Club Focus - Fiorentina - Serie A inconsistency continues as Palermo are victorious in Sicily

Coach Cesare Prandelli spoke of fixture congestion and injuries in his attempt to review the 3-0 defeat inflicted by Palermo. His players were utterly outclassed and visibly short on creativity and endeavor. Only Sebastien Frey emerged from this humbling experience relatively unscathed as he performed a number of saves to keep the score from ballooning further.

While Prandelli was right to cite his side’s physical difficulties as one of the reasons behind the heavy loss, the squad is not as deep as desired, given the recent defensive signing Felipe Dias da Silva was vastly liable along with his partner in crime Alessandro Gamberini. The Brazilian Felipe put in a performance more worthy of a non-league side after committing unacceptable errors while Gamberini was chasing ghosts as he struggled to cope with the Rosanero attacking duo of Fabrizio Miccoli and Abel Hernandez. It must be a concern seeing how easily Felipe was outplayed in every department, but Gamberini’s struggles can be attributed to his recent return from injury. The centre-back was sidelined for several weeks and will need to time to recover his full fitness.

Injuries have hampered the Gigliati’s season but most of the players were available to compete with the exception of the often injured Cristiano Zanetti. The more experienced players such as Adrian Mutu and Alberto Gilardino failed to shine while Riccardo Montolivo and Juan Manuel Vargas seemed short on ideas and posed little threat going forward. Prandelli can refer to having played six matches in 18 days (rate of one game every three days) but such are the demands of modern football with other clubs having to do the same. To their credit the Gigliati have been active on the market signing midfield duo Mario Bolatti and Adem Ljajic. It would not be a surprise to see them feature in the upcoming match in some capacity as they are likely to continue the process of blending in. The Argentina international Bolatti did in fact get his first taste of Italian football in Fiorentina colours as he made a cameo appearance towards the end of the match.

Against the Sicilians Mario Santana and Marco Donadel performed poorly allowing Palermo to take the initiative in the middle of the park to direct pinpointed attacks against Fiorentina’s defence. The Argentine Santana has been linked with a move away from Florence and the recent midfield signings might signal the end of his journey with the Tuscan outfit. The Coach’s main concern will not be in the midfield or attack but rather in defence. Despite not scoring the Gigliati have enough firepower with Mutu, Gilardino and the returning Stevan Jovetic capable of threatening the best defences with their prowess. In defence the core players Gamberini, Dias and Lorenzo De Silvestri all featured with only Manuel Pasqual absent. Defenders Gianluca Comotto and Per Kroldrup have seen ample time this season for various reasons but both are on the wrong side of 30 and the latter has been consistently linked with a move away from Italy. The club engaged in heavy reinforcements for the midfield but only brought Felipe for defensive purposes and perhaps the management should look into bringing in another defender, or a couple more in case the Danish Kroldrup is offloaded.

Alternatively Coach Prandelli could switch back the Peruvian Vargas to his natural position as a left-back to create a more balanced side while making available another spot for a midfielder or an attack minded player such as Jovetic. By pushing back Vargas, Prandelli can opt for a three pronged attack composed of Mutu, Gilardino and Jovetic or he can simply bring in Bolatti without compromising the playing time of regulars such as Montolivo. Vargas can still go on his marauding runs on the left flank to deliver inviting crosses or unleash a venomous shot on target.
The concern at this stage remains Fiorentina’s mediocre standing, as a 10th spot finish in the table leaves the club with no European competition next season. The club’s inconsistent domestic form has gravely harmed their chances to qualify to the Champions League. The once impenetrable Stadio Artemio Franchi has already witnessed three of the club’s league defeats including the embarrassing loss to Bologna (their first away win of the season!). Prandelli must quickly address the fluctuation in league performances before it becomes a pandemic.

Unfortunately the schedule only gets tougher with Cagliari, Roma and Sampdoria all next up on the menu. On the flip side, winning all three matches would reignite Fiorentina’s domestic charge for a top four finish.