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Viola Starting 11?

With less than three hours before Viola-Toro, coach Cesare Prandelli figures to have the bulk of his squad available.  The only likely absences are Pazzini (fever), Dainelli (lower back strain) and Lupoli.  I'm pretty sure that the only reason Lupoli will be unavailable is that they do not want to risk injuring him until they ship him out to another club.  If that is incorrect, someone let me know.

Probable Starting 11

Probable Starters

Our projected starting 11 for today's Coppa Italia match, home to Ascoli...  It is thought that Cacia may see his debut in the Viola shirt.

Potenza To Start

Fiorentina: Potenza in Ujfalusi's stead

Ujfalusi will miss the match.   The Czech has not recovered from the injury that he re-aggravated against Genoa and will almost certainly miss the Lazio match, as well.  Prandelli has announced that Potenza will play in his place.  It looks like Montolivo and Semioli will retain their spots despite looking fatigued Sunday evening.

In attack, Mutu looks likely to start over Osvaldo.  His breather seems to have been put off until some time after Wednesday evening.   

Siena Strategy

Fiorentina: Pasqual and Liverani

The Fiorentina side that will face Siena will line up like this...

• Pasqual will reclaim his spot in the defense
• Liverani will re-join the midfield
• Semioli will fill in for Santana and join Pazzini and Mutu in the attacking third

My take -- So if you are Pasqual do you look at this as an affirmation that you are the LB or do you wonder if Balzaretti is being saved for the tougher challenge away to Villareal?

More Shuffling The Deck

Fiorentina: Turnover to continue for next matches

Another busy week for the Viola and, in view of the success of Prandelli's last turnover, we can begin to look ahead to the changes that the Mister will be making over the coming two matches.

For Thursday's match it seems likely that three of the starters will be Semioli, Vieri and Mutu who will comprise the offensive trio in the 4-3-3.

We should see a defensive line of Potenza, Gamberini, Kroldrup and Balzaretti while Pazienza, Kuzmanovic and Montolivo should be the starting midfielders.

Sunday's match, home to Juventus, should see a return to the old guys with Ujfalusi, Dainelli and Pasqual re-joining the defense.  Liverani and Donadel will most likely be in the midfield and the attacking trio looks set to be Santana, Pazzini and Mutu.

My take -- Kuzmanovic to start at home against Groningen...  I can't wait.

Re-Entries Prompt 4-2-3-1 Re-Visit

Fiorentina: Prandelli to try 4-2-3-1 against Atalanta?

The latest arrivals are not yet certain and their recoveries are fundamental for Fiorentina looking ahead to the league match against Atalanta and the UEFA Cup match against Groningen. 

• Montolivo, after missing the AC Milan match, is ready to return to the field.
• Semioli, by now, has fully recovered.
• The same goes for Balzaretti who, unlike Jorgensen, is in optimal physical condition and will be available for the match with Atalanta.

It could be that, with so many players reaching full recovery, Prandelli could finally make another attempt at using his new scheme; the 4-2-3-1.

The Coming Post-Toni Scoring Boom

Or why we will eclipse last season's scoring mark

So, Fiorentina has lost its iconic leading scorer...  The most prolific scorer that Serie A has seen in decades...  The man that our entire offense, hell, our entire game plan was designed around...  All of the above is fact but does this mean that Fiorentina's offense will be dead in the water this season?  The common answer out there is, of course, a resounding "Absolutely!"  Not so fast. 

Not only will the generally-accepted notion of a Viola scoring crisis not materialize but I theorize that our offense will be more explosive this season than last.  Much more explosive, in fact.  Here are the reasons why.

Toni Lack = More Balanced Attack

Simply put, losing Toni means that we will be much less predictable than we have been in the past.  We have plenty of weapons in our arsenal and now they will not be hamstrung by solely attempting to loft the ball into our huge target man and hoping that he can convert.  A renaissance of attacking creativity will be the theme of this season as the remaining players, and even Prandelli, lose their crutch and re-learn to walk.  We have not replaced Toni, we never could.  But so what?  Not having him around will not make our offense less effective.  It will only make our offense different.

One often overlooked negative of relying so heavily on Toni relates to his image around the league.  He was so effective at using his body that it was really held against him.  It eventually reached the point where opposing defenders knew that they could counter his superior physical gifts with dirty (dirtier than normal, even) tactics and, frankly, know that there was very little chance that Toni would be awarded a penalty.  No one can convince me that Luca Toni was not fouled more than the entire Cagliari team last season, even in limited playing time.  Look at the statistics, though, and they paint an entirely different picture.  The referees apparently felt that Toni's physical attributes were advantage enough and took it upon themselves to even the playing field.  Subconsciously, or otherwise...

Prandelli & DMs -- Less is more

Let me preface this part by saying that the defensive midfielder (I'm the same way with catchers in baseball, always have been) is my personal favorite position.  I just identify with the gritty little pests whose sole purpose is to lay waste to the best laid plans of the opposition.  So, yes, I am somewhat alarmed that we only have Pazienza and Donadel (and maybe Gobbi, I guess) as out-and-out defensive midfielders.  I know, I know.  Montolivo will now be a complete midfielder and ball-winning will be a major part of his duties.  Yeah, right.  Look at him.  I'm just not buying it. 

Back to the point...  Lack of defensive midfielders will mean that we will surrender a few more goals this season.  For this discussion, though, it means that our days of fielding two defensive midfielders against even the weaker sides are numbered.  Pazienza and Donadel will pick up lots of knocks and lots of cards; it is simply the nature of their role; and will just not be simultaneously available (in disciplinary terms) and in top physical condition very often.  Even when they are, Prandelli will be keen to hold one back for use as a tactical substitution.  So, what does this mean?  Only one of Pazienza and Donadel (though I actually consider Marco to be pretty creative, relatively speaking) will be on the field at a time, generally.  And this, of course, means that we will have one more creative player on the field which leads me to my next point.

Creativity = Goals

Compared to our squads of the last two seasons (which were pretty successful; 4th and 3rd sans penalties) we are really loaded with creative, attack-minded talent.  We have wingers now, in Santana and Semioli.  We have Anthony Vanden Borre, a right back who can actually run with the ball, and pass, and cross (admittedly, I think Ujfalusi is an excellent crosser) and even score.  Liverani stayed on with the club so four of our five central midfielders (Pazienza is the fifth, obviously) are creative types.  Montolivo will look to score more and a by-product of that should be that he will have more lanes open for that final, telling pass.  I hear nothing but great things about Kuzmanovic.  Is he the next Ibra or the next Pirlo?  I'll take either. 

Even the arrival of Balzaretti makes us more creative as, on the odd night when Pasqual (or even Ujfalusi) cannot go, we will have a quality replacement and will not be forced to load up the midfield with defensive help for someone like Potenza.

So don't listen to the naysayers.  The rumors of our offense's demise have been greatly exaggerated.      

Kuzma The Game Changer

Kuzmanovic: He entered and the match changed

The match for the Viola side changed once he was inserted.  It was not entirely due to Kuzmanovic's entrance that the tempo of Fiorentina was raised and the side was more lively but when the young midfielder took Pazienza's place the squad demonstrated much more depth. 

Over the past few weeks Prandelli has become convinced of Kuzmanovic's progress, as he has now trained him for 6 months.  The midfielder was acquired from Basel on the next-to-last day of the January transfer market.  Since then, while not finding much space in the first team (his only start was away to Parma), Kuzmanovic has been improving and sharpening his skills.

During the preseason Prandelli used him in many roles, utilizing his dynamic and technical qualities.  Yesterday the young midfielder came in as a wide midfielder in the 4-3-3 and then, when Santana was subbed out, he replaced him in a more advanced winger role; even if he did not seem as sure in this role.  Kuzmanovic is becoming more useful to Prandelli as he shows a keen ability to interpret the coach's tactical requests.  When he is asked to run, he does it, but Prandelli knows well that Kuzmanovic has other qualities.  Over time these will become evident to all.

My take -- I'm so high on this kid.  Sometimes you just get a feeling about someone.

Prandelli Speaks On His Use Of Subs

Prandelli: The goal is Pazzini's just reward

"It was nothing new.  We tried to stay enthusiastic and wanted to do well on an absurd day; because it is absurd to play when it is this hot.  Empoli was very aggressive in the first half but then we were able to capitalize on our opportunities.  With Kuzmanovic's entry I was trying to add more quality and depth.  The Santana substitution was preventative as he had been out of action for a year.  I was happy with Donadel's return.  Pazzini?  During the week he was very serene, determined and ready to go.  It's his just reward.  So we go forward and we know we have a lot of potential."

Viola - Empoli: An Early Look

After reading the article on our absences for the opening match I thought I would make a guess as to our starting 11 for the match.  Some of the pieces (Frey, Pazzini, Dainelli, Gamberini, Semioli and Pasqual) are pretty clear.  But the rest?  A bit more cloudy.

The number one question mark, considering Ujfalusi's suspension and Balzaretti's injury, must be right back.  We are playing at home in front of a soccer-starved public so I would throw caution to the wind and go with Vanden Borre but, let's face it, Prandelli never throws caution to the wind.  My guess is that it will be Potenza with the other possibilities being Jorgensen (not totally fit) and Pazienza (out of position, but capable enough).  I do believe that Prandelli considers Vanden Borre a right back; he's said as much; but I do not believe that he trusts Anthony's defensive abilities enough yet.   To my mind Potenza is better on the right than on the left or center but he won't light it up.  He's the safe pick for the right back spot.

That locks up the defense so what of the midfield?  Keep in mind that I am basing this on a 4-2-3-1 formation.  One of the midfielders positioned just in front of the back four will be either Pazienza or Donadel.  That is an absolute watertight guarantee.  First match of the season, at home...  It's too perfect for Donadel not to have his triumphant return. Marco will get the start.  The second central midfield spot will go to one of either Liverani, Montolivo or Kuzmanovic.  Well, not really...  I have chatted with more than one Viola supporter who have watched our side's training sessions in person and believe that Kuzmanovic is hands down the best of the three.  RIGHT NOW!  So what, though?  Prandelli is not at all sold on our ability to score goals yet so, if he is going down, he's going down with the wily veteran.  Liverani should start alongside Donadel in central midfield.

Pazzini will play up front and Mutu will play behind him so all that leaves are the wingers.  One of those will surely be Semioli; a natural right winger who played most of last season on the left.  The other legitimate starters are Kuzmanovic (who would only be on the right, I would think) and Gobbi who would only be on the left.  Prandelli loves Gobbi.  We all know it.  So expect Semioli to start on the right with Gobbi on the left.  Personally, I would have Semioli on the right, Mutu on the left and Montolivo or Kuzmanovic behind Pazzini.

So, here's my prediction...  Let's see just how wrong I can be...