News Focus
- ACF Fiorentina lost 4-0 to AS Roma at the Stadio Olimpico
- Paolo Vanoli accepts the team still shows mental fragility at times
- The club are close to Serie A safety after starting the season bottom of the table
- Youth striker Riccardo Braschi made his debut and nearly scored
- Director Fabio Paratici will discuss Vanoli’s future once safety is confirmed
Paolo Vanoli has admitted that his ACF Fiorentina side still look fragile following a heavy defeat to AS Roma. However, the coach insists fans must remember the club was in a state of total disaster when he first arrived.
The Viola crashed to a 4-0 loss at the Stadio Olimpico. Gianluca Mancini opened the scoring with a free header inside the box. Wesley then added a second goal within 17 minutes. Mario Hermoso and Niccolò Pisilli completed the rout with two more strikes.
Before the match began, the Florence team received good news from another ground. Cremonese had lost to Lazio, which means Fiorentina are almost certain to avoid the drop from Serie A. This is a huge achievement, as the team sat rock bottom with just four points when Vanoli took charge.
“We should not use the other result as an excuse,” Vanoli told Sky Sport Italia. “We simply switched off completely after their first goal. Roma played very well, so we must congratulate them this evening.”
The manager knows his players sometimes struggle with confidence. “We have come a long way to reach this point. We must keep our heads up because mistakes happen. This fragility comes back sometimes, just like it did against Udinese.”
With main strikers Moise Kean and Roberto Piccoli injured, Vanoli took a risk by bringing on 18-year-old Riccardo Braschi from the youth team. The teenager nearly marked his debut with a goal, striking the base of the post within 60 seconds of entering the pitch.
“I would have been happier if he had scored,” said Vanoli. “We have many young players in the squad this season and I always try to give them chances. You need to let these lads grow. He works hard in training and showed some of his ability tonight.”
Braschi came on at half-time to replace Albert Gudmundsson. The Icelandic forward has struggled to make an impact since signing from Genoa. Vanoli defended the player, saying: “It is not all his fault. We have moved him into different positions recently. He would do better supporting a centre-forward, but we are in an emergency situation and he has been helping out.”
Fiorentina director Fabio Paratici stated before kick-off that he will sit down with Vanoli to discuss next season once the team are officially safe. It remains unlikely that the current coach will stay on regardless of keeping the club up.
“We will discuss it once safety is guaranteed,” Vanoli confirmed. “I said when I arrived that avoiding relegation would be our Scudetto. We are nearly there and just need that final push to close the situation completely. We must focus only on the present and the remaining games.”
When asked if he would consider it unfair to lose his job after saving the team, Vanoli replied: “Absolutely not! A club has to make its evaluations. When I arrived, everyone was frightened by relegation. It really was a catastrophe. We had four points and nobody had ever survived from zero wins in the first 11 rounds.”
He added: “The job is not done yet. Then the club and I will evaluate the future. As I have always said, I would be happy to continue the process.”