Calciomercato journalists are evil, ruthless, conscience-less beings, and that's a fact. I've learned to deal with it over the years, trying to block out images of superstars that have absolutely no chance of coming to my team, images that these despicable creatures force onto my brain, giving me a glimmer of hope, only to be crushed by a vehement denial the next day by the parties involved. I thought I could live with their blatant untruthfulnesses, but this time they have gone too far. Fiorentina fans are delicate individuals, dammit!
Each day they throw in more and more players that are destined to be nothing more than pipe dreams, players that Fiorentina, and most teams for that matter, cannot afford. Unless, of course, Diego Della Valle has been going around kindapping babies and asking for ransoms. That is, if he's decided against giving the baby a contract.
Today's new names on our list of lust? None other than Daniel Alves of Seville and Joaquin Sanchez of Valencia. The first one was considered excessively expensive by a club called Real Madrid, I heard they're pretty well off, but I honestly cannot be sure. The latter was acquired by Valencia from Real Betis last year for a sum exceeding 25m euros. Fiorentina still needs to buy (at the very least) 2 players, and their budget is 20-25m. Plus, their salary cap is a little lower than what Roberto Mancini spends on his bi-annual botox surgery
Supposedly, we have an ace up our sleeve for an eventual Dani Alves deal. Well, more like a Czech defender up our... nevermind, the point is that Seville is very interested in a soon-to-depart Tomas Ujfalusi , who could be included in the transaction. Yea, that'll help bring the price down a bit, but Tommy ain't gonna pay Dani's salary now, is he?
Really, I hate to be a naysayer, but by God, do not get your hopes up. Seriously, forget those guys exist, or you'll likely end up in a straitjacket singing "Volare" in an empty, completely white room.
God, I hate that room..
On to Slightly Saner News
Ah, finally something that doesn't sound like totally fabricated Bull Excrement: Fiorentina has reportedly reached a deal with Piacenza to acquire Daniele Cacia, probably on a co-ownership. I've been hearing this kid's name for years, and honestly, I am surprised he's not in Serie A yet. This kid scored 32 goals in 65 appearances for Piacenza. That's a goal every two games, for those of you without an MIT degree. He also scored 8 goals in 12 appearances for Pistoiese, in C1.
He's pretty young, by most team's standards (not ours), at 23, but with quite a bit of experience (albeit Serie B and C experience). He's got great placement and excellent finishing skills, meaning that if he were 12 centimeters taller he could be the one to make us get over Toni once and for all. Toni too, I feel obliged to remind you, arrived in Serie A relatively late in his career.
For a quick player overview, this is a great link. There's a video there too, which showcases his ability to put the ball in the back of the net, but I highly recommend turning off your speakers if you watch it. The song's good, it's "Song 2", by Blur, (Fifa 98, anyone?) but somebody like Sanjaya's less-talented sister is singing over it.
This little prodigy won't come cheap, however. Piacenza want somewhere around 10m for him, meaning a deal for the the co-own could be reached on the basis of 4-5m. If he manages to display all of his potential in Serie A however, he could be well worth it.
Maxi Rodriguez's name is still floating around, I wouldn't put too much weight on it.
Fiorentina and Chievo look as though they've reached some kind of a deal for the rights ofVictor Obinna, which shows Cacia is not an alternative to Obinna, but an addition. I'm still waiting for them to sign the contracts before I write it up as a sure thing, though.
So, the future looks bright for Fiorentina. Pazzini and Cacia could form one of the most successful attacking duos for years to come, provided they both show their stuff in Serie A. A few more filled gaps here and there and this team could become a force to be reckoned with.
*I just read Cacia is injured as of right now. I knew it couldn't have gone that smoothly. I have no idea as to the extent of his injury, but it can't be that bad if we're paying 10 mil for him...can it?