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Vanoli: ‘Fiorentina still fragile, it was a catastrophe when I arrived’
Paolo Vanoli admits Fiorentina still look ‘fragile’ after a 4-0 defeat to Roma, but mustn’t forget how far they’ve come. ‘It really was a catastrophe when I arrived.’
It is entirely possible that Fiorentina started the match breathing a sigh of relief, because just minutes before taking to the field, they heard that Cremonese had lost 2-1 at home to Lazio.
That almost guarantees that the Tuscans are safe from the threat of relegation, a remarkable achievement considering they were rock bottom when Vanoli took the job.
Vanoli sees same Fiorentina issues
“Knowing the other result should not be an excuse,” Vanoli told Sky Sport Italia.
“The fact is, we switched off completely after their first goal, also thanks to a great performance from Roma, so we must congratulate them this evening.”
The Viola looked shell-shocked in the opening minutes at the Stadio Olimpico, going 2-0 down within 17 minutes with a Gianluca Mancini free header and Wesley sweeping in, then Mario Hermoso’s tap-in and another header by Niccolò Pisilli completed the 4-0 rout.
“We’ve had a great run to get here, we’ve got to keep our heads up, because mistakes happen and at times this fragility comes back out, like it did against Udinese.”
When already 3-0 down, the Fiorentina coach took a risk and introduced youth team striker Riccardo Braschi, who within 60 seconds had thumped the base of the upright.
Considering Moise Kean and Roberto Piccoli are out injured, could the teenager get more opportunity for the rest of this season?
“I would’ve been happier for him if he had scored, but we had many young players with us this season and I’ve always tried to give them a chance. You need to let these lads grow, he is working hard in training and showed some of what he can do tonight.”
Braschi replaced Albert Gudmundsson at half-time, who continues to look like a shadow of the player who was signed from Genoa.
“It is not all his fault, because he’s been moved around in a few different positions lately. If he was supporting a centre-forward, it would go better for him, but we were in an emergency situation and he has been helping out,” insisted Vanoli.
“I think he played well against Sassuolo and if he had scored, people might’ve evaluated his performance differently.”
Fiorentina director Fabio Paratici said before kick-off that he would sit down with Vanoli to discuss the future after safety had been secured, as it remains unlikely that he will stay on as coach.
“We’ll discuss it once we are guaranteed safety. I said when I arrived that avoiding relegation was going to be our Scudetto, we are nearly there and just need that final push to close the situation completely.
“We must be focused exclusively on the present and the remaining games,” added Vanoli.
If he was replaced after climbing the table in difficult circumstances, would he consider it an injustice?
“Absolutely not! A club has to make its evaluations, and when I arrived everyone was frightened by the prospect of relegation, it really was a catastrophe. We had four points and nobody had managed to avoid the drop with zero victories in the first 11 rounds.
“The job is not done, then the club and I too will evaluate for the future. As I’ve always said, I would be happy to continue the process,” concluded the coach.
