Yes, I probably could do with some help right about now. A nightmare November has contributed to Fiorentina’s worst run of form this season, and a premature exit from the Champions League.
Here’s hoping we can finish 2021 on a high by building up some much-needed momentum in December. Five Serie A matches await us, as do the opening rounds of the Coppa Italia. As things stand, that looks like being my last realistic chance of ending my four-year reign at the Artemio Franchi with a trophy.
AC MILAN vs FIORENTINA (Serie A, Match 15)
A bumper month kicked off at the San Siro, where we’d already claimed an impressive scalp against Inter this term. If we were to repeat the feat against Milan, we would need to cut an impressive six-match winning streak in all competitions for the Nerazzurri.
Our opponents were 3rd in Serie A, which was all the more impressive considering that they were on their third manager this year. Maurizio Sarri stayed in Milan for barely six months before he was lured by Paris Saint-Germain’s riches in August. His replacement was Giuseppe Iachini, who left AEK Athens in the lurch just before the new season, much like he did to Palermo 12 months earlier.
Iachini might have been ‘Il Rubacuori’ (not his official nickname), but it was our hearts that were breaking after just six minutes. A Fiorentina breakaway ended with Mario Mandzukic latching onto a threaded pass from Jordan Veretout and firing it against the inside of the post. Gianluigi Donnarumma pushed the ball along his goal line (but not across it, as GLT showed) before his right-back Raoul Bellanova removed the danger.
Not to worry, said Mandzukic, who converted his next chance two minutes later. The Croatian beat Milan defender Alessio Romagnoli to Federico Chiesa‘s through-ball, before racing clear and cutting the ball in off the far post from a difficult angle.
Chiesa could’ve followed his assist with a goal in the 16th minute. After latching onto a cross-field ball from Federico Bernardeschi, the Viola skipper skipped past Ricardo Rodríguez before seeing his shot pushed away by Donnarumma. Fortunately, Milan struggled to make any decent equalising opportunities over the next half-hour, and so we retained a 1-0 lead at the break.
My first real cause for concern came four minutes into the second half. Bernardeschi worked his socks off to intercept a wayward pass from Milan playmaker Julian Weigl, only to quickly go down hurt. It soon became clear that Federico had strained his groin, which would sideline him for at least three weeks.
Though Bernardeschi had to be replaced with Valentin Eysseric, we went from strength to strength in the 62nd minute. A clever through-ball from Sandro Tonali was bettered only by some fancy footwork from Mandzukic, who slipped beyond his marker Mattia Caldara to go clean through. A tidy finish past Donnarumma followed, and it was 2-0 Fiorentina.
Only then did Milan start to bear their teeth. André Silva and David López had a couple of headers at goal, both of which Alban Lafont caught with comfort. Silva used his head again in the 70th minute, and this time, the Portuguese hotshot made no mistake from Bellanova’s deep delivery.
The final 20 minutes (plus five additional minutes) were nerve-wracking, but we held our nerve in the end. Milan substitute Frank Tsadjout messed up a fine chance in the 82nd minute, while López’s header from a Juan Bernat corner six minutes later couldn’t quite beat Lafont. Having taken a 2-0 lead at the San Siro, we just about clung on for a 2-1 win. Hmm… where have I seen that before?
We were now within a point of Milan, whose slip allowed Udinese to tighten their hold on 2nd spot with a 4-1 win over Pescara. Napoli retained a six-point cushion at the top after beating Torino 3-0. All of the teams between 5th and 8th – Juventus, Atalanta, Inter and Roma – won their matches, though the latter needed two very late goals to see off Bologna.
VALENCIA vs FIORENTINA (Champions League, Group A – Match 6)
Construction of the Nuevo Mestalla was finally completed earlier this year, about three decades behind schedule. In stark contrast, we’d never really started building our Champions League challenge. Five consecutive Group A losses meant the purpose of our visit to Valencia was simply to avoid a whitewash.
It was a fringe Fiorentina team that lined up in Spain, and there would be more pain for us after just three minutes. Valencia forward Oliver Batista Meier – on loan from group rivals Bayern München – floated a corner to the far post, where centre-back Hugo Guillamón flicked it goalwards. Our keeper André Onana weakly parried it against Marko Grujic’s chest, and the ball deflected into the net for a very (un)lucky opening goal.
We thought we’d equalised in the 13th minute, when Marco Benassi flicked Patrick Roberts‘ free-kick across the Valencia box for Emerson to stab it home. Unfortunately, the left-back’s first Viola goal was disallowed… because an offside flag had been raised against midfielder Emil Antonsen.
That decision was a tough one to take, and we never regained our confidence. Valencia substituted star striker Rodrigo at half-time due to a thigh injury, but his replacement didn’t look bad either. By the 61st minute, 19-year-old Juan Ramón Fernández had doubled their lead. Fernández got ahead of Alessandro Bastoni to head in wing-back Sergio Escudero’s cross from the left flank.
If only José Luis Sánchez had the same killer instinct as Fernández. The Belgian teenager looked set to pull one goal back for us in the 64th minute, but he skied Antonsen’s long ball over the bar. Substitute Dusan Vlahovic wasted a clear chance of his own in stoppage time, when Valencia goalkeeper Neto pushed his shot behind following an incisive pass from Eysseric.
This final-round performance summed up our entire continental campaign. While we had never been completely outclassed, it was always the case that we’d wasted our openings while the opposition had converted theirs.
Valencia had even more cause for celebration after their 2-0 win. Bayern had let a 1-0 half-time lead slip against Chelsea, who prevailed 2-1 for a fifth straight Champions League win. That meant Valencia took 2nd place and qualified for the knockout rounds alongside Chelsea, with Bayern dropping into the Europa League.
Now there’s a first for me. In circa 20 years of playing Championship or Football Manager, I had never gone through a Champions League group campaign without a single point, let alone a single win! It’s not an achievement I’ll happily put on my CV, put it that way.
As if that wasn’t embarrassing enough, all the other 31 teams in the Group Stage took away at least one point. Even Young Boys – who scored only once in Group G – got that goal in a win over Shakhtar. “Che Castrastofe.”
FIORENTINA vs SASSUOLO (Serie A, Match 16)
We could now focus purely on domestic matters for the rest of the season. Next up for us in Serie A were Sassuolo, who were in the relegation zone not that long ago. However, a run of three wins from four games had taken them up to a more respectable 12th place.
The Neroverdi’s confidence hit new heights after just eight minutes, when they took a shock lead at the Franchi. Fiorentina defender Belaïd Nemdil was guilty of a major error, as he failed to intercept Takumi Minamino’s free-kick before Gian Marco Ferrari flicked it into the middle of our penalty area. Waiting there was Ghana midfielder Alfred Duncan, whose lethal volley got us off to a terrible start.
The first half would be a long tale of frustration for the Viola. Sassuolo goalkeeper Andriy Lunin – on loan from Real Madrid – tipped away a 25-yard attempt from long-time Real target Chiesa in the 13th minute. The Ukrainian also saved a header from Eysseric seven minutes before the half-time whistle blew, with us still trailing 1-0.
We created more opportunities after the break, with Chiesa and Mandzukic being especially wasteful. In the 65th minute, Chiesa headed a Touré cross goalwards at the back post, but Lunin pushed it away from his line. When Sassuolo right-back Danilo D’Ambrosio cleared the rebound before our skipper could pounce, I had a feeling this wouldn’t be our day.
Then we finally got a stroke of luck after 72 minutes. Substitute Roberts sent a free-kick across the Neroverdi box to Rugani, whose header was blocked by the visitors’ on-loan Atalanta defender Gianluca Mancini. The ball then fell to Tonali, whose first-time drive into the net was met more with relief than delight in my dugout.
Two minutes later, another set-piece saw us complete a quick turnaround. Chiesa finally came good with an inswinging corner to Rugani, who beat Mancini to nod in his first competitive goal for Fiorentina.
Sassuolo’s spirit was broken by that goal, and we would put a third past them in stoppage time, just for good measure. Roberts sliced open the visiting defence to pick out Mandzukic, who drilled in his fifth goal in six outings. Giving the deep-lying forward an ‘Attack’ duty rather than a ‘Support’ duty was perhaps contributing to his upturn in form.
Napoli’s title challenge received a double boost that weekend, as Eliaquim Mangala scored an injury-time winner at Inter, before Udinese succumbed to a surprise 2-0 loss at Spezia. The Zebrette aside, it was a virtual clean sweep of victories for the top eight, with Roma looking most impressive in a six-goal thrashing of Empoli.
Our Coppa Italia campaign began three days later – and for the first time in my four-season reign, we wouldn’t face Serie B opposition in Round 1. Spezia had seen off Lecce 2-0 in the final qualifying round, which meant we faced somewhat familiar opposition at the Franchi.
FIORENTINA vs SPEZIA (Coppa Italia, Round 1)
If we could avoid a Cagliari-style upset here, a Quarter Final trip to either Inter or Pescara awaited. Though I gambled on resting several key men, we kicked off this match with the air of strong favourites. Antonsen struck a promising effort into the side netting in the sixth minute, while Chiesa crashed a drive just off target three minutes later.
I’d recently taken to fielding Chiesa on the right wing again, and the Viola captain was playing here mainly to get him used to the role and boost his confidence. That paid off in the 17th minute, when Chiesa ran onto an excellent ball out right from Veretout before cutting inside. Though Spezia goalkeeper Eugenio Lamanna got a glove to Federico’s initial shot, the rebound was slipped past him for 1-0.
Chiesa’s second goal on the half-hour had a similar feel about it. Veretout crossed from the left after Eysseric had a delivery blocked, and Chiesa needed a couple of attempts to beat Lamanna. Having taken his chances and given us a 2-0 lead, the 24-year-old winger got a well-earned rest for the second half, with Riccardo Sottil replacing him.
A less prolific scorer would effectively seal our Quarter Final place in the 57th minute. After a strike from Eysseric deflected off Spezia centre-half Giancarlo González, the ball fell nicely for Emerson to cut it into the net from a difficult angle. That was the loanee left-back’s first goal for the Viola.
It was a miserable afternoon all round for the Aquile, who were largely restricted to hopeless long-range shots. On-loan Fiorentina midfielder Antonio Napolitano was one of their better performers, largely because he stayed on the field for the whole 90 minutes for once. In the end, though, we cruised to a straightforward 3-0 victory.
It would be a while – a week in fact – before we discovered the identities of our Quarter Final opponents. Inter narrowly avoided an upset against Pescara, with Matteo Politano’s extra-time double earning them a 2-1 win, and a home meeting with us at the end of the month. It was sure to be another cracker.
FROSINONE vs FIORENTINA (Serie A, Match 17)
Frosinone were struggling to adapt to life back in Serie A, having won just once thus far – at home to fellow promoted side Carpi. Even so, they gave us a surprisingly strenuous test at the Benito Stirpe. When a swerving effort from forward Camillo Ciano was caught by Lafont in the 11th minute, it seemed that this would be no straightforward win for us.
The woodwork denied Rugani an opening goal from Chiesa’s corner in the 20th minute, though we would eventually break through just after the half-hour. Ciano intercepted a square ball from Emerson in our area, but his slide diverted the ball across to Roberts, whose close-range finish broke his duck for the season!
I’d hoped that would be enough to send us into the break with the lead, but Frosinone had other ideas. The Canarini counter-attacked in the 45th minute, with midfielder Raffaele Maiello dribbling out to the right before crossing into our box. The hosts’ longest-serving player – winger Luca Paganini – then unleashed a peach of a volley to equalise.
I demanded more passion and more attacking endeavour from my team after the break. They responded by restoring the advantage in some style, with Mandzukic deftly flicking Touré’s cross on for Chiesa to stab in at the back stick. In the space of two matches, Chiesa had doubled his goal tally for the season from three to six!
When Touré aimed another cross for Mandzukic in the 65th minute, the veteran outjumped Ciano and went straight for goal. The ball came back off the underside of the bar, but Frosinone goalkeeper Fraser Forster was unable to push it away before it crossed his line. Mario’s eighth goal of the season might not have been his prettiest, but it gave us a 3-1 lead.
I quickly rested Chiesa and gave Sottil a 20-minute run-out, confident that we could see the match through. That didn’t look like the wisest of decisions in injury time, when Sottil carelessly gave the ball away, allowing the Canarini to hit us with a direct counter-attack. Centre-back Luka Krajnc cleared our defence with a long ball to target man Stipe Perica, whose perfectly-weighted cross left Paganini with a simple finish.
A few minutes later, it looked like Frosinone would get a third goal to save a point. Bastoni upended Perica to concede a free-kick, and Maiello’s attempt deflected off Christian Nørgaard for a last-ditch corner. Maiello took that as well… but Lafont confidently claimed it to secure us a narrow 3-2 win.
Napoli’s eight-match winning run ended against SPAL, who held them to a 1-1 draw. The Partenopei’s lead was cut from nine points to seven after Udinese returned to form with a 3-1 win over Carpi. Facundo Colidio’s double for the Zebrette made him the first player to reach 10 goals in Serie A this season.
Atalanta’s 3-1 win over Torino saw them nick 4th place off Milan, who shipped two late Rachid Ghezzal goals in losing 2-1 to Pescara. 3-1 was also the scoreline Juventus beat struggling Genoa by to record an astonishing NINTH straight league victory. Meanwhile, underachievers Roma and Inter shared four goals in an Olimpico thriller.
FIORENTINA vs BOLOGNA (Serie A, Match 18)
Mid-table Bologna awaited us next, in the latest running of the Derby dell’Appennino. Vladimir Petkovic’s side held us to a goalless draw on the opening day, so I expected another close contest. What I didn’t expect was one that was painfully low on quality.
The first half offered little for either set of fans to get excited about. Lafont made heavy work of an ambitious long-ranger from Alen Halilovic in the 19th minute. Eysseric then tried to put us ahead eight minutes later, but his header from Kevin Diks‘ deep cross was easily gathered by Bologna goalkeeper Lukasz Skorupski. Aside from those efforts… not much, really.
Fiorentina fans panicked for a moment in the 58th minute, when Lafont failed to keep hold of a free-kick by Mattias Svanberg. We needed a couple of spirited tackles from vice-captain Lucas Tousart – who’d just signed a new contract with us running into 2026 – to stop the Rossoblu making any more out of that.
While one Frenchman had arguably saved us from falling 1-0 behind, another helped to give us the lead with 12 minutes to go. Having found Chiesa in space on the left wing, Nemdil pumped the ball through the defence for him to run onto. After outpacing Bologna right-back Ibrahima Mbaye to reach the ball, Federico hit it on the half-volley from an acute angle, and Skorupski was finally beaten!
A second goal would’ve made me happier, but Vlahovic headed wide in the 84th minute. Nevertheless, with Bologna offering very little going forward, we’d still done just about enough to squeeze out another win. That was four in a row now in all competitions.
Napoli had midweek off, which gave some of their title rivals the chance to close the gap at the top. Juventus were 3-0 winners at home to Sassuolo, while Udinese were similarly lethal at Torino. However, Inter’s hopes of a third straight scudetto took yet another blow when Manor Solomon’s last-minute strike saved Roma a 2-2 draw.
CARPI vs FIORENTINA (Serie A, Match 19)
In a packed schedule, it was inevitable that knocks would start to pile up. During the build-up to this match, Touré bruised his shin, Emerson suffered a tight calf, and Veretout felt tightness in his thigh. Emerson and Veretout would be nursed through this match, but Touré was only fit enough for the bench. Antonsen was laid low with a cold and missed out altogether.
I also chose to give Chiesa a breather by dropping him to the bench, which meant Tousart led us out onto the Sandro Cabassi pitch. Carpi were just outside the relegation zone and outperforming the other promoted sides, but I didn’t expect them to start quite as quickly as they did here.
The match was only a few seconds old when Veretout upended Carpi’s winger and captain Lorenzo Pasciuti deep in our half. The subsequent free-kick from Fayçal Fajr caused mayhem in our box before striker Andrea Arrighini drove it into the net, giving the Biancorossi a 1-0 lead after just 45 seconds.
Our defending was comical there, but our equaliser six minutes later also bordered on the comical. Eysseric delivered a byline cross from the left wing to Vlahovic, whose point-blank header was tipped against the post by Simone Colombi. Goalkeeper and striker desperately scrambled for the rebound, and it was Vlahovic who prevailed.
We then launched a series of unsuccessful attacks at goal before a couple of injuries made things more tense for us. Veretout hurt his groin in a clash with Fajr in the 19th minute and was substituted, but a more serious injury befell Roberts in the 37th. When Paddy went down clutching his ankle, it was clear that he was seriously hurt, and that Chiesa needed to come on in his place much earlier than anticipated.
It looked like we would go into the break level at 1-1, and with two more injuries to worry about. Then, on the stroke of half-time, 34-year-old Carpi midfielder Pasquale Schiattarella pulled back on Eysseric’s jersey while the forward was mid-run in the penalty area. The referee awarded us a penalty, which Valentin slipped underneath Colombi’s dive to break his duck for the season – and put us 2-1 up!
After such a thrilling first half, it was almost inevitable that the second would be a comedown. Chiesa almost continued his recent scoring form in the 54th minute, though he could only steer Emerson’s cross into Colombi’s hands. Otherwise, the early stages of the half would be best remembered for a flurry of bookings than for football.
Colombi made two more saves later in the period, keeping Antonsen and Chiesa (again) off the scoresheet. Vlahovic also had chances to put the game to bed, and though the young Serbian striker couldn’t take them, he would be named ‘man of the match’ at the end of another narrow Viola victory.
Napoli’s 1-1 draw at Sassuolo meant we trailed the frontrunners by only three points, though they had a game in hand. Udinese were also putting the Partenopei under serious pressure, having beaten Atalanta 2-0. Inter’s 3-0 win over Spezia gave the champions some post-Christmas cheer after a difficult couple of months.
Now, what about those injuries? Veretout had strained his groin and would be out for around three weeks. As for Paddy Roberts…
Christ on a bike. That is not good news.
INTERNAZIONALE vs FIORENTINA (Coppa Italia, Quarter Final)
Having not won at the San Siro in my first three seasons with Fiorentina, I now hoped to guide us to a third victory there in the space of two months. If we could complete an away double over Inter, we would be into the Coppa Italia Semi Finals for the second time in three years.
It became clear after 10 minutes that this was not the swashbuckling Inter side who’d won the last two scudetti. A terrible clearance from defender Luiz Felipe gifted the returning Bernardeschi a chance to fire us ahead. Though Keylor Navas tipped that behind, he couldn’t keep out a 20-yard Bernardeschi free-kick a minute later , which had been awarded after Nemdil was tripped by Stefan de Vrij.
We were now looking to give ourselves another 2-0 San Siro lead (preferably without conceding afterwards). Mandzukic threatened to do that in the 29th minute after running onto Bernardeschi’s through-ball, but Navas somehow knocked his shot behind. Inter midfielder André Gomes then tried a couple of his trademark long-range shots, narrowly missing the target on each occasion.
The Nerazzurri should have used the half-time break to recompose themselves, but manager Luciano Spalletti still looked befuddled during the second half. After 56 minutes, Spalletti substituted Gomes to bring on 18-year-old winger Massimo Iorio. After 57 minutes, he took Iorio off and brought on… a midfielder, in Marcelo Brozovic. Iorio must have been truly dreadful during those 60 seconds.
While Inter were losing their heads – and Spalletti his marbles – we were keeping ours (heads, not marbles, obviously). 17-year-old Nemdil showed the composure of a much older man at the back, and he also came close to heading in a maiden Fiorentina goal in the 67th minute.
As full-time neared, Spalletti resorted to his old three-striker system in a desperate attempt to at least force extra-time. As it so happened, it was a defender – de Vrij – who came closest to breaking our hearts. The powerful Dutchman got a head to Matteo Politano’s delivery, but Onana heroically pushed it off his line. We then held on for another fantastic result against the league champions!
Awaiting us in the Semi Finals were Napoli, who cruised past Juventus 3-0. This reunion of the 2020 Coppa Italia will be played over two legs in February, with us having home advantage in the first. Udinese will face Milan in the other Semi.
And so we will enter 2022 sitting in 3rd place – not too far behind Napoli and Udinese. Juventus have really burst into life of late, so everything’s all set for this to be a thrilling Serie A title race. Can we keep ourselves in contention? Time will tell…
“Forza viola!”
Fuller FM 
Keep it together…. I think this is the title season 🇮🇹