viola nation 
28-03-2024 08:04
28-03-2024 08:04
Who’s going to be Fiorentina’s next manager?
With the news that Vincenzo Italiano is moving on when his contract runs out at the end of the season, it’s incumbent on Fiorentina to find the right replacement. Rocco Commisso has already seen what happens when he gets the wrong head coach in: keeping Vincenzo Montella at the controls nearly scuppered his project before it began, leading to a couple years of sadness under Cesare Prandelli and Giuseppe Iachini. He’ll be desperate to get this transition right.
That’s the mark of a good and stable team, after all. There has to be a succession plan for every figure in the organization, from the players to the manager to the sporting director, that ensures there’s no long-term drop-off when someone departs. Fiorentina has mostly replaced the top players it’s lost, with the exception of Dušan Vlahović, and Daniele Pradè looks likely to stay put for quite some time. That means that finding a new mister is likely the top test of how sustainable Commisso’s Viola really is.
The good news is that there is no shortage of interesting candidates, which means the club likely has more than one answer to this question.
Maurizio Sarri
Figline Valdarno’s most famous cigarette eater is available after resigning at Lazio earlier this month. While the capitol club hasn’t been great this year, he guided them to an astonishing second place last year and has a track record of success with top clubs over the past decade (Napoli, Chelsea, Juventus). His playing style, full of slick interchanges all over the pitch, is fun to watch and piles up the goals. Hell, even his mom’s a Fiorentina fan. It feels like this neverending narrative could finally reach fulfillment. His agent is Fali Ramadani, which could be a bad sign these days, but it’s hardly a deal breaker.
Pros: established tactical style, easy integration of principles with Italiano’s, fun to watch, native Tuscan
Cons: famously prickly, not afraid to speak against the club, short shelf life, Ramadani client
Alberto Gilardino
The Gila Monster has rocketed through the coaching ranks. After a decent spell at Siena, he moved to Genoa to take over the youth side and then got the reins at the senior side when Alessandro Blessin got the axe in 2022, leading the Grifoni to promotion from Serie B and now to a surprising 12th. He’s a young manager who’s gotten the best out of a relatively unfancied group, spurring them to overachieve in successive years in Liguria. If that sounds a lot like Italiano’s trajectory to you, well, yeah. The rumors have already begun, and Gilardino’s the type who could grow with the club for a few years, just like Vinnie has. He’s also repped by GeaWorld (run by Luciano Moggi’s son), the same agency as Nico González.
Pros: nostalgia, potential growth, player development, attacking mindset, Gea client
Cons: inexperience, uses a 3-5-2, personnel fits
Raffaele Palladino
The former winger had an 18-year career as a pro (including a season under Italiano at Spezia) before hanging up his boots with Monza in 2019. He rose through the youth sector to take over the first team last season and has kept the Biancorossi solidly mid-table ever since, using a fluid 3-4-2-1 and a healthy mix of established veterans and bright young talents. He’s been linked with a number of top jobs and looks set to move on from Monza this summer. He’s also a Giuseppe Riso client, same as Riccardo Sottil, so there are clearly open lines of communication there, and journalists are duly connecting the dots.
Pros: potential growth, attacking principles, familiarity working with mix of players, Riso client
Cons: inexperience, uses a 3-5-2
Ivan Juric
He’s at Torino but probably not for much longer, as he’s already said he’ll leave if the Granata don’t qualify for Europe this year. Hiring him away from Commisso enemy Urbano Cairo would likely feel good for the owner, but Juric is a hell of a manager. At both Hellas Verona and now Toro, he’s created tough, disciplined squads that are awful to play against and defend really well; after all, he turned Sofyan Amrabat into Serie A’s best midfielder in his trademark 3-4-2-1. Fiorentina feels like a natural step for him, and he’d likely turn the side from one of Italy’s most neurotic into a bunch of stone-faced killers. Like Palladino, he’s a Riso client.
Pros: toughness, defensive organization, Riso client
Cons: acrimony with ownership, limited attacking upside, uses a back 3
Wild cards
Daniele De Rossi looks like he’ll get the job at AS Roma this summer, given how he’s turned the Giallorossi around, but he’d likely shoot to the top of Fiorentina’s list if something goes sour. Remember, the Viola were sniffing around him a couple years ago.
Marcelo Gallardo achieved a lot of success with during a lengthy tenure with River Plate before moving to Saudi side Al-Ittihad this year. He’s making bank there, of course, but if the lure of a European adventure is stronger than the cash, Florence could be a good landing spot, especially since he drew some interest before Italiano was hired.
Alberto Aquilani had a heck of a run as the Primavera manager, winning a couple of Coppe Italia, before taking over at Pisa last year. He’s got the Nerazzurri in a solid 11th and has caught the eye of his peers, at least.
Gennaro Gattuso nah I’m kidding. This article’s over.
That’s the mark of a good and stable team, after all. There has to be a succession plan for every figure in the organization, from the players to the manager to the sporting director, that ensures there’s no long-term drop-off when someone departs. Fiorentina has mostly replaced the top players it’s lost, with the exception of Dušan Vlahović, and Daniele Pradè looks likely to stay put for quite some time. That means that finding a new mister is likely the top test of how sustainable Commisso’s Viola really is.
The good news is that there is no shortage of interesting candidates, which means the club likely has more than one answer to this question.
Maurizio Sarri
Figline Valdarno’s most famous cigarette eater is available after resigning at Lazio earlier this month. While the capitol club hasn’t been great this year, he guided them to an astonishing second place last year and has a track record of success with top clubs over the past decade (Napoli, Chelsea, Juventus). His playing style, full of slick interchanges all over the pitch, is fun to watch and piles up the goals. Hell, even his mom’s a Fiorentina fan. It feels like this neverending narrative could finally reach fulfillment. His agent is Fali Ramadani, which could be a bad sign these days, but it’s hardly a deal breaker.
Pros: established tactical style, easy integration of principles with Italiano’s, fun to watch, native Tuscan
Cons: famously prickly, not afraid to speak against the club, short shelf life, Ramadani client
Alberto Gilardino
The Gila Monster has rocketed through the coaching ranks. After a decent spell at Siena, he moved to Genoa to take over the youth side and then got the reins at the senior side when Alessandro Blessin got the axe in 2022, leading the Grifoni to promotion from Serie B and now to a surprising 12th. He’s a young manager who’s gotten the best out of a relatively unfancied group, spurring them to overachieve in successive years in Liguria. If that sounds a lot like Italiano’s trajectory to you, well, yeah. The rumors have already begun, and Gilardino’s the type who could grow with the club for a few years, just like Vinnie has. He’s also repped by GeaWorld (run by Luciano Moggi’s son), the same agency as Nico González.
Pros: nostalgia, potential growth, player development, attacking mindset, Gea client
Cons: inexperience, uses a 3-5-2, personnel fits
Raffaele Palladino
The former winger had an 18-year career as a pro (including a season under Italiano at Spezia) before hanging up his boots with Monza in 2019. He rose through the youth sector to take over the first team last season and has kept the Biancorossi solidly mid-table ever since, using a fluid 3-4-2-1 and a healthy mix of established veterans and bright young talents. He’s been linked with a number of top jobs and looks set to move on from Monza this summer. He’s also a Giuseppe Riso client, same as Riccardo Sottil, so there are clearly open lines of communication there, and journalists are duly connecting the dots.
Pros: potential growth, attacking principles, familiarity working with mix of players, Riso client
Cons: inexperience, uses a 3-5-2
Ivan Juric
He’s at Torino but probably not for much longer, as he’s already said he’ll leave if the Granata don’t qualify for Europe this year. Hiring him away from Commisso enemy Urbano Cairo would likely feel good for the owner, but Juric is a hell of a manager. At both Hellas Verona and now Toro, he’s created tough, disciplined squads that are awful to play against and defend really well; after all, he turned Sofyan Amrabat into Serie A’s best midfielder in his trademark 3-4-2-1. Fiorentina feels like a natural step for him, and he’d likely turn the side from one of Italy’s most neurotic into a bunch of stone-faced killers. Like Palladino, he’s a Riso client.
Pros: toughness, defensive organization, Riso client
Cons: acrimony with ownership, limited attacking upside, uses a back 3
Wild cards
Daniele De Rossi looks like he’ll get the job at AS Roma this summer, given how he’s turned the Giallorossi around, but he’d likely shoot to the top of Fiorentina’s list if something goes sour. Remember, the Viola were sniffing around him a couple years ago.
Marcelo Gallardo achieved a lot of success with during a lengthy tenure with River Plate before moving to Saudi side Al-Ittihad this year. He’s making bank there, of course, but if the lure of a European adventure is stronger than the cash, Florence could be a good landing spot, especially since he drew some interest before Italiano was hired.
Alberto Aquilani had a heck of a run as the Primavera manager, winning a couple of Coppe Italia, before taking over at Pisa last year. He’s got the Nerazzurri in a solid 11th and has caught the eye of his peers, at least.
Gennaro Gattuso nah I’m kidding. This article’s over.