To start off our positional reviews for this accursed season, it makes sense to go first to the men between the sticks. No further introductions. Let’s dive in.
David de Gea
The reigning Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year came into the season with a ton of goodwill but, like literally everyone else, didn’t do much to maintain it. He was mediocre to start the season and hit a months-long trough in the middle portion but eventually corrected course and made some decisive saves to keep Fiorentina from relegation. We
saw some old weaknesses raise their heads—the passivity on high balls (particularly set pieces), the poor long-range distribution—but all in all, he acquitted himself better than many of his teammates. It was also quite odd to see him take over the captaincy from Luca Ranieri in December and immediately get worse.
Final stats: 46 appearances, 59 goals conceded, 13 clean sheets, 1 yellow card
Best moment: The meaningless but appreciated 0-2 win at Juventus that left Luciano Spalletti looking more funereal than ever. 9 Dave saves, including a couple of very good ones.
What’s next: His nexus of age, salary, and ability make him an unlikely transfer target so he’ll reprise this role next year. There’s some chatter about interest in Italy and England but unless someone credible reports it, I’m beyond skeptical. Silly season is upon us, my friends.
Season grade: C Some noticeable wobbles but overall solid enough.
Oliver Christensen
Banished over the summer, he spent the first half of the year on loan Sturm Graz before returning in January. He got a bit of burn in the cup competitions and started the season finale against Atalanta and looked like a perfectly adequate goalkeeper. He’s not great on the ball and his confidence/aggression quotient is out of wack but he was fine as a backup and deserves credit for keeping his head down and never complaining about his status despite being crazy as a hooty owl.
Final stats: 4 appearances, 6 goals conceded
Best moment: In the second half at Raków Częstochowa, he came out and “clashed” with Jonatan Braut Brunes. Referee Juan Martínez Munuera initially pointed to the spot for what looked an obvious dive and VAR eventually concurred, much to our psychotic Dane’s delight.
What’s next: He’s one of the guys Fabio Paratici will move on, likely for a cut rate price to facilitate getting his wages off the books.
Season grade: C Did what it said on the tin.
Luca Lezzerini
Brought in on a free to help Fiorentina meet the requirements for academy-trained players, he wasn’t supposed to do anything except serve as an extra pair of gloves in training, curate the vibes, and maybe mentor Martinelli. The vibes part went about as pear-shaped as it could’ve but you can’t pin that on the 3rd goalkeeper. That said, he was pretty rough against Jagiellonia Białystok, reminding us why he’s spent most of his career in Serie B.
Final stats: 3 appearances, 2 goals conceded, 1 yellow card
Best moment: His 3 minutes against Atalanta were his first in Serie A with Fiorentina since 2016 and that’s pretty cool.
What’s next: Paratici could trigger his 2-year option to meet those registration rules, allowing Lezze to follow in the footsteps of such luminaries as Antonio Rosati and Carlo Pinsoglio as club institutions who get more yellow cards than appearances every year. Depends on how the rest of the roster shakes out and it wouldn’t be surprising to see him shuffle out the door, either.
Season grade: C- His job was to exist as an academy-trained player and he did that.
Tommaso Martinelli
The heir apparent got lost in the shuffle as the Viola crashed and burned. Stefano Pioli didn’t want to risk playing a young goalkeeper and losing de Gea’s emotional importance and Paolo Vanoli gave him a couple tries in the Conference League before putting all his chips on the Spaniard. A January loan to Sampdoria ensured the regular playing time that fans have been clamoring for, even if it was outside the confines of the RBCVPetc.
Final stats: 2 appearances, 3 goals conceded
Best moment: Definitely came with the Blucerchiati so I won’t even bother here.
What’s next: I doubt he’ll be left on the bench again so a loan is the likeliest outcome. He was good enough with Samp to maybe get a look from the lower reaches of Serie A (Venezia?) but could drop back down to Serie B for a full year’s worth of minutes before competing with de Gea for the starting job next summer. I’m still a believer.
Season grade: C Just for his Fiorentina performances.
Up next? The defenders. Don’t worry, it’ll be much worse.
