Renaissance at Fiorentina

Opinion

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This article was published 29/11/2024 (282 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Florence? Quick — this is rapid fire.

Okay. Now, football in Florence? Go!

There’s a very good chance — even a 100 per cent chance — you answered the first question with “Renaissance.” And if not that, then something Renaissance-themed: “Michelangelo,” “Medici,” “cathedral dome.” Fair enough.

The second question, for anyone who doesn’t follow Serie A, and hasn’t in quite a while, is probably a bit tougher. “Batistuta,” perhaps? Or “Luca Toni?” “Francesco Toldo?” “Dunga?”

It’s safe to say that while the city has enjoyed an outsized impact on art, architecture and banking, Italian calcio has largely been the dominion of Turin and Milan. Only rarely do clubs from Liguria, Campania and Emilia-Romagna break up the Piedmont-Lombardy duopoly, most recently Napoli the season before last.

Might it finally be Tuscany’s turn?

It seems almost silly to consider, and yet Fiorentina go into this weekend — the campaign’s 14th matchday — as the form team in the country, boasting a seven-game winning streak that has taken them to within a point of first place.

Quite impressively, they’ve also lost just twice at home this calendar year, and both times to a Milan team. They’ve turned Stadio Artemio Franchi, at the foot of a double hill that overlooks Florence, into a fortress. AC Milan have already lost there this term. And Inter Milan, level on points with Fiorentina, are next up (Sunday, 11 a.m., FuboTV).

Incidentally, the two clubs currently make up half of a four-way tie for second in Serie A, with Atalanta and Lazio also on 28 points, one back of resurgent Napoli. And not far behind, on 25 points, unbeaten Juventus await a stumble from any of them. It all makes for one of the tightest, most fascinating title races of recent times.

Ahead of his side’s Sunday trip to Torino, Napoli manager Antonio Conte mused that while the league remained “really balanced,” he expected the standings to “stretch out a bit” by Christmas. In other words, quality and depth should separate the contenders from the pretenders over the next few weeks.

It’s a scenario Fiorentina boss Raffaele Palladino is all too aware of, which is why he challenged his players even after they beat Pafos in the Conference League on Thursday.

“There was a great spirit, but the performance was inevitably marred by giving away two entirely avoidable goals,” he told SkyItalia. “I am fortunate to have lads who give their all in training, but we can improve in every area.”

Given that I Viola will face both Inter and Juventus in December, you can understand his sense of urgency. Yet, with the division’s fourth-best offensive and third-best defensive records, as well as a mostly healthy squad, his team could hardly be doing better.

Some metrics may give Palladino cause for concern. Fiorentina, for example, play the most long balls forward in Serie A. They also foul more than any team in the Italian top flight but one. Their squad isn’t especially deep. One or two injuries, and they could conceivably drop out of the European places.

Yet, they’re backstopped by a goalkeeper undergoing his own personal renaissance. David De Gea, formerly of Manchester United, has kept more clean sheets than anyone else since debuting in mid-September. Upon signing a one-year contract in August, he stated he hoped to “make history” in Florence.

The 34-year-old is one of a collection of players enjoying professional revitalization at Fiorentina.

In his second stint at the club, sporting director Daniele Prade has assembled a group of cast-offs, mostly through the loan market, who are together rediscovering their capabilities and enjoyment of the sport.

Left-back Robin Gosens, for example, is back in the Germany set-up after being overlooked for the 2022 World Cup and Euro 2024. Striker Moise Kean, purchased outright from Juventus, already has 12 goals on the season and will almost certainly surpass his career high of 17, set four years ago at PSG. Then there’s 30-year-old Danilo Cataldi, on loan from Lazio and passing at nearly 90 per cent alongside playmaker Yacine Adli, himself on loan from AC Milan.

Palladino has so far coaxed some outstanding performances from this unlikely crew, and he’s also shown the flexibility to adapt his formations according to data rather than remain stuck on a single system out of principle. Of course, he’ll also recognize that Fiorentina’s record against Inter is abysmal, with just a single victory in the last seven years.

The Nerazzurri are battling the injury bug and will be without defenders Francesco Acerbi and Benjamin Pavard on Sunday. If they were ever there to be beaten, it’s now.

What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think of this Serie A season? “Title race?” Maybe “unpredictability?”

How about “Fiorentina.”

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