Player grades
David de Gea—6.5: Made one superb save on Matthias Seidl’s howitzer and a couple other rather more routine stops. His issues with kicking out from the back are real, though, and are part of what’s troubled Fiorentina this year. But he still saves goals that maybe 5 other goalkeepers on earth can make.
Mattia Viti—6: Solid without ever standing out, which is fine for your 5th-choice centerback. For such a big
guy, plays with a mysterious lack of force and isn’t as good on the ball as we might’ve hoped. He’s fine.
Pablo Marí—5: Had a fun battle with Ercan Kara that he mostly won but was lucky to get away with two glaring errors. The first was letting a ball bounce in front of him, over his head, and into the path of an onrushing an onrushing Nicklaus Wurmbrand; the second was a backpass straight to his nemesis Kara that the striker missed. It’s fine to have a big lug back there doing the basic stuff but not fine if that big lug is also messing up the basics.
Pietro Comuzzo—6.5: Was unsurprisingly a little rusty to start with and picked up a dumb yellow while covering Marí’s mistake by handling the ball, but settled in well and completely erased Janis Antiste from the game. You cannot tell me that he’s a worse option than Marí.
Fabiano Parisi—4.5: Got worked by Wurmbrand and Bendegúz Bolla, getting beaten way too easily and often resorting to dumb fouls, particularly in his own half. Didn’t create much of anything and got stoned every time he tried to dribble. His time in Florence may be reaching a close if this is all he can produce.
Nicolò Fagioli—7.5: Man of the match. Dropped between the lines and controlled the game all the way through, finding passing angles that nobody else could see. Could’ve had a couple assists and generally looked like the best player out there. Drifted between regista and a wide left role to ensure he was in space, and Rapid just couldn’t get near him.
Hans Nicolussi Caviglia—6: Made a few unfortunate decisions but was mostly solid enough, albeit pretty anonymous. Did serve as the wall for a couple neat 1-2s and seemed to be building a bit of chemistry with Fagioli but still doesn’t look like anything more than a possession maintainer.
Cher Ndour—7: The goal was farcical, a crazy ricochet that caromed off his foot and into the net without any foreknowledge, but he was really good throughout. Showed a promising relationship with Fortini in particular and was on the move with intent. Helped set up the second goal with some good dribbling and basically looked like everything we’d hoped Sohm would be. He’s earned more minutes.
Niccolò Fortini—7: The assist was great but the overall performance was better. He’s got every physical attribute you could hope for, coupled with the willingness to take his man off the dribble and make the thankless runs off the ball. The out-of-possession stuff was a bit rocky at times but he’s more than willing to do the work. He’s a real player.
Edin Džeko—6.5: His lack of mobility is still jumps off the screen but it’s no coincidence he was involved in 2 goals. I worry that he’s a tweener, too good for these bad Conference League outfits but not good enough for Serie A, but we’ll take the wins when they come and this was one for him.
Roberto Piccoli—4: Flew around at a dead sprint for 90 minutes, understanding that he had to do the running for 2 strikers since Džeko couldn’t, and deserves credit for opening space. The problems arrived whenever he had to touch the ball, though. Generated a single shot (off frame, no less) from two situations where he was clean in behind the defense, which is troubling for a €25 million striker.
Rolando Mandragora—5: Tried to replace Fagioli as the playmaker but, as we’ve seen for years, that’s not Roly’s game. He’s too ponderous on the ball and lacks the press resistance.
Simon Sohm—5: Charged around and, although he wasn’t perfect, seems to be approaching full fitness, at least.
Dodô—5.5: More reserved as a ball-carrier than usual and instead showed some excellent distribution from a wide position. Hopefully he can carry that on because it makes him much more dynamic as a player.
Albert Guðmundsson—6.5: Took his goal really well but still looked a bit lightweight at times.
Eddy Kouadio—n/a: Got an assist within 90 seconds of coming on and has likely cemented himself as the emergency fullback. Not bad for a 19-year-old.
Three things we learned
1. But I still believe, and I will rise up with fists.
This. This is the exact display that isn’t quite competent but verges on competent and convinces us that Fiorentina, well, hasn’t figured it out, exactly, but is on the right path and could achieve competence over the next month or so and become a real, honest-to-god Serie A team that we don’t have to be ashamed of. In all likelihood, of course, this is just a matter of running into another team that’s struggling just as much as the Viola, another false dawn that leads us to into more interminable midnight.
But goddammit, that’s the whole point, isn’t it? When your team is bad—not just mediocre, but fully bad—all you can do is cling to the belief that things will improve despite any evidence to the contrary; think Geoffrey Rush’s Shakespeare in Love character trying to explain the theater (“I don’t know. It’s a mystery.”) That guileless optimism is all we’ve got and you’d better believe we’re going to hang onto it up to the point of death and possibly beyond. It’s stupid and we all know better but it’s also all we’ve got and we will cling to this belief, contrary to all evidence, until the bitter end.
2. Broken hearts, they’re mending in fits and starts.
Every unit of Pioli’s Fiorentina has been bad but the midfield’s probably been the worst. The guys who are supposed to be the heart of the team have needed defibrillation, failing to connect passes with each other or anyone else, much less create opportunities for the forwards. For the first time this season, though, they showed a pulse.
It all started with Fagioli, who finally looked like the creative hub he’s supposed to be. He played with excellent tempo, keeping the ball circulating but knowing when to get it forward, too. He’s been stuck in first gear until now with every pass going back, but he showed both the ability and the willingness to get the ball forward when the chance was there.
Nicolussi Caviglia’s still trying to find his role. He lacks Fagioli’s technical ability and passing range and seems better suited to maintaining possession rather than getting the team up the pitch, and he still isn’t sure where his space in midfield is. Ndour’s job, in contrast, was much simpler. He didn’t worry about getting the ball from the defense and just ran and ran and ran (more on that later). You can see the outline of a functional midfield here: a playmaker, a runner, and a connector.
The quality of opposition is obviously a factor here. Probably the largest factor, like I wrote in the previous point. But engine room sorting itself out could be start to tow the rest of the side in a positive direction, which has been anything but the case up to now. As Andrea Giannattasio commented, these were the “primi segnali di calcio.” That starts with the men in the middle.
3. Why do you keep running around like that?
One of the stupidest, most Proper Football Man (Uomo Corretto di Calcio?) criticisms is “They’re just not moving around enough.” Your dumbest uncle, the one with the Opinions, has probably said this at some point while you’re watching a game with him, and you’ve just rolled your eyes because it’s not worth addressing. Running round like a headless chicken doesn’t help anything.
It’s the secret of having great playmakers: they need targets, guys who’ll make the thankless runs in behind to open space, to get on the end of those passes. It’s a thankless job, usually; I always think of Ryder Matos, who stayed high and wide on the left for Montella’s teams to open space for the Three Tenors. He rarely touched the ball and never scored but he did the job.
Pioli’s XI today featured guys who aren’t afraid to make those lung-busting runs over and over even though they don’t get on the ball as much. A lot of the time, it’s younger players who understand they haven’t earned a lot of time on the ball and can contribute with their energy and athleticism. Ndour and Fortini are shining examples here, as they’re both constantly in motion. Piccoli, for all his flaws, is still useful just because he covers so much ground.
Quality of opposition aside, I think this game demonstrates just how much the Viola need those off-ball guys. Robin Gosens is probably the only regular starter who fits the bill; everyone else wants the ball to their feet, which leads to a cludgy mess of a team. Sohm could be a solution. Dodô, too, if he wasn’t so necessary in a deeper role. Mandragora’s kind of an off-ball guy but needs structure around him. Basically, Pioli might have to sacrifice one of his on-ball guys to get some more running in the side.
