Now we’re really getting stuck into the meat of the 2021/2022 season. Having enjoyed an historically strong start to the Serie A campaign, Fiorentina fans are growing increasingly hopeful that they could see their side lift a first scudetto since 1969. Incidentally, that was also the last time Hotel California had its ‘spirit’.
Leaving 70s rock references aside, we enter November in the middle of a tricky run of league fixtures. Having already faced Roma at home and Inter away in October (check out Part 36 if you missed that), we are now making plans for Lazio and Napoli. By the end of this month, we should have a good idea of where we really stand.
Before that, though, we’ve got some continental business to take care of…
FIORENTINA vs CHELSEA (Champions League, Group A – Match 4)
November began with a must-win game in the Champions League. If Chelsea inflicted a fourth consecutive Group A defeat on us at the Artemio Franchi, there would surely be no way we could qualify for the knockout stages.
Having conceded four goals in the reverse fixture at Stamford Bridge, André Onana was replaced in goal by first-choice keeper Alban Lafont. The Frenchman’s Blues counterpart Kepa Arrizabalaga was the first goalie called into action, catching a 12th-minute header from Viola defender Alessandro Bastoni.
After that promising start, though, it was virtually all Chelsea. Bastoni had to charge down a strike from Uruguayan midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur just moments after going for goal himself. Defensive rock Andreas Christensen and midfield workhorse N’Golo Kanté also threatened to edge the visitors ahead.
Though Lafont caught Suso’s 39th-minute free-kick, he was virtually powerless to keep out the Spanish maestro’s next attempt two minutes later. A vicious close-range strike from right-back Andrea Conti’s centre almost burst the net open… and it could have opened the floodgates for Chelsea. Christensen and his fellow centre-half Dayot Upamecano each had efforts saved by Lafont before the half-time whistle gave us some much-needed respite.
Teenage striker José Luis Sánchez could have restored parity with his first competitive Fiorentina goal moments after the restart. Sadly, the Belgian’s header from Federico Bernardeschi‘s deep left-wing cross was no match for Arrizabalaga. Sánchez’s compatriot Eden Hazard came perilously close to doubling Chelsea’s lead on 53 minutes, but Lafont managed to parry his shot against the post before Kevin Diks cleared.
Both sides changed their frontmen after an hour. JLS made way for Mario Mandzukic, while Chelsea’s Lautaro Martínez – who’d twisted his knee in the first half – was replaced with 21-year-old England starlet Callum Hudson-Odoi. The latter would have a quiet outing, though Mandzukic powered a couple of headers wide in his first few minutes.
Mario’s best chance would come in injury time. Shortly after Jorginho had rattled the woodwork for Chelsea, we launched a last-ditch counter-attack to try and save a point. That move saw Patrick Roberts slip a through-ball ahead of Mandzukic, who fired his shot straight at Arrizabalaga. The visitors cleared their lines, and after holding on for a couple more minutes, it was all over.
Chelsea were now in pole position to qualify for the next phase as Group A winners, thanks to Bayern München’s 1-1 draw with Valencia. We needed to beat those latter two teams in our remaining fixtures to have even a wafer-thin chance of going through. Having accrued one goal and zero points thus far, I somehow couldn’t see that happening.
FIORENTINA vs LAZIO (Serie A, Match 12)
I tried to forget about our latest Euro-trash display when we hosted Lazio, who were having another mediocre Serie A campaign. After an encouraging start to life under new manager Rafa Benítez earlier this year, the Biancocelesti were now down in 9th place, and at serious risk of missing out on Europe completely.
Federico Chiesa was enduring another lacklustre season by his high standards, but the Fiorentina captain could’ve got back on track after four minutes. Chiesa received a long free-kick from vice-skipper Germán Pezzella, only to blast it wide from distance. Pezzella would later have a header saved by Lazio keeper Thomas Strakosha, as did midfielder Emil Antonsen.
Another Viola attack in the 18th minute showed more promise. Defender Daniele Rugani brilliantly intercepted a pass from João Mário and sprayed it out to Patrick Roberts, who crossed into the visiting box. Arriving ahead of Lucas Leiva to smash in the opener was Mandzukic, who did to Lazio what he’d done to Roma a few weeks earlier.
You’ll surely remember that we couldn’t hold on to our lead against Roma, who came back to win 2-1. Things looked like being different here when right-back Almamy Touré sought a second Viola goal in the 29th minute, coming within inches of getting his first for the club. Pezzella also went close six minutes later, while Chiesa twice tested Strakosha either side of the break.
In the second half, though, I could sense that the tide was turning. We looked seriously on edge, particularly when Rugani and Mandzukic were booked for respective clashes with Borja Mayoral and Marco van Ginkel. At least Lafont was keeping his cool, confidently saving a Mayoral header midway through the second period.
Lazio threw everything at us in the closing stages, with Luis Alberto and Jesús Corona joining their attack nine minutes from time. Luis Alberto narrowly missed the target from a free-kick in the 84th minute, after the tricky Valon Berisha was upended by Touré.
Two minutes later, though, Corona showed that he had the rhythm of the ni… early afternoon. In all fairness, Rugani and Sandro Tonali gave the Mexican right-winger a ludicrous amount of space to run into before he slipped in a calm left-footed equaliser. Tonali bruised his knee just before full-time, but he and his colleagues also had bruised egos after letting two points slip away.
Corona’s soul-crushing equaliser knocked us down to 4th place behind Milan, who’d scraped past Empoli 1-0. Inter missed their opportunity to overtake us after losing 2-1 at home to 2nd-placed Udinese. Napoli stayed at the summit despite an unconvincing 1-0 win at Carpi, while Juventus saw off SPAL by the same scoreline to continue their hot streak.
MY COUNTRY CALLS
It was now time for another international break, which would see the final qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup. Italy secured their presence in Qatar by thrashing Andorra 8-0, with Bernardeschi amongst the scorers.
Bernardeschi was joined in the Azzurri squad by two Fiorentina colleagues in left-back Emerson and the reinstated Chiesa. Ah, so NOW Roberto Mancini has recalled Chiesa, after a run of zero goals and zero assists in seven outings! I can’t fathom what that long-haired man-scarf is thinking at times.
France also made it through safely, with Lafont continuing to impress between the sticks for the defending champions. Alban looks set to play in the Middle East showpiece next autumn, but would my compatriots be there too?
With qualification on the line, England expected every man to do their duty. What they didn’t expect was to suffer a fateful 2-1 defeat in Albania, which ensured that Belgium topped their qualifying group. Only the three best runners-up qualified alongside the group winners, and the shock result in Tirana meant England finished 4th on that list… behind Scotland and Wales.
Just like in 1994, England had missed out on qualifying for the World Cup, despite finishing 4th at the previous tournament. There could only be one outcome.
Sean Dyche was unceremoniously ordered to pack his throat lozenges and ‘Brexit Football’ tactics books and get the frig out of Wembley. England needed another new manager, and the bookmakers had identified one particular Florence-based Londoner as favourite for the job.
I was first offered this position after Gareth Southgate was sacked in the wake of Euro 2020. I turned it down then, but when the FA did approach me for a second time, I couldn’t say no to them again.
So here’s where I stand now. I will complete this fourth and final season with Fiorentina, after which I’ll tender my resignation. England are due to play a couple of friendlies in March, but I’ll leave them to the assistant manager, so that I can keep my focus on the Viola.
From June onwards in this save, I will concentrate on this new international challenge, rebuilding an England team that has hit its lowest ebb. I will chronicle my exploits on Fuller FM at some point this year*, though that story won’t be starting for a while yet. Once I’m done with Fiorentina, my upcoming Shrewsbury career will take up most of my FM time, with the England challenge becoming my secondary save.
Anyway, that’s for the future. Now let’s get back to the main story…
* JANUARY 2024 UPDATE: In your own time, Christopher…
NAPOLI vs FIORENTINA (Serie A, Match 13)
Napoli were not a team we wanted to be facing away from home straight after the international break. Carlo Ancelotti’s men had won 10 of their 12 league matches thus far, and they had a 100% record in all competitions at the San Paolo. If the Partenopei could continue those runs, they would move closer to a first scudetto since 1990.
24-year-old goalkeeper Alex Meret was one of the reasons behind Napoli’s excellent start, having kept eight Serie A clean sheets – the same number as Lafont. Meret began his pursuit of a ninth shut-out in the ninth minute, pushing away Jordan Veretout‘s half-volley. Our other midfield stalwart Marco Benassi would be denied twice later on.
Our best chances arguably fell to Chiesa and Roberts midway through the half. The wide attackers came inches away from getting the better of Meret, but an inch was as good as a mile when you seriously struggled to score like we did. That being said, our dominance of the first period gave me confidence that we would find a way through after the break.
Then Napoli delivered a sucker punch in the 49th minute, scoring from their very first shot at goal. Ex-Chelsea forward Willian skirted past Fiorentina half-back Lucas Tousart as he advanced towards the area, eventually playing a through-ball into the area. Touré was caught napping, and Greek speedster Dimitris Emmanouilidis took full advantage to carve a low shot in off the far post.
Worse was to come for us. Having replaced Roberts at the break, Bernardeschi hardly lasted 10 minutes before feeling a twinge in his hamstring, prompting me to take him off quickly. He was soon joined on the sidelines by Pezzella, who gashed his upper leg in the 68th minute and was subsequently ruled out of our next game.
Following yet more profligacy in Napoli’s half, we were lucky not to go 2-0 behind after 83 minutes, when home striker Gianluca Gaetano fired Elseid Hysaj’s right-wing cross against the bar. Emmanouilidis’ goal was all that separated the teams at full-time, though the match-winner ended the night in hospital after tearing his hamstring in the closing stages.
After suffering a third defeat in five league games, we surrendered our top-four place. Atalanta moved ahead of us after a confident 2-0 win over Inter, who weren’t showing the form of back-to-back champions. It was a woeful weekend all round for Nerazzurri supporters, as Milan had put three goals past Spezia to strengthen their grip on a top-three place.
Juventus made it five wins in a row when Bologna were brushed aside to the tune of 4-1. Things hadn’t gone quite so well for another team in black-and-white, as Udinese needed a late Rolando Mandragora equaliser against Chievo to maintain their unbeaten start.
FIORENTINA vs BAYERN MÜNCHEN (Champions League, Group A – Match 5)
With two group games to go, our Champions League campaign was a virtual write-off. Even if we did beat Bayern München at the Franchi, and then cause an upset in Valencia, it would require an absolute miracle for us to qualify for the Round of 16.
As far as I was concerned, this last home fixture was about giving fringe players chances to show that they could restore some pride. Amongst those who came into the side was Valentin Eysseric, who’d endured a stop-start season affected by injuries. Eysseric eyed up his first goal of the campaign after 10 minutes, but his shot from Antonsen’s weighted ball was pushed behind by Manuel Neuer.
Six minutes later, right-back Diks had a moment to forget. Kevin’s interception of a cross from Bayern captain Thomas Müller was cut out by Gedson Fernandes in the Fiorentina penalty arc. The Portugal midfielder surged past Tonali and then lashed a fierce effort beyond the reinstated Onana to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.
Angered at himself for letting Fernandes through, Tonali made amends by setting up an equaliser from a 23rd-minute counter-attack. His through-ball to a wide open Mandzukic was followed by a typically lethal finish from the Croatian, who’d come back to haunt his former employers.
Mandzukic was a tad unlucky not to score again seven minutes from half-time. He leapt above visiting defender Jérôme Boateng to get a head to a right-wing cross from Diks – who’d been booked minutes earlier for tripping Julian Brandt. However, Neuer confidently caught the ball, as he did when Mandzukic aimed another header for goal early in the second period.
We gave everything we had in our efforts to secure at least one point, if not all three. Eysseric had a couple more efforts saved by Neuer, while Danish mezzala Antonsen also looked threatening at times. At the other end, a spirited defensive display saw us frustrate Bayern’s attackers, with Brandt and Müller in particular struggling to make their marks.
Müller was replaced midway through the half with Kingsley Coman, and it was the French winger who would break our hearts in the penultimate minute. Veretout tried to break up a one-two between Bayern right-back Davide Calabria and Coman, but the latter ran onto the loose ball and hammered in a stunning winner.
We’d suffered our fifth Champions League defeat on the trot, and this was the cruellest of them all. Our continental dreams were now in tatters, with not even the consolation Europa League place for finishing 3rd coming our way.
Chelsea secured 1st place in the group in dramatic fashion, beating Valencia 3-2 after a 98th-minute winner from Nabil Bentaleb. Valencia – who had the world’s best defender Dejan Lovren sent off just before that Bentaleb goal – still have a chance of pipping Bayern to 2nd. However, Los Che will almost certainly need to beat us in December, while hoping that Bayern can’t inflict a first defeat on the Blues.
I will be so glad to be rid of this competition once we’ve played our final group game with Valencia. There’s no question that being beaten time after time in the Champions League has wrecked our confidence and led to sub-standard results in Serie A.
FIORENTINA vs GENOA (Serie A, Match 14)
Our next league game was one that we really needed to win. Genoa had got off to a dreadful start with eight straight Serie A defeats, and despite getting a couple of wins on the board since then, they were still mired in the drop zone. The Grifone were particularly weak defensively and were ripe for a thrashing.
After seven minutes, we already appeared to be making light work of Genoa. Visiting right-back (and part-time blues rock guitarist) Ezequiel Schelotto tripped Chiesa up just outside the box. Roberts drifted the free-kick in from the left, and Tonali beat our old friend Bryan Dabo to nod in an early opener.
Genoa goalkeeper Rok Vodisek (who may or may not be in Schelotto’s band) kept out a couple of headers from Rugani and Veretout midway through the half. Vodisek was beaten for a second time in the 22nd minute, but Bastoni was clearly offside when he finished Tonali’s flick-on from a Veretout corner.
Our dominance continued throughout the half, but by the time we returned to the dressing room, I had no idea why we weren’t further ahead than 1-0. In the 27th minute, a powerful first-time effort from Mandzukic was tipped behind by Vodisek. Veretout swung the corner kick to Rugani, but Genoa’s Slovene gloveman somehow clawed our defender’s header off the line.
Genoa’s defence put in another hard shift after the break, with Schelotto making a couple of vital blocks. Vodisek produced another excellent save in the 82nd minute, this time to stop a Mandzukic header from crossing his line. The Grifone then had another stroke of good fortune four minutes later, with the offside flag going up again after Chiesa had turned a Tousart drive into the net.
While our inability to win more convincingly against such weak opposition was frustrating, I could take some positives on the defensive side of things. Rugani excelled at centre-half as we restricted Genoa’s attacking chances and recorded a first shut-out since the end of that historic nine-match run of clean sheets.
Had we not won that match, we would’ve dropped down to 7th, but we actually found ourselves back in the top four. Juventus smashed Pescara 3-0 to go level on points with us and Atalanta (who’d beaten Empoli 2-0), but the head-to-head records were in our favour. Inter were a point behind, having cut their three-game losing run with a more typical 4-1 demolition of Sassuolo.
3rd-placed Milan were 3-1 winners at Torino, and they were now on equal points with Udinese, whose first defeat of the season had finally come at SPAL. Arkadiusz Milik decided a tense battle with Bologna to extend Napoli’s championship lead to six points.
Elsewhere, Spezia became the last team to get a win on the board, having beaten fellow strugglers Frosinone 1-0. On a less positive note, Spezia’s on-loan Viola midfielder Antonio Napolitano was sent off for a second time. We need to have words, Antonio.
That’s not a bad position to be in, though we really need to start scoring on a more consistent basis. Things are at least looking good on the defensive front, in spite of our recent hiccups. However, we received some terrible news at the end of November that could prove disastrous.
GERMÁN DOWN
Oh, Germán. How horribly ironic that the man who took over the Fiorentina captaincy from the tragic Davide Astori has himself fallen seriously ill.
This is the first time I have ever had one of my players contract a ‘serious viral infection’ in FM, and it could be devastating for Pezzella’s career. Missing the first few months of the season through injury was bad enough, but he’ll now have to miss several more. At 30 years old, it’ll be very hard to imagine him getting back to his best physical shape again.
Germán has been a wonderful servant to the club, and we will obviously support him throughout his treatment. He has agreed to relinquish the vice-captaincy, which means that Tousart will now be Chiesa’s deputy in that respect. Even though he’s only 24, Lucas has fantastic leadership qualities and is a selfless team player, so I’ve no doubt the Frenchman will lead by example whenever he needs to.
To be honest, I really hoped I could end another frustrating month on a positive note. Recent events have really knocked the stuffing out of me and my team, but we must regroup in December. We need to turn our form around before the turn of the year – for our tifosi, but also for our stricken team leader.
“Forza viola. Siamo Germán.”
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