It’s been a while since the news leaked but now it’s official (pending the unofficial 23-day waiting period customary for World Cup winners): Fiorentina has hired Fabio Grosso as its new head coach. He’s signed a 2-year contract that will pay him €1.2 million a year with a club option for a third
Grosso’s name
is etched into every fans’ consciousness due to Fabio Caressa’s iconic call of the semifinal goal against Germany in 2006. As a player, that was his high point, obviously, but he also enjoyed a lengthy club career. After climbing up the rungs with Renato Curi and Chieti, he debuted in Serie A with Perugia before moving to Palermo, Inter Milan, Lyon, and wrapping up his playing days at Juventus in 2012.
He went straight into coaching with the Old Lady, learning his craft with the youth teams for a few years before striking out on his own at Bari. His subsequent postings—Hellas Verona, Brescia, and Sion—all ended with him getting fired in less than a year. In 2021, he guided Frosinone to Serie A but left the club by mutual consent, popping up for a disastrous 2-month spell at Lyon, which he led to the bottom of Ligue 1 before ownership sacked him in November 2021.
After taking some time off, he took the Sassuolo job and guided the Neroverdi back to Serie A in 2025, then followed that up by obtaining a respectable 11th-place. He took 4 points from Fiorentina: a 3-1 win at the Mapei in December and a scoreless draw in April. More importantly, he took 10 points from 14 games against the teams that qualified for Europe, indicating an understanding of how to get something from the big boys.
It’s taken a couple weeks to close the deal, leading to speculation that Fiorentina was interested in retaining Paolo Vanoli. In hindsight, the delay was predictable. Grosso needed to resolve his contractual situation with Sassuolo and Fiorentina’s management (now led by Joseph Comisso) was in the US, requiring transatlantic travel to get everything signed. With that all settled, Grosso’s spent the past few days meeting with Fabio Paratici and company about the mister’s new coaching staff.
Tactically, Grosso has mostly used some form of 4-3-3 system, which meshes well with Paratici’s recruitment preferences. His Sassuolo could build from deep but was also comfortable playing a more direct style. I’m more interested in his off-ball principles: the Neroverdi barely pressed and often maintained a deep block, creating more space for themselves on the break, particularly for an exciting trio of wingers in Domenico Berardi, Armand Laurienté, and Cristian Volpato.
Whether those principles work in Florence remains to be seen. Despite the standings, Fiorentina is generally considered a “bigger” club than Sassuolo and will often face a deeper line, necessitating a plan to break down stubborn opponents that concede possession. There’s also the matter of personnel: Sassuolo is one of the best-run clubs in Italy, possessing a unified vision for recruitment and play style that’s been conspicuously absent at the Franchi for years.
The tactics and the transfer market matter, of course, but not nearly as much as the environment. Since Vincenzo Italiano’s departure 2 summer sago, Fiorentina has lacked identity and self-belief. The absence of leadership at the top of the org chart following the deaths of Joe Barone and Rocco Commisso left the club rudderless. A young coach with an uneven record isn’t going to be the single figure that fixes all these issues.
Grosso’s primary task will be fostering ambition, development, and trust. He’ll have to rely on his own interpersonal skills to build that culture from the ground up, especially because of the churn expected at all levels of the club this summer. The World Cup winner’s medal offers him some immediate credibility but how quickly he can connect with his players and get them pulling in the same direction will determine his success.
I’ll offer the reminder that past failures aren’t always predictive of future success. We’ve seen that time and again with players and managers, both in Florence and the wider sporting world. If someone as crafty and plugged in as Paratici trusts Grosso to lead this team back to relevance, there’s a good reason. As fans, all we can do is offer our support and our hope that it works out well. And hey, at worst, at least there’s a coach in town who knows how to win promotion back to Serie A.
Benvenuto, Fabio.
