Fiorentina file: Napoli 4 Fiorentina 1
Fiorentina’s last chance of qualifying for the Europa League disappeared last night in the San Paolo stadium when we lost 4-1 to Napoli. Napoli are one of the strongest sides in the serie a though not as powerful as when they could boast one of the best forward lines in Italy – if not Europe – in Hamsik, Higuain and Cavani. The last two have gone but Maertens of Belgium is a prolific goalscsorer as is Insegne from attacking midfield. Both scored against a lifeless Viola side that looked more like a comfortable mid table team waiting to get away on their summer vacation than a team still ambitious for Europe.
Coach Paolo Sousa’s contract expires in a month and neither party seems eager to renew it. The sporting director Corvino says Fiorentina are a big club but big clubs tend not to sell their best players and replace them with mediocre ones. Over the past 5 years we have sold Nastasic and Jovetic to Manchester City, Caudrado and Alonso to Chelsea, Savic to Atletico Madrid and bought in to replace them premier league players like Sanchez from Aston Villa , not of the same quality. Now it looks like our last really valuable asset Federico Berneadeschi will be sold in the summer, probably to Barcelona or Inter, the latter full of Chinese money.
Laat night Napoli were soon two goals up and though we pulled one back in the second half the home side were easy 4-1 winners. Juventus have won the scudetto easily with the normal suspects Roma and Napoli up there for the two other Champions League places. The surprise team have been Atalanta who will qualify for the Europa League. Fiorentina managed to exit in this competiton this season by conceding 4 goals at home in the second half to Borussia Monchengldbach when qualification to the next round seemed a certainty.
We National Rust football contributors are always sending each other emails. Brighton, Fulham and OGC Nice have all had successful seasons but when I receive emails or texts from Ivan, Alan and Michel they carry a note of commiseration. Nice in particular in a league with PSG, Monaco, Olympique Marseilles and Olympique Lyon have shown with an ambitious board, bright manager, clear project you can still achieve and finish above some of the “big boys”. The Viola seemingly cannot.
