The 2020/2021 season – my third at Fiorentina – was ‘make or break’. After finishing 6th in successive seasons, we had to qualify for the Champions League this time around, otherwise I would be calling a premature halt to my project with the club.
This post will summarise how we performed on domestic and European fronts, and there’ll also be the usual awards and stats round-up, along with my future plans. If you’ve not yet read Part 32, please go back there before continuing here, because there are obvious spoilers.
SERIE A
The 2020/2021 season began just like the last one, with us beating Lazio 2-1. The next game saw us on the wrong end of that scoreline at Torino, for whom Iago Falqué was in stunning form. In fact, Il Toro would be the only team to beat Fiorentina goalkeeper Alban Lafont twice during the first half of this Serie A campaign.
We then went on an excellent ten-game run in which we recorded six wins and two draws, and conceded just twice. Returning loanee Pietro Pellegri couldn’t really stop scoring, and by the time he netted a brace at Roma, he was on eight goals for the season. Unfortunately, fatigue soon took a toll on the teenager, who struggled to regain his killer touch thereafter.
Our form in November and December was rather patchy. A shock home defeat against SPAL knocked us out of the Champions League places, and though we regained our top-four spot, victories were now proving harder to come by. That was no truer than when we faced an out-of-sort Palermo side, who survived about 100 shots on goal before Cristiano Biraghi finally broke through in stoppage time.
While we showed tremendous spirit to only lose 1-0 against a rampant Inter, we were far less impressive against Pescara, who won despite playing most of the second half with 10 men. Our next match was better, as we completed the double over Lazio to go into the mid-season break sitting in 4th.
Torino put another two goals past us at the Artemio Franchi after the break, though we did score a couple of our own to claim a point. That was one more than we mustered at Bologna, whose free-kick knocked the Viola down to 5th. Once we got up from the canvas, though, we were determined not to let anyone floor us again.
Summer signing Patrick Roberts was in fantastic form at the start of another remarkable unbeaten run, which lasted 12 matches this time around. We were now scoring with rather more regularity this time around, and our defence would soon return to form as well.
One of the highlights from that run was in mid-March, when Willem Geubbels took advantage of a mistake from Wojciech Szczesny to earn us a narrow victory at Juventus. Though we wouldn’t play again for the best part of three weeks, we took our new-found confidence into the spring and won five matches on the trot. That streak put us as high as 2nd place and effectively secured Champions League qualification.
The most optimistic Fiorentina fans even had reason to dream of a late title challenge. Sadly, that didn’t quite materialise, as a late defeat at Atalanta and then another 2-1 loss in what proved to be the title decider with Inter dashed our dreams. We then squandered two points at Genoa, which effectively cost us a top-three finish, though victory against Pescara meant we at least finished on a high.
EUROPA LEAGUE
At the halfway point of the Group Stage, we were well on course to qualify for the knockout rounds. Having almost won at Dynamo Kiev, we beat Malmö 5-0 and Slavia Prague 1-0 at home to move into a strong position. Then came a couple of infuriating high-scoring draws against Slavia (from 2-0 down) and Dynamo (from 3-1 up), which cost us chances to secure qualification before the final match.
Needing just a point in Sweden to go through, we fell apart spectacularly. Centre-back Kurt Zouma was sent off after just six minutes against Malmö, who ran rampant and recorded a 5-0 win of their own. Guillermo Molins helped himself to three goals – two of which came from the penalty spot. Thanks to THE worst performance of my Fiorentina reign, we finished 3rd and were knocked out of Europe before Christmas.
COPPA ITALIA
The less said about this competition, the better. We were odds-on to beat Serie B side Cagliari on home soil in the first round, but our attackers just didn’t show up. The minnows grabbed a goal on the break just before half-time, and that was that.
AWARDS & STATISTICS
Our defence had outshone the midfield and the attack this term, so it was no real surprise that the Fans’ Player of the Season voting was dominated by members of our back four. Having been remarkably consistent, left-back Cristiano Biraghi got more than half of the votes to win the award for the second time in three seasons.
Looking at pure ability, Biraghi should theoretically be one of our weakest links, but he continues to deliver the goods time and again. Some of Serie A’s more reputable teams have been looking to snap Cristiano up, but I’m determined to keep the 28-year-old at the Franchi while he’s still in his prime.
Zouma took 2nd place in the voting, and I’ll definitely want the on-loan Chelsea defender to remain with us on a longer-term basis. Likewise, right-back Almamy Touré – who came 3rd – is a player I want to keep hold of. Richer clubs can try as they might to try and unsettle him, but unless they offer silly money, the Malian’s going nowhere.
A fourth defender – Alessandro Bastoni – was adjudged to be our signing of the season after arriving from Inter for €11million in January. The 22-year-old centre-back only made 18 appearances for us this term, but he’s demonstrated excellent composure and resilience for someone so young. Expect Bastoni to play a more prominent role over the coming year.
Jordan Veretout won our ‘Goal of the Season’ award again, thanks to the unstoppable volley that rounded off a 5-0 home win over Malmö in October. The Frenchman continues to put in some impressive shifts in our midfield.
Once again, Federico Chiesa was our Young Player of the Season, though I thought he was a massive disappointment. A return of six goals and eight assists was just not good enough for a quality inside-forward who’s supposedly valued at over €50million. It says it all that our star performer from last season failed to even make the supporters’ best XI this time around.
The statistics bear out our excellent defensive record. Nobody in Serie A conceded fewer than our 24 goals this season, and our 65% headers won ratio was also the best in the league. We were also one of only two teams (along with Juventus) not to concede any penalties in Serie A.
Lafont kept 19 clean sheets in 38 Serie A matches, with only Milan’s Gianluigi Donnarumma matching his 50% shutout rate. Biraghi averaged well over four tackles per game and was voted ‘man of the match’ on six occasions. To put that into perspective, Inter striker Lautaro Martínez was the only player in Italy’s top flight to win more MOTM awards (eight).
While we didn’t quite retain our Fair Play award (which went to Sassuolo), we did go pretty close. We accrued 53 yellow cards and one red – for ball-winning midfielder Lucas Tousart – in the league. Quelle surprise, Tousart had the worst disciplinary record in the team, though Biraghi matched his seven bookings. Zouma was the only other Fiorentina player to see red in a competitive match this term.
Our top four players in terms of average ratings were all defenders. The only others to average over 7.00, having played in at least 20 matches, were Veretout and Roberts. Jordan was unsurprisingly one of our most accurate passers, with 21-year-old Sandro Tonali topping that chart on 89%. Paddy impressed with five goals in his debut season at the Franchi, though four of them were scored in January or February.
Another player who had a very mean spell in a generally lean season was Pellegri. Having flown out of the traps with eight goals in the first three months of season, he only found the net three times thereafter. Fellow loanee Geubbels’ five goals were rather more spread-out.
Part of Pietro’s problem this season was that he wasn’t involved in our build-up play almost as much as I wanted him to. Come to think of it, stats showed that anyone who played in the centre-forward slot for us rarely attempted more than 20 passes per match. It’s almost certainly a tactical issue on my part, so I’ll have to make some tweaks to leave whoever plays up front less isolated and get them more involved.
I have been very happy with inside-forward Valentin Eysseric, who followed up his 15 goals from last season by scoring the same number this time. The fact that Eysseric was the team’s top scorer on such a low total spoke volumes. We were a disappointing 6th in Serie A on goals scored – below SPAL, who didn’t even qualify for Europe.
Valentin’s shots on target percentage increased dramatically from 43% last season to 59% this. That suggests the Frenchman is getting better with age and might be worth keeping hold of, even as he approaches his 30s. In contrast, Chiesa’s shooting accuracy dipped from 61% to 51% as he endured his lowest-scoring league season since his debut in 2016/2017. I’m expecting much better from him next term.
TRANSFER PLANS
At a smidge under €40million, our transfer budget does not exactly scream of the riches typically associated with the Champions League. Even so, that – and any money we make from sales – should be enough for me to make this team competitive in Europe’s top competition.
Though we had an excellent defensive record this season (outside of Sweden, obviously), I want to improve our backline further. If we can’t agree a reasonable price with Chelsea to make Zouma’s loan permanent, I’ll look to sign at least two physical centre-halves in his place.
Despite being hampered by injuries this season, and despite being the subject of strong interest from elsewhere, I would prefer to keep Germán Pezzella around for his leadership. I don’t consider Vítor Hugo to be quite so indispensable. I do quite like the Brazilian, but he’s 30 now, he’s not a regular starter, and he takes up one of our non-EU spots. It might be time for Vítor to move on.
Out wide, I want a strong left-back who can provide Biraghi with serious competition. David Hancko is not really up to snuff, while injuries have affected young Luca Ranieri‘s development on loan at Perugia. I think we’re fine at right-back, but if there’s interest in Kevin Diks, I might sell the Dutchman and bring in a new deputy for Almamy Touré.
Midfield is not an area that needs much improvement in my eyes, as we have four established Serie A players there along with a fast-improving Tonali. We’ll also have the energetic Danish starlet Emil Antonsen coming back from his loan with Charleroi. That being said, I am hoping to sign a 17-year-old French ball-winner who could one day seriously challenge Tousart.
When it comes to wide forwards, I might make a second attempt to re-sign Federico Bernardeschi, especially if we can get a good price for Domenico Berardi. I might also need someone who can play effectively as a right-winger, now that Chiesa has started cutting inside from both flanks against my wishes.
Speaking of Chiesa, there’s a chance he might move on this summer. Though I didn’t mention it at the time, I rejected an offer of around €56million from Real Madrid for him in January, and I won’t be surprised if they renew their interest. Should they or any other big club give us an offer we can’t refuse, that might mean Alexandru Mățan (who blew hot and cold on loan at Rapid Vienna) takes Federico’s place in the team.
I also need to find a permanent solution to the dilemma up front, as Monaco surely won’t let us take either Geubbels or Pellegri on loan again. Radamel Falcao is retiring after a brief and unhappy stay, and Santi Mina is basically a write-off, so we could do with an experienced deep-lying forward. I might even offer promising youngsters such as Dusan Vlahovic and incoming Belgian wonderkid José Luis Sánchez opportunities to become first-team regulars.
NEXT SEASON’S TARGETS
Before I move on to my targets for next season, I want to make an announcement. The 2021/2022 season will be the last one I cover in full on this blog.
“Shades of Deep Purple” was only meant to be a short-term story, lasting three to five seasons before I get stuck into my main FM19 career with Shrewsbury. Having taken Fiorentina back into the Champions League, I feel that now is the right time to start winding down this story and begin planning for the next.
So yeah, I’ll give it one more season with the Viola. I want us to really push on in Serie A this time, and while taking the scudetto from Inter will be a big ask, we should have it in us to push them close at the very least. My main goal for this career was not necessarily to win the league with Fiorentina, but to put the team in a strong enough position that it can challenge.
With regards to the Champions League, I have to be somewhat realistic. We’ll almost certainly be the lowest seeds in our group, so simply making it into the knockout stages would be an achievement. If not, I’d like for us to at least drop back into the Europa League and go very far there to right the wrongs of last season.
It would also be nice to win a trophy with this club and end a wait that has now passed 20 years. While I will mainly be playing fringe players in the early rounds of the Coppa Italia, you can bet I’ll take it very seriously if we get to the latter stages. That defeat in the 2020 Final to Napoli still bugs me to this day.
If we don’t meet our targets this season, and perhaps even if we do, it might not necessarily mean I completely stop playing this save after starting my Shrewsbury career. There’s some fine young talent at Fiorentina, and I’d love to see the fruits of my labour ripen. I could carry on with this save at my own leisure and keep you informed, albeit on a less regular basis.
But that’s something to consider another time. Right now, I’m focussed on making this fourth and final full season of “Shades of Deep Purple” the best one yet, not to mention the most enjoyable for you to read.
ELSEWHERE…
It’s ‘La Decimocuarta’ for Real Madrid! Massimiliano Allegri led Los Merengues to Champions League Final glory in Vienna, and in turn secured their 14th European Cup. Isco opened the scoring in the 10th minute before Aymeric Laporte piled more pain on his former club Manchester City. A penalty from €154million man Paulo Dybala shortly after the restart was not enough to stop City’s third consecutive CL decider from ending in a second defeat.
Despite that, the Citizens continued to rule supreme in the Premier League. Pep Guardiola’s superstars racked up 97 points, scored 79 goals and lost just one match – at Newcastle in October – on their way to a record-breaking fourth straight English championship. They eventually finished 13 points clear of Manchester United, which prompted José Mourinho to go on a 20-minute rant about Arizona’s Grand Canyon.
United were also runners-up in this season’s EFL Cup, as Liverpool overturned a 2-0 lead within three remarkable minutes early in the second half. Mourinho was too upset to rant about anything after that. Star striker Harry Kane was still smiling at the end of the season, though, as 23 goals saw him claim the Premier League’s Golden Boot.
London’s big guns both had reason to smile this season. Tottenham claimed another top-three finish, while their local rivals Arsenal pipped Liverpool to the final Champions League place before beating City 1-0 in the EFL Cup Final.
Chelsea will be back amongst Europe’s elite next season too, having continued England’s dominance of the Europa League with a 2-0 Final win over Werder Bremen. Blues owner Roman Abramovich immediately showed his gratitude to Zinedine Zidane by handing him a P45 at the end of his first season in charge. World Cup winner Didier Deschamps is already the bookmakers’ favourite to become the next former Chelsea manager.
While the ‘Big Six’ were streets ahead of the rest, there was fierce competition for 7th place. In the end, it was Stoke who took that last remaining Europa League berth in their first season back up. Huddersfield, Fulham and Bournemouth were all relegated, to be replaced by the promoted Championship trio of West Ham, Swansea and Brentford.
For the first time in their history, Atlético Madrid won a third consecutive Spanish title. 23 goals from a revitalised Diego Costa helped Atlético build a six-point lead on Real, and they also won the Copa del Rey to boot. Barcelona finished just behind them, obviously, because there appear to be only three teams in La Liga nowadays.
Ligue 1 wasn’t quite a two-horse race this season, with both Lyon and Marseille both threatening to leapfrog either Monaco or Paris Saint-Germain. In the end, though, it was Les Monégasques who took the title off PSG for the first time since 2017. Meanwhile, it’s been reported that PSG and France forward Kylian Mbappé is so hard-up on a pitiful €375,000 per week that he might have to move to Manchester to make ends meet.
Germany’s football traditionalists were thrilled to see RB Leipzig win the Bundesliga for the first time. Much of Leipzig’s success was credited to their brilliant young coach Julian Nagelsmann, who’ll now devote the next few weeks to taking his school exams and clearing his face of acne. Bayern München had to make do with 2nd, despite forking out €80million in January for Julian Brandt, whose old club Bayer Leverkusen came 3rd.
And that is a wrap for Season 3 of “Shades of Deep Purple”. Fuller FM will now take a short break for the winter holidays, but I’ll be back late next week to start off the final full season of this story.
“Buon Natale, and forza viola!”
Fuller FM 
Excellent blog post and glad to see that we will get another season from you…. 🇮🇹 Buon Natale 🎅