Considerations after Raffaele Palladino’s presentation this morning at Viola Park
“It’s obvious that he asked the club for high quality players”. Read like this it may seem, and perhaps it is, a trivial consideration. Yet, wanting to go a little deeper, this is one of the most important phrases said by Raffaele Palladino during the presentation. In fact, the question was about the club’s “ambitions” and the desire to do better than in recent seasons. Question addressed several times but you know, repetita iuvant. In short, it is better to reiterate it and hope that the concept is clear to those who will have to build the new Fiorentina: improving means two very simple things. One: finish in the top six in the championship. Two: win a trophy. And if the path in the cups depends on a thousand factors and above all is always linked to episodes and good or bad luck in the championship, the matter is different. It is there that in the long run the real values emerge and it is not always possible to hope that a coach and a group will go beyond their limits.
Climb a step
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If you think about going up a step, you must be aware of the fact that this means putting yourself behind (at least) two of Inter, Milan, Juventus, Atalanta, Roma, Napoli and Lazio. Not to mention Bologna, expected to be confirmed after last season’s exploits. And so we return to the starting point. The need to sign “high quality players”. There’s no point in beating around the bush. To think about moving from words to deeds, a great, great leap forward must be made. And let’s be clear. This doesn’t mean spending tons of money. Of course, you pay for quality, but you can also find it cheaply. All you need is the skills and it will be up to Daniele Pradè, Roberto Goretti and the entire scouting team to demonstrate that even in Florence the bar can be raised without blowing up the accounts. It’s easy? No. Is it impossible? Neither.
Ideas and ambition
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Certainly, beyond the obvious considerations on sharing and harmony (could he have said the opposite?) Palladino is someone with very clear ideas and, just like those who preceded him, he has a ferocious ambition. Just make a few calls to those who worked on it together, or have a chat with some Monza manager. The coach is aiming very high and it won’t take him long to point this out if he isn’t supported. Here you are. Right now, beyond the promises, this is probably the best guarantee. If someone like him, who still had other offers in hand, chose Fiorentina it means that he heard and (intra) saw something important. It will be said: they could very well have guaranteed him heaven and earth only to then, in deed, fail to live up to their words. Real. After all, on at least a couple of occasions, they have already done it with the previous coach. This time, however, the environment is different, no one seems more willing to make discounts and, above all, there is a coach on the rise who absolutely cannot afford any missteps.
The wait
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Now, however, all that remains is to wait. In fact, the time for words is over for the moment (by the way, let’s renew the satisfaction with how the climate within society is changing and has changed and we hope that we will continue on this path) and from now until September 1st, purchases and sales will do the talking. There are many expectations, the available bonuses have been exhausted, and this is very clear in the heads of the managers. It is now up to them to find those “high quality players” requested by the coach and who, Fiorentina dixit, will have to ensure that at the starting line of the new season the team is able to fight on equal terms to enter the top six and to bring back a trophy in Florence. Because the objective, if it is true that last year did not satisfy anyone (a concept clearly expressed in the press conference at the end of the season), can only be that.
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