Serie A - The 2008-09 season thread

110% wrote:

bluenine wrote:

110% wrote:

At least you don't have the CL distraction and it is much easier to play in the UEFA Cup. Fiorentina being in the CL will not maintain their position in the league (unless they drop out of it early), so the top 4 will be Inter, Milan, Juve, Roma

Fiorentina have strengthened this summer, and now have teh depth to compete on all fronts. They still lack some cover for RB/CB, but I know that they are still trying for Burdisso (which hopefully won't happen) - which means that they will buy at least 1 more player this summer.

At the moment, Fiorentina >> Roma. Maybe even better than Juve, if some of their young talents live upto their potential.

Personally I think Fiorentina are only in the top 4 because Milan had a shocking start to the season. Roma was far ahead of them both, and the only club who came anywhere near to challenging Inter last season. I expect them to be the same this season, just behind Inter. The only question is whether juve and milan have improved enough, and maybe Milan can get the 2nd spot. Although I haven't followed fiorentina's transfer activities closely, they haven't really bought anyone that to me says somehow they are now better than roma (and they bought gilardino ). And this season they will also have to compete in the CL, rather than cruise through the UEFA cup.

The beauty of football is that you never know what can happen, but Fiorentina are being overrated because they finished in the top 4 for one season when Milan were $h!t (and still pushed them for 4th spot), and the season before they finished 5th even though Juve were not even there, so would ahve been 6th.

One can never tell how its going to finish, that is the beauty of football.

However, while all the stuff you have written is correct, any Serie A follower will tell you that there is more to it than meets the eye.

1. Gilardino - he was a huge success under Prandelli, thats what Milan payed so much for him. Also, he formed a great partnership with Mutu, again under Prandelli. IMO, that was a great transfer for Fiorentina. A targetman upfront was what Fiorentina were lacking last season, coz of Vieri and Pazzini's failure, and I think Gilardino is exactly that man. Prandelli is likely to again get the best outta him.

2. Yeah, Fiorentina finished 5th in the season before last. But thats coz they had a 15 point penalty. If you add those 15 points, Fiorentina finished 3rd, just 1 point behind Roma! And that was inspite of a very bad start. IMO, Fiorentina were the most impressive team after Inter that season.

3. Last season, unlike other italian teams, Fiorentina took UEFA Cup seriously and always started their best team. They played more games in europe than any other Serie A team. Inspite of that, they finished 4th in Serie A. It was very creditable coz it was the first european experience for most of the team and the coach. Milan played the second half of the season without any european distraction, and still could not overtake Fiorentina. I remember the same disbelief on this MB last season, when I said that Fiorentina will knock one of Milan/Juve out of CL spots. I remember people sayin that now that Fiorentina have UEFA Cup distractions, that will show on their Serie A finish. But what the young Viola side achieved was very creditable. And now, they know how to do it.

4. Fiorentina's transfer campaign has been reasonably good this summer. Apart from Gilardino, they have bought talented players like Vargas, Jovetic, Melo, & Comotto. Much better than Roma, who have lost Mancini and Guily. IMO Fiorentina are just a quality CB/RB away from mounting a serious scudetto challenge.

So you see, there is more than meets the eye. Prandelli has slowly essembled a squad which can compete on all fronts. Their biggest problem is the relative inexperience, so maybe this is not the season we will see a serious charge for the scudetto. But if they continue on this path, they will be serious contenders for the title by next season. And yes, I think that at the mo, they pose a more serious threat as a squad than Roma.

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