My first Serie A season as Fiorentina boss is done and dusted. Having shown so much promise at the start of the season, it was rather disappointing to see us fall away a bit after the mid-term interval. Nevertheless, I’m pleased with how things have gone, and I am already looking forward to better things in 2019/2020.
In this post, I will give you a quick recap of how the 2018/2019 season went, along with some statistics and my plans for the next campaign. This is obviously spoiler-heavy, so if you’ve not caught up yet, I’d suggest you do so before continuing. Click here to read Part 11 and see how we finished the season.
SERIE A
The fixture list had given me a tough Serie A opener, but my competitive debut as Fiorentina boss ended with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Milan. That was the first of four successive wins, with the Viola kicking off the campaign solidly, if not spectacularly. Only a similarly quick start from Roma kept us off top spot.
The first blip was a 1-1 draw with Frosinone, for whom Andrea Pinamonti equalised late on. Though a couple of 2-2 home draws against Napoli and Juventus were creditable, they highlighted our defensive frailties. Inter exploited them to great effect at the San Siro, with a second-half goal blitz condemning us to our first defeat at the 10th attempt.
We played with a little more caution in November, grinding out a couple of wins over Bologna at home and – more impressively – Roma away. Then came arguably our most embarrassing result of the season. Newly-promoted Parma completely outplayed us at the Ennio Tardini, leaving me asking serious questions of some players, such as the talented if inconsistent defender Nikola Milenkovic.
Aside from a narrow defeat to Lazio and a late collapse against Cagliari, December was an excellent month for us. Jordan Veretout obliterated Atalanta in a scintillating display before we ended the year with three straight wins. At the halfway point, we were 3rd in Serie A, trailing leaders Lazio by only a couple of points. Champions League qualification looked like a real possibility.
Before resuming the campaign, we sold right-back Vincent Laurini to Southampton, with returning loanee Gilberto challenging Kevin Diks to replace him in the interim. That somewhat contributed to some inconsistent defensive displays in the second half of the season.
After a goalless draw at Milan, we went on a perplexing run of winning every home game and losing every away fixture. While our vertical tiki-taka made light work of Sassuolo and SPAL, we failed to break down Frosinone – the other team that would ultimately be relegated. And the less said about our visits to Napoli and Juventus, the better.
Our worst spell of the season was between mid-March and early April, when we claimed four points from just two games, effectively derailing our Champions League charge. Conceding an injury-time equaliser to Inter was galling, while we were lucky to save a point against Roma, having played hopelessly in the first half. Surprisingly, that latter result proved to be a turning point.
A penalty from leading scorer Giovanni Simeone halted our win drought against Parma, and we went unbeaten through the final eight games of the season. Highlights included Cyril Théréau‘s dramatic winner against Lazio and a scintillating first-half display at Cagliari.
Victory over Torino on the final day confirmed that we finished the season without a single home defeat. Our bewildering away form meant we ‘only’ finished 6th, but that was enough to get us into the Europa League group phase for next season. As I saw it, this first season had been a qualified success.
COPPA ITALIA
The Coppa Italia offered us a great chance of silverware, but we failed to take it. Serie B side Ascoli kept us goalless throughout the first half of our first-round match before we battled to victory. That set up a seemingly winnable Quarter Final at Atalanta.
Our visit to Bergamo proved to be a real struggle. Trailing 1-0 with not long to go, it took a late equaliser from Marco Benassi to force extra-time. However, we would have to go into those additional 30 minutes with just 10 men, following a red card for left-back Maximiliano Olivera. Atalanta made the most of their advantage, breaking our extra-time resistance to take a place in the Semi Finals.
AWARDS & STATISTICS
It was a little surprising to see Cristiano Biraghi named as our Fans’ Player of the Season… at least at first glance. In truth, the left-back had been one of our most consistent performers throughout the season, making a positive impact at both ends of the pitch.
Biraghi has outstanding crossing ability and bags of stamina, while his tackling isn’t too bad, even if he did accrue nine bookings and one sending-off. At 26 years old, he’s steadily approaching his peak, so here’s hoping for even better over the coming seasons.
Veretout is also 26, and the midfield runner ran Biraghi quite close for Player of the Season. The spirited Frenchman was especially impressive during the first half of the campaign, during which he developed a knack for scoring stunning long-rangers. His second such strike at home to Atalanta in December was voted ‘Goal of the Season’.
That goal was set up by Christian Nørgaard, who rounded off his first season at the Franchi by placing 3rd in our fans’ vote. The 25-year-old Dane had served us well as a regista, getting four assists from the defensive tip of our midfield triangle. He is one of several players who have been offered new and improved contracts.
A new deal isn’t yet in the offing for Federico Chiesa, despite our Young Player of the Season getting an impressive haul of six goals and ten assists. With Bayern München and Arsenal said to be interested in Chiesa, his agent is reluctant to discuss terms with us, though we’ll fight tooth and nail to hang on to him.
As you can see, Simeone was way out in front when it came to goals. The Argentine’s haul of 18 goals was at least thrice as many as anyone else managed, and the 17 he netted in Serie A placed him joint-6th in the league standings.
Simeone’s somewhat lowly match rating is perhaps explained by the fact he had almost as many bad days at the office as he had good ones. Indeed, our attackers did leave quite a bit to be desired overall. Our 56 goals was the lowest tally amongst Serie A’s top six, whilst only Sampdoria across the whole division had a lower percentage of shots on target (41%). That will need to be addressed.
Chiesa was ranked joint-6th in Serie A in terms of assists, based on the nine goals he set up. You can also see he created good scoring chances at a rate of close to one every game. A forward with his creative and technical abilities would be very hard to replace if he ever did leave.
Joining Chiesa in scoring six goals apiece were Veretout, whose form dropped off a little after he signed his new contract, and Marko Pjaca. The latter clearly had bags of talent, but he was ravaged by inconsistency and injuries. Fellow loanee Gérson promised so much in pre-season but delivered little when things got serious.
On a brighter note, ‘Fullerball’ was the envy of many teams in Serie A. We completed 20,508 passes for a pass completion rate of 84% (both league highs), and our 56% share of possession was bettered only by Napoli. Benassi was our pass matter, completing 90% of his in 38 matches, though Bryan Dabo achieved the same percentage in ten fewer outings.
While Milenkovic gave us some hairy moments at centre-half, I was content with our defensive performances. Germán Pezzella showed the kind of consistency I would expect from my captain, and only Lazio’s Thomas Strakosha and Inter’s Samir Handanovic kept more league clean sheets than Alban Lafont‘s 15. The young Frenchman contributed to us having the fourth-best defence in Italy’s top flight.
When it came to average ratings, Biraghi had the highest of our regular starters, thanks to his strong tackling, solid passing and excellent crossing. Gilberto averaged 7.26 over eight matches, though I’m still planning to sell the Brazilian in order to make room for a new signing. Come to think of that, it’s time I talked you through my transfer plans, isn’t it?
TRANSFER PLANS
Bearing in mind that we’re not awash with cash, I’m content with the transfer budget I’ve been given. If we can sell Simeone for as much as I’m expecting, the coffers will swell even further and give me even more room to manoeuvre.
As previously mentioned, I’ve already secured the services of Monaco right-back Almamy Touré and Colombian attacking midfielder Nicolás Benedetti. Those positions appear to be sorted, but there are other areas that I will look to strengthen over the summer.
We could do with another left-back of a similar level to Biraghi. Olivera is apparently Serie B quality at best, and at 27, he needs to be playing first-team football. It might be time to move the Uruguayan on and get someone else in – probably a younger player who could learn from Biraghi and ultimately replace him.
We’re fine for centre-backs at the moment, though that could change if Federico Ceccherini gets itchy feet once again. As with the Olivera situation, I wouldn’t be averse to selling Ceccherini and recruiting a pair of fresher legs.
Midfield-wise, we look well-equipped, though I’ve got my eye on a certain teenage wonderkid who’s currently playing for Brescia in Serie B. There’s also a good chance you might see another popular FM buy shacking up at the Artemio Franchi – an inside-forward from relegated Sassuolo, to be more specific. That’s all I’ll say for now.
Those wide attacking areas badly need strengthening, now that our other loan rangers are heading back to whence they came. Preferably, I’d like a couple of players who aren’t worryingly injury-prone (Pjaca), wildly erratic (Gérson), or Kevin Mirallas.
We will obviously need new centre-forwards as well, with both Simeone and Théréau set to depart. I’ve got a couple of potential young Italian loanees on my radar, and I’ll also look to acquire a more experienced option. As I mainly use pressing forwards, I will look mainly for attackers who have strong physical attributes and good composure on and off the ball.
I had considered swooping for Alaves’ Jonathan Calleri – a 25-year-old Argentine who was La Liga’s top scorer this season and available on a Bosman free transfer. However, he had the trait ‘Plays With Back To Goal’, which is fine for a target man… but not so much for a lone striker on an Attack duty. Discovering that trait shows just how important it is to scout any transfer targets to 100% knowledge before making a move.
NEXT SEASON’S TARGETS
When I wrote the preview for this story a few weeks ago, I stated that we should aim to qualify for the Champions League in the second season at the latest. Having come relatively close to achieving that at the first attempt, there’s no real reason for me to revise my goals. There is one small thing, though.
During the end-of-season team meeting, I told the players that our aim for the new season was to finish in the top four and break into the Champions League. Unfortunately, only Chiesa responded positively to that. Everyone else looked at me as if I’d said I was planning to be a catwalk model at Milan Fashion Week.
Though disappointed by my players’ lack of ambition, I reined in my expectations and told them that Europa League qualification would be enough. That at least sent them off on their holidays in high spirits.
Believe me, though; I will not accept 6th position again. Having taken points off all the top four teams (even beating runners-up Lazio), there’s no reason why we can’t be up there next term. With significant reinforcements, this squad can be strong enough to merit a place at Europe’s top table.
My target for our Europa League return is to – at the very least – make the latter stages. Going all the way and winning it might be a big ask, but if we’re out before the Quarter Finals, I’d be very disappointed.
Having fallen at the last-eight stage of the Coppa Italia last time out, I’m eager to make amends this time around. While the domestic cup doesn’t carry that much importance now, I will not pass up any opportunity to end an almost 20-year trophy drought at Fiorentina.
ELSEWHERE…
Before I go, there’s just enough time to look through what’s been happening in the other four major European leagues.
It’s official: Pep Guardiola is not a fraud. The tiki-taka specialist led Manchester City to their first Champions League victory in Madrid, recording a 2-0 victory over Monaco in the Final. David Silva got the opening goal late in the first half, before Bernardo Silva got in on the act early in the second, just to confuse everybody.
That formed the second part of a memorable ‘Double’ for City, who also retained the Premier League, albeit in the flukiest manner possible. Sitting two points clear going into the final day, the Citizens inexplicably lost 2-1 at Huddersfield, only for Chelsea to blow a 2-0 lead at Tottenham which would’ve given them the title. Fellow contenders Manchester United also choked 1-0 at Newcastle, prompting José Mourinho to go on a 20-minute rant about traffic jams.
Liverpool were out of the title running, but the gegenpress specialists took up the fourth Champions League spot, trailing Chelsea and the Red Devils only on goal difference. Tottenham, Arsenal and Everton completed the top seven and qualified for the Europa League.
Suffering relegation were Fulham, Cardiff and Huddersfield, the latter of whom had lost 3-0 in the FA Cup Final to Chelsea. In fact, Chelsea also won the Europa League, defeating Atlético Madrid. Maurizio Sarri’s team couldn’t quite make it a cup clean sweep, as Tottenham nabbed the EFL Cup. Well… Spurs needed to win something in their first year at their new ground, didn’t they?
With Real Madrid rebuilding and Barcelona still wondering how they hadn’t gone unbeaten last season, Atlético took on the mantle of being Spain’s new top dogs. Built on a typically solid defence, Diego Simeone’s men lost just four matches in La Liga as they finished seven points clear of Barça. New Ballon d’Or winner Antoine Griezmann scored 21 league goals, all of which he celebrated by mimicking a Fortnite character.
There were no real surprises in the Bundesliga, except that Bayern München only won the title by seven points from Schalke. Hipsters’ darlings Borussia Dortmund and energy drink guzzlers RB Leipzig completed the top four.
Paris Saint-Germain continued their dominance of Ligue 1, withstanding a strong challenge from Monaco to claim a sixth championship in seven attempts. There was a big shock at the other end, as Nice – who briefly challenged those two for honours just a couple of years ago – were relegated! Even by Mario Balotelli’s standards, that is absolutely bonkers!
I was particularly intrigued by Nice’s demise, as I had serious interest in signing some of their players, including centre-half Malang Sarr, midfield mezzala Wylan Cyprien and forward Allan Saint-Maximin. Maybe I’ll be able to get one or two on the cheap over the summer… (Perhaps wisely, I’m staying well clear of Balotelli.)
And that’s it for my first season, which I started – and finished – during the beta phase of FM19. Now that the full game is out, I will slow down my gameplay and aim to complete the next season within three to four weeks, rather than two.
As such, future story updates will be less frequent, but hopefully of higher quality. Thank you for your understanding, and I hope you’ll stick around for the next phase of this Italian adventure.
“Forza viola!”
Fuller FM 
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