Failing to reach the Europa League final and having to settle for fourth in the standings yet again, Fiorentina looks to change course with the arrival of a new coach.
Vincenzo Montella was sacked and replaced with FC Basel coach Paulo Sousa. He will be looked at to lead la viola to greater success in both league and European competition. Sousa is expected to continue the path set by his predecessor Montella and will count heavily on Giuseppe Rossi who will be raring to go after suffering with injuries most of his time at Fiorentina, making only 22 appearances since his arrival in January 2013.
Transfers
IN |
OUT |
|
| Nicola Kalinic (A) (Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk) DEF Davide Astori (D) (Cagliari) LOAN Gilberto (D) (Botafogo) DEF Mario Suarez (M) (Atlético Madrid) DEF Luigi Sepe (G) (Napoli) LOAN Artem Makarov (G) (Cesena) DEF Ianis Hagi (M) (Viitorul Constanta) DEF |
Nicolo’ Fazzi (A) (Virtus Entella ) PRE Luca Zanon (D) (Virtus Entella ) PRE Leonardo Capezzi (C) (Crotone) PRE Cedric Gondo (A) (Ternana ) PRE Marco Berardi (C) (Pordenone) PRE Axel Gulin (A) (Pordenone) PRE Jacopo Pagnini (P) (Poggibonsi) PRE Juan Manuel Vargas (C) (Betis Siviglia) SVI Alberto Aquilani (C) (Sporting Lisbona) SVI Elia Papini (D) (Montecatini) DEF Isaia Bertolacci (P) (Gavorrano ) DEF Daniele Ansini (C) (Viterbese) SVI Mario Gomez (A) (Besiktas) PRE Michele Camporese (D) (Empoli) DEF Diego Peralta (A) (Pisa) PRE Nicolò Gigli (D) (Lecce) PRE David Pizarro (C) (Santiago Wanderers) SVI Andrea Lazzari (C) (Carpi) SVI Stefan Savic (D) (Atlético Madrid) DEF Luca Bittante (D) (Empoli) DEF Lorenzo Venuti (D) (Brescia) PRE Antonio Rosati (P) (Perugia ) DEF Amidu Salifu (C) (Perugia ) PRE Lorenzo Bardini (P) (Prato) DEF Alessandro Bacci (P) (Pisa) PRE Gianluca Mancini (D) (Perugia ) PRE Cristiano Piccini (D) (Betis Siviglia) DEF Steve Beleck (A) (Cluj) PRE Ryder Matos (A) (Carpi) PRE Daniel Agyei (C) (Benevento) DEF Lorenzo De Silvestri (D) (Sampdoria) DEF Cristiano Lupatelli (P) (svincolato) DEF Mounir El Hamdaoui (A) (svincolato) DEF Neto (P) (Juventus) SVI |
|
There was so much excitement and anticipation in regards to retaining the services of Mohammed Salah, yet the player was adamant he did not want to return to Fiorentina. He provided a spark upon his arrival in January from Chelsea yet he decided to move on, much to the disappointment of the club who were willing to go to court to protect their rights. This is a significant loss for Fiorentina.
Fiorentina reinforced their backline with the addition of veteran defender Davide Astori (Cagliari) and the midfield with Mario Suarez (Atletico Madrid) – both arriving on permanent transfers. They did some payroll trimming by letting go of several players out of contract. In addition there were the notable departures of Mario Gomez to Besiktas, Alberto Aquilani to Sporting Lisbon and Juan Vargas to Betis. Goalkeeper Neto finally left for Juventus as was confirmed a few months ago.
As no major investments have been made thus far, barring a change of plans Fiorentina looks to promote within to fill the gaps left by the departed players.
Pre-season results
FIORENTINA-Team Trentino 10-0
FIORENTINA-Gyirmót FC Győr 0-0
FIORENTINA-Carpi 2-0
PARIS SAINT GERMAIN-FIORENTINA 4-2
BENFICA-FIORENTINA 0-0
FIORENTINA-BARCELONA 2-1
CHELSEA-FIORENTINA 0-1
Lucchese-FIORENTINA 0-3
FIORENTINA-Iraklis 1908 2-1
Looking ahead to 2015-16
Fiorentina has been very impressive in pre-season matches, particularly in the International Champions Cup with victories over Barcelona and Chelsea, and one loss to ICC champions PSG. They’ve been playing an entertaining brand of football which they should continue in league play.
The turnover has not been significant so the core team remains which should provide some stability.
Sousa is expected to use a 4-2-3-1 formation
Key player to watch: Federico Bernadeschi
When Fiorentina sold Juan Cuadrado to Chelsea, the primary reason was financial. However, there was also the fact that Bernadeschi was ready to take on a bigger role with the team. Although they both play on the wing they don’t necessarily have the same style. Look for Bernadeschi to have a great season and fill the void left by both Salah and Gomez.
Predicted League Finish: 6th
Predicted Coppa Italia Finish: Quarterfinals
The post Fiorentina 2015-2016 Season Preview appeared first on Italian Football Daily.
from Italian Football Daily http://ift.tt/1PGfSQX
via IFTTT berita selengkapnya Follow @jadwalliga
