The new Viola coach introduces himself: “I told the boys to stay clear because it takes a lot of work, time and humility to go back up. Fagioli has to prove who he is.” New sporting director Goretti: “Pioli’s dismissal? A painful choice”
He took charge of Fiorentina in last place in the standings and faces the challenge of reviving a team in crisis, but Paolo Vanoli immediately says: “I’m not afraid. I know what Florence is and perhaps it was fate that I accepted this challenge, I’m motivated and have great energy. I know it will be long and difficult, in fact I told the boys to stay clear-headed because to get out of this moment it takes a lot of work and time, without frenzy. The group is hungry and has gotten the message perfectly. The purple one is an important shirt.” For Vanoli the head controls everything and the important thing is that the players understand the moment and the difficulties. Everyone together must write a new page.
humility is needed
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Vanoli took over from Stefano Pioli, who was sacked after the defeat against Lecce, and was already on the bench in Genoa: “We just have to work, take small steps with awareness. Let’s set ourselves simple goals because, as I told the boys, maybe we’re good, but we’re at the bottom of the table. So now we have to put on our helmets and not look back. I had a first response at Marassi, like compactness, without the presumption of being winners. Now we work with this mentality, as humble: whoever wins does this.”
the motivations
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From 2000 to 2002 Vanoli was a footballer at Fiorentina and perhaps also for this reason he says: “This is an exciting place, we look forward without looking back. We must give something to our president Commisso and win back the fans because now the criticisms are fair”. The objective in short is to create a working-class mentality, with awareness of the slums of Serie A. He has a contract until 30 June 2026 and the agreement includes an option in favor of Fiorentina for another year.
gud and the others
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Fiorentina has the worst defense in the championship with 18 goals conceded and fixing the defensive structure is a priority: “We concede a lot of goals from set pieces, in a single training session I just decided to do man marking. Now we have to do the basic things, even elementary ones. Then, during the current season, we can also change according to needs. We have to be clear, compact and we must always try to win, but we must not lose.” Some jokes also about individuals: “Fagioli is a quality player. He can play as a midfielder like a playmaker, but he has to demonstrate who he is. Gudmundsson? It’s not me who has to understand him, but he who has to understand me. And quickly too. A bit of the same thing as Fagioli, they are important players who were taken because they have quality, but we need to change our mentality. Albert is a player we believe in, but now we’re all in the same boat. You can’t look at the technical aspect, each player has to make an extra run for my teammate, starting from the attackers pool which is large and it’s up to me to mix it together as best as possible. I have to understand how to put all the attackers in a position to score. Kean and Piccoli have similar characteristics but if they make each other available they can also coexist in the future.”
goretti and ferrari
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Conference day also for Roberto Goretti new sporting director, following the resignation of Daniele Pradè. Goretti explains the choice to dismiss Pioli: “The decision was painful. He didn’t ask us for any severance pay, but he believed he was capable of reviving the situation. I want to thank Pradè for having involved me in the Viola technical area, now the responsibility is mine. The choice fell on Vanoli because we wanted to do a reset and he gave us great energy and he knows that Fiorentina is Florence and Florence is the Curva Fiesole”. And the general director Alessandro Ferrari adds: “We shared with Vanoli the anger of accepting this challenge and we are very happy with him. Have I ever thought of resigning? No, I have the trust of the president and this for me is an incentive to always do better and then he will eventually be the one to choose”.
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