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Articles by Stefano Ursolini

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About Stefano Ursolini

The son of a leading Florentine art dealer, Stefano initially worked in the Uffizi Gallery. He went into journalism and soon became a popular stringer writing on Tuscan wines, art and football. Stefano lives with his partner Umberto in the Santa Croce quarter of Florence. A dedicated supporter of AC Fiorentina his elegant articles on the Viola as well as the Serie A have earned him an appreciative global audience. More Posts

Fiorentina file

I am a big fan of Vincenzo Montella but his team selection and tactics were incomprehensible against Lazio. He made 5 big mistakes: 1) he dropped Borja Valero, our most effective midfielder 2) he played Fernamdez not Aquilani as “mezzo punto” (behind the striker) 3) he played a diamond [...]

October 20, 2014 // 0 Comments

Fiorentina file

Like Ivan’s Brighton, Fiorentina have had a problem scoring. This is hardly surprising as our two main strikers are injured: Gomez and  Rossi. I was critical that we did not buy another experienced striker but the owners were more intent on hanging onto Juan Cuadrado with Real Madrid and [...]

October 6, 2014 // 2 Comments

Fiorentina file

Fiorentina opened their season with a defeat at the Olimpico to Roma. Hardly a surprise as Roma were one of the form teams last year, finishing second to Juventus with sufficient points to win the scudetto most seasons. We have been relatively passive in the transfer market over the summer, the [...]

August 31, 2014 // 0 Comments

Italian view

Like yourselves, we are bitterly disappointed with our second successive poor performance in the World Cup. My Florentine friends have been texting me angrily that this would not have have happened if Rossi had been selected. I agree. He, not Cassano nor Immobile, was the type of forward who would [...]

June 29, 2014 // 0 Comments

View from Italy

Here in Italy we have been shocked by the defeat by Costa Rica but all is not lost and we think we can beat Uruguay in the crunch game on Tuesday. Our problems are defensive, which is surprising given our reputation. Giorgio Chielini is the worst culprit being now slow and making clumsy challenges. [...]

June 22, 2014 // 0 Comments

Italy’s win

I thought Italy ‘s win was merited. Roy Hodgson is a highly respected coach here after two terms at Inter Milan and one at Udinese. His philosophy is old-fashioned catanaccio, the rigid defensive style perfected by both Milan clubs in the 60s, so I was surprised by the adventurous, pacy side [...]

June 15, 2014 // 0 Comments

Italy file

Italy are in good shape going into the World Cup and worth a bet. We may not be as well-rated as Spain and Germany but we have many attributes. The first is our manager Cesare Prandelli, one of the best around. He managed successfully Fiorentina, never an easy  job, before becoming coach of the [...]

May 29, 2014 // 0 Comments

Fiorentina file

I do not know who had the worse Saturday, Alan Tanner or me. I was in the Stadio Olimpico for the final of the Coppa which Fiorentina lost 3-1 to Napoli. Before the game there was a serious shooting incident which delayed the kick off for some 45 minutes.  The Napoli fans did not want the game to [...]

May 5, 2014 // 0 Comments

Fiorentina file

Fiorentina were assured of 4th position and a Europa League place after winning at Bologna, our 9th away win and a club record. Traditionally la Viola are indomitable at the Artemio Franchi in Florence but less reliable on our travels. It’s been  a successful season, given that for most of [...]

April 28, 2014 // 0 Comments

A sad night in Florence

The city has been charged with excitement all week. There is nothing like the anticipation of a visit from Juventus, especially when we have every chance of progressing in the Europe Laegue at their expense. Old scores will be settled. Perhaps there is something in the Florentine DNA, going back to [...]

March 21, 2014 // 0 Comments

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