When Rocco Commisso said: “I miss Fiorentina, but I can’t take long flights”

These are the words that Rocco Commisso, the president of Fiorentina who passed away during the night, pronounced in December in an interview with the Nation, in which – in addition to talking about football and economic issues, with his team at the bottom of the table – he also mentioned his own health conditions

Rocco Commisso had never experienced a moment like this as president of Fiorentina. The Viola are last in the standings, with zero wins after 14 matchdays. They have changed the coach and sporting director, but the team does not react and the city now fears a sensational relegation. The Italian-American, at the helm of the club since 2019, has not set foot there for a long time due to health problems: “I miss contact with the team, with the players, with Viola Park and the people who work there every day, but I’m always updated – his words in an exclusive interview with The Nation -. I am saddened that I cannot be in Florence to fight as I am used to doing in difficult situations but at the moment I would not be able to make such a long flight.”

I don’t give up

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The Fiorentina number one thus returns to speak. His health doesn’t support him, but that doesn’t mean he’s trying to sell the club: “These rumors do nothing but further destabilize the environment when, instead, great unity from everyone would be needed – the Viola owner continued -. If I had reasoned in this way every time I found myself in difficulty with one of my companies, today Mediacom it would not represent the excellence that it is. All companies go through difficult times but the foresight of those who lead a company lies in learning from the dark moments in order to emerge stronger. I have never given up on any of my activities and even more so I won’t do so now.”

trust in vanoli

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Commisso believes in his managers, even if the ranking is distressing: “The people who work with me understand the dynamics perfectly and have worked in football for many years. Then it is clear that at the end of the season everyone’s work will have to be evaluated but at this moment the people who work at Fiorentina have my utmost trust. We are living in a difficult situation and we must get out of it in any way, we cannot allow Fiorentina to go down.” Support also for the coach Vanoli, who took over from Pioli. “He has my utmost trust and is certainly the one ultimately responsible for this situation. Paolo renounced the contract he had with Torino to come to Florence, only accepting one until June. He put himself on the line for Fiorentina and is working day and night to get us out of this situation: he has all my support and we will all have to be on his side and help him in his job.”

stadium

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Then there is the Franchi issue, a stadium-construction site: “It is penalizing us. Times are getting longer and playing with half of our fans is bad for everyone. We hope that an agreed situation can be found but, as I have always said, we need certain times and also clear ideas on how to intervene and manage everything.” Finally, a message to the fans: “They understood the moment very well, they chose to put aside their deepest discontent to support us and help the team recover in the standings. I’m not talking about those who threatened our players: certain individuals cannot define themselves as fans and as a club we immediately took action with the authorities to prosecute those who are guilty of these shameful and unworthy acts.”