We already Remembered Some Guys last week with a glimpse at the goalkeepers and defenders. Let’s continue that important work with a look at the 2012-2013 midfield. I’ll get to the forwards in the next week or so.
Alberto Aquilani’s career peaked at the Franchi although he bounced to Sporting, Pescara, Sassuolo, and Las Palmas as his playing days wound down. He returned to Fiorentina in 2019 as a coach, working under Beppe Iachini before dropping down to learn the ropes in the academy, where he won
3 Coppe Italia Primavera and a couple Supercoppe too. His first job at senior level was with Pisa in 2023-2024, leading the Tuscans to a 13th-place finish before being relieved of duty. He’s been linked to several Serie A posts but might get one himself, as he’s got Catanzaro in 5th place in Serie B.
Leonardo Capezzi was a highly-touted Primavera midfielder who was on the bench for several games this season but never made an appearance. He left Fiorentina permanently in 2016 and has mostly bounced the bottom half of Serie A and the top half of Serie B. Still just 30, he signed with Sorrento in Serie C last month and has immediately slotted in. He’s the sort of combative, intelligent midfield general who could play for another decade, although he might never be the linchpin of the Viola midfield I was convinced he’d be.
Juan Cuadrado is somehow still playing in the top flight at the age of 37. For a guy who’s relied on his pace for 20 years, it’s a testament to his talent and mentality. After an unsuccessful stint with Atalanta last year, Johnny Squared has taken a step down with Pisa, mostly working as an impact sub under Alberto Gilardino. Cuadrado’s missed the past couple months with a hamstring issue but seems to be healthy again, although Gilardino’s successor Oscar Hiljemark (who’s a 33-year-old first time head coach) hasn’t picked him yet.
Francesco Della Rocca was a low-risk gamble for midfield depth who didn’t pan out. Fiorentina ended his loan from Palermo in January after he’d played just 15 minutes for the team, failing to displace any of the Three Tenors. He moved to Siena for the rest of the year before playing more bit part roles at Bologna and Palermo before moving to Perugia, Salternitana, and finally Padova before hanging up his boots in 2019. He’s currently splitting time between scouting for Bologna and doing some freelance youth coaching.
Matías Fernández left Europe after 3 superb seasons in Florence, first joining Necaxa in Mexico and Junior in Colombia before returning to boyhood club Colo Colo in Chile and finally calling it quits in 2022 with La Serena. He took some time with his family before earning his coaching badge in December 2024, and although he’s still looking for his first job, he’s showing off his tactical chops. His daughter, though, is following in his athletic footsteps, albeit as a junior national champion speed skater.
Cristian Llama was another low-risk gamble for depth who barely left an impression, playing just 119 Serie A minutes in his loan season before moving to Veracruz (los Tiburones Rojos, great nickname) in Mexico. He’s bounced all over the place since then, popping up in Argentina, Italy, and Ecuador. Now 39, he’s still playing, having just signed for Sicilian outfit Akragas to help them escape the Promozione (6th level, fully amateur). It’s his third stint in Sicily and he’s loving it.
Giulio Migliaccio was mostly the bouncer employed to keep unruly midfielders from bothering the Tenors and did his job well. He ended up in Atalanta the following year and spent 3 seasons with la Dea before retiring. He went straight into a backroom role in Bergamo, rising to become the loan manager in 2021-2022 before taking a job as technical director at Salernitana for a year until Morgan de Santis tapped him to lead the Palermo scouting department, although they were both sacked in January 2025. More importantly, he hasn’t driven a goddamn tank over any more cars that we know of. You were expecting this as soon as you saw his name here and who am I to disappoint you?
Rubén Olivera gave up the number 10 shirt to Aquilani this season, thank goodness, but his numerical terrorism continued: he wore 83 (his birth year), 2, and 9 at various stops. He had stints at Brescia, Latina, LDU Quito (?), Ostiamare, and Aprilia, where he officially retired in 2021, which doesn’t seem possible. He went straight into coaching with the Rondinelle and worked his way up to be appointed manager in 2022 but was sacked before the start of the season. Since then, he’s been at Frosinone and Trento but is, as far as I can tell, currently unemployed.
David Pizarro left Florence and went back home in 2015, wrapping up his fantastic career at Santiago Wanderers and Universidad. He passed the exams at Coverciano in 2021 and is thus a fully-qualified coach but hasn’t taken a job yet, maybe because he’s still got the itch to play. AS reported last month that he’d sign with Gerard Pique’s bizarre 7-a-side King’s League organization but I can’t find any mentions of Pek on the website.
Rômulo served as an extra set of legs and lungs but proved he was a bit more than that after he left for Hellas Verona, earning an Italy callup and and a move to Juventus, which I always found quite odd. He held onto a Serie A career until 2020, when he returned to Brazil for a spell at Cruzeiro before retiring with Athletic Club in 2024. Things have certainly taken a turn since then, as his Instagram’s pretty much all videos of him giving motivational/leadership talks and hm fascinating investment opportunities. It can’t all be roses, alas.
Mohammed Sissoko arrived in January to add a bit more steel to the midfield but played just 117 minutes on loan from PSG. He’s been all over since leaving Florence, including stops in Spain, China, India, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, Hong Kong, and France before calling it quits in 2020. He’s stayed connected to the game, though, founding Leading Sport Management and serving as CEO and principal player agent. He’s got a number of clients in Ligue 1 academies and is poised to become a major figure in the French game.
Borja Valero is still the mayor. He’s taken on more domestic duties so his wife Rocío can focus on her career, which is exactly the move you’d expect after his work dominated their lives for so many years. She’s got a daily radio show on RadioBruno and a regular TV slot as well. Il Sindacco has dabbled in media as well but seems quite happy as a homebody. In case anyone had forgotten that he’s the coolest, sweetest man on earth, though, as he just posted a heartfelt account of the importance of mental health professionals for athletes. I would still run into battle for this man.
Rafał Wolski is 33 and, after a pretty difficult early career, has found his footing over the past few years. He moved to Legia Gdansk upon leaving Fiorentina in 2016 and helped the Biało-Zieloni win the Polish Cup and Supercup before a couple seasons with Wisła Płock. He’s now at Radomiak and wearing the armband as the slightly grizzled creative heartbeat of the side. He’s tallied 7+ league assists since the 2021-2022 season. The move to Fiorentina always seemed like too much for him so it’s great to see him really hit his stride after being labeled a disappointment for so long.
