing Robin Gosens and Moise Kean. First half The game […]
3 months ago | 7 reads
Late news Daniele de Rossi opts for Alessandro Marcandelli in defense and Morten Thørsby in midfield; Ruslan Malinovskyi is suspended. Paolo Vanoli has a more complex task because Moise Kean and Robin Gosens are both injured. He leaves the defense and midfield intact from the Daniele Galloppa era that began and ended in midweek but […]
3 months ago | 2 reads
After a chaotic several days with neither coach nor sporting director, Fiorentina’s now plugged those holes. Technical director Roberto Goretti has been promoted to fill the former position until the end of the season (and likely has the inside track if he performs well, although it’s anyone’s guess how ownership will judge “well”), and now […]
3 months ago | 1 read
It happened. It finally happened. A historically slumping Fiorentina finally took some accountability and started firing those responsible. Your favorite Fiorentina podcast idiots recorded this in the smoldering rubble of the Lecce game, before Stefano Pioli had been officially relieved of duty, but the writing was already on the wall, so we discussed his and […]
3 months ago | 1 read
Pre-match Spare a thought for Mainz, which is 2nd-last in the Bundesliga and missing so many defenders that manager Bo Henriksen had to pick Kacper Potulski in his first senior team action to start. The home fans, despite their team’s dire form, were very impressive: loud, coordinated, and producing a brilliant tifo ahead of kickoff. […]
3 months ago | 1 read
Late news Mainz (2nd-last in the Bundesliga but 2/2 in the Conference League) has a spectacular injury crisis at the back (4 senior players unavailable), leading manager Bo Henriksen to call 18-year-old youth player Kacper Potulski up from the youth side for his first-ever start. Fiorentina is somehow even more chaotic, sitting at the bottom […]
3 months ago | 1 read
Fiorentina announced this morning that the club has relieved head coach Stefano Pioli of his duties and thanking him for his 115 days in charge of the team. The mister’s fate was sealed following his display at the end of Sunday’s loss to Lecce: while his players faced the fans’ displeasure, Pioli hustled off the […]
3 months ago | 1 read
Pre-match In his first match without Daniele Pradè as his supervisor, Pioli leaned into a young team: Pietro Comuzzo, Niccolò Fortini, and Simon Sohm all came into the side, as did Old Man Edin Džeko. Eusebio di Francesco left Riccardo Sottil and Youssef Maleh on the bench. First half Fiorentina started brightly, pinning Lecce back […]
3 months ago | 1 read
Late news Stefano Pioli leans young, picking Pietro Comuzzo, Jacopo Fortini, and Cher Ndour in the XI. Edin Džeko partners Moise Kean up front. Lecce boss Eusebio di Francesco has Viola loanee Riccardo Sottil on the bench; Ricky’s just recovering from injury but would love nothing more than to add to the ongoing crisis at […]
3 months ago | 1 read
Fiorentina fans haven’t had much to cheer for this year but, 2 days after a defeat to Inter Milan that confirmed the worst start in team history—winless through 9 Serie A games—the club announced that it’s “mutually parted ways” with sporting director Daniele Pradè, much to the delight of some supporters. Pradè, 58, served his […]
3 months ago | 2 reads
Player grades David de Gea—9: None of the goals were his fault and he made 5 saves ranging from very good to utterly incredible. What a waste of a vintage, spectacular performance. Mattia Viti—3: Got put in a bad situation on his red card by Fazzini’s failure to deal with a bouncing ball but he […]
3 months ago | 1 read
Pre-match Stefano Pioli set out a very odd XI with Pietro Comuzzo and Mattia Viti as the outside centerbacks (maybe he read my hit piece on Marin Pongračić) and Rolando “Please don’t use me in a deep midfield role” Mandragora as the regista behind Simon Sohm and Cher Ndour. On the plus side, at least […]
4 months ago | 1 read
Late news Both managers rotate their sides after midweek matchups. Christian Chivu’s moves—Yann Bisseck, Petar Sučić, Francesco Pio Esposito—all make perfect sense. Stefano Pioli’s however, do not. Critical fans will highlight Rolando Mandragora at regista as a mistake if it doesn’t work. At least Pietro Comuzzo and Mattia Viti get rare opportunities in defense, albeit […]
4 months ago | 1 read
Now that we’re 2 months into the season and Fiorentina has yet to win a Serie A game, it’s probably time to figure out what’s going wrong. While there’s no single reason for the team to be quite so ass, my diagnosis is that a lot of the ass starts at the back. I’m specifically […]
4 months ago | 5 reads
After a chaotic and unimaginably lucky draw against Bologna in the Derby dell’Appennino on Sunday, Fiorentina hits the road again, hoping to earn its first win in Serie A this season. Given that Inter Milan is the opponent, that’s the least likely outcome, but we’re all idiots and can’t help ourselves hoping for better. The […]
4 months ago | 1 read
Player grades David de Gea—5.5: His early tip on Juan Miranda’s belter was really good but that was his only save on the day, although you can’t fault him on either goal. His distribution, however, was a problem, allowing Bologna to win the ball and keep Fiorentina pinned deep for long stretches. Marin Pongračić—3.5: Participated […]
4 months ago | 1 read
Fiorentina’s wacky (read: tragic) start to the season continues, with the added wrinkle of apparent competence in the Conference League. Here to talk about it are two-thirds of your favorite Fiorentina podcast idiots. We dive deep into a maddening performance against AC Milan and honestly bum ourselves out a little bit before turning to happier […]
4 months ago | 2 reads
Pre-match There weren’t any surprises in either lineup, although it’s worth noting that Vincenzo Italiano was absent, hospitalized for pneumonia (get well soon, big guy) and sent his assistant Daniel Niccolini to run the show, just as he used to in Florence. Speaking of Florence, the fans provided an atmosphere worth of the Derby dell’Appennino, […]
4 months ago | 1 read
Late news Neither manager has sprung any surprises—the XIs are both exactly as predicted—so we don’t have to waste any time analyzing how some clever wrinkle could impact the game. We can just jump straight into the Derby dell’Appennino and let the animus between these two clubs surround us like a nice, warm soup. Lineups […]
4 months ago | 0 reads
Fiorentina showed a pulse for the first time this year in the win at Rapid Wien on Thursday, but the Derby dell’Appennino is always a different beast entirely. Adding to the drama is the fact that Bologna manager Vincenzo Italiano has been hospitalized for pneumonia and will miss this one; whether that leads to a […]
4 months ago | 0 reads
Player grades David de Gea—6.5: Made one superb save on Matthias Seidl’s howitzer and a couple other rather more routine stops. His issues with kicking out from the back are real, though, and are part of what’s troubled Fiorentina this year. But he still saves goals that maybe 5 other goalkeepers on earth can make. […]
4 months ago | 0 reads