Fiorentina in Freefall as Sousa Speculation Mounts

Paulo Sousa is taking tips from Edward Snowden. He wants to reclaim his privacy. In his opinion, there has been a lack of respect for it in Florence. “It’s none of your business who I go out to dinner with,” Sousa bristled on Saturday and in normal circumstances, it wouldn’t be. But when the wind whistling through the Renaissance city blows news of the coach of Fiorentina breaking bread with representatives from Zenit St. Petersburg it’s obviously a major story that needs following up. 

The presence of Henk van Stee, Zenit’s technical director, at Sunday’s Tuscan derby only served to make what Sousa had wished to keep private even more public. Attempting to save face like a lover betrayed, Fiorentina tried to downplay van Stee’s appearance at the Castellani. 

“We’ve got five scouts around the world,” general manager Andrea Rogg told Mediaset, “and it’s only right that there are scouts here too because Fiorentina and Empoli have talented players [on show].” Practiced in the art of deflection Rogg added that it was “normal.” Sousa is “concentratissimo on the final seven games.” 

He’ll be hoping van Stee doesn’t judge him on Sunday’s performance. Fiorentina lost to Empoli for the first time in almost two decades. The writing was on the wall when Manuel Pucciarelli put the home side in front four minutes before the interval. Stunningly, Fiorentina have never recovered a point from a losing position this season. 

This was their sixth game without a win. To find a similar lean spell, you have to go back to the bitter end of the Cesare Prandelli era when the relationship between Fiorentina’s owners and their coach broke down once it emerged he had spoken not only to Juventus but the FIGC about taking the Italy job. Touching upon the purple malaise, Prandelli found it remarkable how Fiorentina repeatedly find ways to make their coaches fall out of love with the club. Vincenzo Montella invited the sack by questioning their ambition and Sousa has done the same. 

“I can only make an omelette with the eggs that I’ve got,” he said at the beginning of the season. Fiorentina’s better than expected start, their dazzling football and ascent to the top of the table for the first time since 1999 went some way to papering over the cracks only for them to re-emerge when the transfer window opened again in January. 

Sousa had taken the team in at the winter break in second. A title winner in each of the last two seasons in Israel and Switzerland, he genuinely believed that with further reinforcement he could get Fiorentina over the line and win the Scudetto for the third time in their history. The club backed him but were reluctant to overreach themselves. They had spent the summer slashing the wage bill by 30% and weren’t about to undo all their hard work. 

To force the issue, Sousa played a dangerous game. He aligned himself with the fans who, for years, have taken the Della Valle family to task on a perceived unwillingness to go that extra mile. It necessitated clear-the-air talks and Sousa held off on stoking the fire. The arrivals of Cristian Tello and Mauro Zarate were welcome. Their instant impact was used by Fiorentina as a case for their defence. They allowed them to argue that the club's window hadn’t been that bad after all. 

But other, more critical pressure points in the starting XI did not get the relief they needed. Yohan Benalouane is not adequate cover for Fiorentina’s fatigued centre-backs and Tino Costa has not been able to replicate the same dynamic Milan Badelj brings to the team. It was a missed opportunity and a source of disillusion for Sousa and the fans alike, particularly when you see how Roma’s January buys have allowed them to find another gear and accelerate again. 

“We wouldn’t beat a cobbler with these January signings,” read one banner strewn across the gates at the Artemio Franchi, a reference to Tod’s, the Della Valle family business on Monday. A loss of enthusiasm isn’t the sole reason why Fiorentina have faded of late. There is a sense that they are regressing to the mean. Much was made of the length of time the Viola were able to resist on the podium despite a wage bill that ranks as only the seventh highest in Italy. 

Six months down the line, the novelty of Sousa’s tactics have worn off. Opponents are wiser to Fiorentina - they catch on quicker in Serie A than in any other league in the world - and it’s up to him to adapt. That proved beyond Rudi Garcia. Relying on Plan A simply isn’t enough. 

His go-to goalscorer Nikola Kalinic, one of the bargain buys of the season, is now a shadow of himself. The Croatia international scored 10 goals in the first half of the campaign. Of the 33 shots he attempted, 21 were on target. Fiorentina looked to involve him as much as possible. He averaged 29 touches a game. Since the second half of the season began all of those numbers have been in freefall. Just three of his 17 shots have hit the target. Kalinic has scored only once in 2016 and although Josip Ilicic has found the net more this season than in the last two combined, Fiorentina have suffered. Their threat has diminished. 

A sweet season promises to end on a sour note, which is a shame. Along with Napoli, the best football in Serie A this term was played by Fiorentina. However, that now feels like a long time ago. At the moment, the Viola are drifting. Once sponsored by 7up, they are seven points better off than they were a year ago, which might have subconsciously manifested itself in self-satisfaction. Fiorentina know that the Champions League is a step too far away now. They also don’t yet feel at risk of losing their place in the Europa League. It’s seven points in either direction. 

If the coach is considering his future, some of the players will feel entitled to give some thought to their own. The vibe around the club is perhaps not what it should be. Fiorentina can’t say they were not warned. Sousa is as peripatetic as they come. He doesn’t often spend more than a year in one place. 

Two years remain on his contract but if his head really has been turned by Zenit, some quarters of the Florentine press are even encouraging the Della Valle family to sack him this minute just like former Cagliari owner Massimo Cellino got rid of Max Allegri five games before the end of his final season in Sardinia when he learned that he had been in discussions with Milan. That would be an extreme course of action and one Fiorentina could ill afford with those two years of Sousa’s contract to pay off. 

The Della Valle family have made it clear that they want to stick with Sousa and see this project through to the end. So far, he has yet to return the favour and definitively put an end to the rumours by announcing that he is going nowhere. Privacy, as we have discovered, is everything to Sousa and for now he is keeping his intentions to himself. As such Fiorentina find themselves in an uncomfortable position. The summer sun is about to come out but they are where no one wants to be: left in the dark.

Are Fiorentina at risk of losing their Europa League place and will Sousa stay beyond this season? Let us know in the comments below