Fiorentina: Now a Scudetto contender
The three points earned in Roma are a starting point. Fiorentina is now a Scudetto challenger in the sense that it is finding ways to win even in adversity. Saturday Fiorentina played with a largely experimental squad; without Vieri, Mutu and Gamberini (who went down injured); yet was still resourceful enough to win.
At the moment the league table is something to dream about for the Viola fanbase.
Prandelli: I know, Firenze dreams.
"Firenze dreamed even when we were at -19," declared Fiorentina coach Cesare Prandelli. " I am not surprised now that, at least for the moment, we are second on the table, the city dreams of a Scudetto. We need to keep our feet on the ground and think about advancing against Groningen."
My take -- At least he's not talking about avoiding the drop.
A friendly blog, mcalcio, has scanned in the complete list of Serie A player salaries. Some very surprising things in there. Check it out!
Prandelli: We will try for the Champion's League
Excerpts from Prandelli's interview with Repubblicatv.it...
On Fiorentina
"We have young players with bright futures. In these two years we have tried to give consistent performances and we are convinced that this is a winning project. Truly, the start to this season has gone well. There has been less pressure on us as we search for our best form."
On The Prize
"We have earned Champion's League qualification the last two seasons and we have yet to compete. I want to say that we are even more motivated this time. We are aiming for 4th this season. We have already reached a 4th-place and a 3rd-place spot. With Toni's departure we cannot keep up with the big clubs so we have decided to focus on young players who can become champions in 2-3 years. We have champions. We have Mutu and we have important young players. All that we lack is the culture of the match, of the team and of being on the field."
"I read the writings of Gianni Mura often and really reflect on the things he says. I think that he has hit the mark. Without making a prediction he has said that Fiorentina and Roma can make a challenge for the Scudetto. At the moment Roma is better than us but we are hoping to be even more competitive in the coming months."
On Vieri
"We will speak again about Vieri in a few months... If Vieri continues
the way he is going he could even find himself back with the Azzurri in
a few months. It is very easy for a champion to re-discover himself
when he is very motivated. He wants to show that he is still a great
player. We are training him hard but he has no need to train his ball
skills. All that he has lost is a bit of toning and conditioning but
he is fine. He has already progressed a lot and he even did well in
the AC Milan match. We are following the correct path."
On Pazzini
"We have a very interesting young man. He's not a gamble. It is clear that we need to play with in diverse styles. That is what we are doing now but we can still improve. I am convinced that by the end of the season Pazzini will have scored at least 12-13 goals."
On Television Rights
"I am hoping for changes not only for Fiorentina but for the other teams, as well. It would raise the level of our league. There are 6-7 clubs that cthink of aiming for the title. It would be beautiful if every club's supporters could dream of winning."
My take -- Who is this guy? Aiming for 4th? In September?!?!? The official society line in the past has been to say that we are aiming for survival through March. So, if we earn European spots on years where we are aiming for survival what can we achieve when we aim for 4th? I'm getting giddy. I'm not 100% sure who this guy is but I am really beginning to like him. Finally. It's a very nice feeling.
The people behind the Forza Futbol podcast have broken that up into separate podcasts for Serie A and La Liga. I listened to the first episode of Serie A Talk last night and I really like that this is completely dedicated to Italian soccer. I do watch La Liga when I have time but, frankly, I'm not very interested in the latest Spanish intrigues. The first episode focuses mainly on Genoa, Napoli, Juventus, Torino, Cagliari, Reggina and Siena. They are just starting out and their website at www.SerieATalk.com is still under construction. I really think that one of the (very few) good things about FSC getting the U.S. exclusive English-language rights to Serie A is that it will allow Mando, Elisa and Hannah to watch much more Serie A than they have probably had a chance to watch in the past and I think it will be very interesting to see how the show evolves. I really think, for example, that Mando will change his mind about Juve not qualifying for Europe this season. Ranieri at Juventus is just about my worst possible nightmare. Anyone working to promote Serie A in the United States has my full backing and they really are dedicated and doing a great job so check them out!
Well, the schedules have been announced and once we look past the tantrums thrown by the Romanisti (yeah, the league just ALWAYS treats them so harshly) we can begin to daydream on the start that we could likely have to our season. No crying about Juve's seeding or anything else. The beauty of soccer is that the schedule is balanced. For all.
Empoli will give us all they can but it won't be enough. The one thing that has me a wee bit concerned is that we will not have played in Coppa Italia or the UEFA Cup yet and we still may not have found our form by then. For as much as Prandelli is lauded as a coaching genius, though, there can be no excuses. Empoli will afford us the chance to work out the kinks and find our form. Our one Tuscan rivalry that never (in my memory) leads to chaos in the seats or the streets should see the Artemio Franchi packed to the gills and be an all-around mood lifter.
While we are enjoying our opening week love fest Milan will be caught in the hornet's nest in Genoa with their rabid fans making life much harder on the Rossoneri. Not that Milan will lose but it will not be the same team-building experience that Fiorentina will have enjoyed. This could leave us on better form than Milan and able to snatch a point on their ground in Week 2. Note that this game will most likely be played on Monday due to Milan's Super Cup obligations.
We follow our first big test with two very winnable matches home to Atalanta and away to Catania before welcoming Roma into Fortress Franchi. Despite their protestations they will have at least 8 points to our 9 or 10 and still riding high on their come-from-behind, two penalty kicks in injury time, 3-3 home draw to Juventus. I really think (well, definitely to me) that Roma is more our rival these days than Juve. We have been basically equal (except for in head-to-head matches, I admit) with them on points the last two seasons and I really see it being similar again this season. This game is HUGE and we have to expect at least a draw at home. Not a bad start.
I will be adding the schedule to the Viola Calendar this weekend.
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