Fiorentina lurches back into action for its first Conference League league stage match (got to be a better way to phrase that) against Sigma of Olomuoc (OW-luh-mook is close to the right pronunciation).
The Hanáci have struggled this year, slumping to 8th in the Czech First League; in their past 8 games, they’re W1 D3 L5, so this isn’t a group hitting its stride. This is their first European campaign in 7 years, but weirdly enough, they’ve played in Tuscany before, suffering a 1-0 defeat at Pisa (coached by Viola legend Vincenzo Guerini!) in the 1986 Mitropacup semifinals.
The match will be played on Thursday, 2 October 2025, at 7:00 PM GMT/3:00 PM EST, at the Stadio Artemio Franchi in beautiful Firenze. Autumn’s finally arrived in the city and the forecast calls for a clear, crisp evening, perfect for a light jacket in the stadium. The early estimates are that only about 6000 Viola fans will show up, though, partly because the Curva Ferrovia (filling in for the Curva Fiesole during stadium construction) is closed as Fiorentina finally finishes serving its punishment for fan misconduct against Real Betis last year. About 500 are expected to make the trek south from Czechia.
Three things to watch for
1. Can Pioli convince his players? Everything’s gone wrong so far for Fiorentina so it’s foolish to single out one thing as the main problem. For me, though, one of the biggest issues is that the players don’t seem to fully understand or believe in Stefano Pioli’s vision. Albert Guðmundsson mentioned his confusion and Pioli said that he pulled Luca Ranieri for not doing enough in possession in the Cagliari game. It’s been more than a month but I see that same uncertainty in the performances: strikers running too early or too late, midfielders slowing the ball down because they’re not sure where their teammates are, defenders going sideways or backwards instead of forwards.
You can’t play hard if you don’t know your job because your first thought is, “Am I following the script?” rather than, “GET THERE NOW.” That hesitance often breeds distrust in the manager, and players won’t give that little extra bit that makes teams good. Think back to Giuseppe Iachini’s tenure: the players knew their jobs and did them but you could tell they didn’t really believe in Beppe’s plan, and the intensity dropped off. Under Vincenzo Italiano and late last year, everyone knew their jobs and did them with full belief because they trusted their coach to give them the right instructions. I don’t think that’s happening now. Pioli’s job, then, isn’t to convince the pundits or the fans. It’s to convince his players that his vision is the right one. And he hasn’t looked very convincing this year.
2. Spinning the formation wheel. Pioli’s tried 3-5-2, 3-4-2-1, 3-4-1-2, and 4-4-2 so far without finding a template that works. My sense is that this team needs 3 central midfielders because it loses control with only 2. I’m also not convinced that a 4-man defense is sustainable without any wingers on the roster, so we’re probably looking at another back 3. How that shakes out farther forward—1 striker? 2 strikers? Trequartista? Mezzale? Double pivot?—is anyone’s guess.
Adding another wrinkle is the fact that Fiorentina’s entering an extraordinarily difficult stretch in Serie A, starting with AS Roma on Sunday. Pioli’s heard the talk around his job security and may prioritize the league over Europe, so we could see some pretty heavy squad rotation here. That could, in turn, force him to change the way he plays. Youngsters like Niccolò Fortini and Cher Ndour have had very simple briefs in their few appearances, which could limit the mister’s choices elsewhere in the XI.
3. Who plays up front? Moise Kean has started the season on a very sour note and, for the purposes of this game, it doesn’t matter: he’s suspended for his red card against Polissya. That means Pioli gets to choose between Guðmundsson, Roberto Piccoli, and Edin Džeko. For those keeping track at home, none of those 3 (or Kean, for that matter) have scored this year outside of the Conference League playoff.
My money’s on Piccoli getting the nod, as he’s at least been in the right place to score a few times. Guðmundsson and Džeko have combined for 3 shots in their 303 minutes, so it’s not like either’s a threatening complement. Albert could drop off Bobby Smalls and look for space, while Edin could serve as a reference point and aerial target to allow the former Cagliari striker to work the channels. Which (if either) Pioli chooses should give us a good idea as to how he wants his side to play.
The only positive is that Sigma’s also got a major question up front. Journeyman Daniel Vašulín—who’s never had a double digit scoring season—has 5 goals in 7 games for the Hanáci, but was forced off in Sunday’s 2-2 draw with Bohemians with a muscular injury, so manager Tomáš Janotka may not risk him. Considering that Sigma’s only gotten 2 goals from non-Vašulín players, their attack could sputter as much as their hosts’, which wouldn’t make for much of a spectacle.
Unrelated, but if the Sigma fans don’t have a song about their star striker set to the tune of She Don’t Use Jelly, it’s as bad a miss as Kean’s against Torino.
Possible lineups
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Ted’s Memorial Blind Guess Department
The bookies have Fiorentina as heavy favorites but I think that’s based on name recognition alone; anyone who’s watched this team in the past couple months knows that it’s anything but a guaranteed winner, especially with Kean absent. Sigma, of course, is hardly tearing up trees itself, has a long trip, and might be missing its best striker too. The stage is set for these two teams to whack each other with dildos for 90 minutes, inflicting minimal damage to each other and maximum humiliation to themselves.
Because TMBGD is always a place of comical optimism, I’ll say that this is (again) where the Viola finally get themselves going. Pioli and company have their backs against the wall and, missing their best player, might produce the sort of focused, battling performance they’ve so far avoided. I’ll call it a 2-0 for the good guys behind goals from Rolando Mandragora (a shot from the parking lot) and Simon Sohm (a scruffy finish after a scramble) in a game that’s short on quality and long on nearly unwatchable passages of play.
Forza Viola!
