clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Fiorentina Reactions Around The World - Sassuolo

O Captain, My Captain

Fiorentina v Juventus - Serie A
Fiorentina is the team that misses its fans at the stadium the most
Photo by Matteo Ciambelli/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Using another reference to a tragedy written by William Shakespeare just won’t cut it. Instead, we will focus on Walt Whitman, and his poetic eulogy to Abraham Lincoln, in O Captain, My Captain. Why? Because we long for leadership at Fiorentina worthy of such beautiful words.

O Captain! My Captain! rise up and hear the bells
Rise up—for you the flag is flung—for you the bugle trills
For you bouquets and ribbon’d wreaths—for you the shores a-crowding
For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning

I did not fall in love with this club because of their championship prowess. As a foreigner with no connection to Fiorentina, Florence or Italy, I fell in love with the charismatic Prandelli-era teams. Just thinking about those guys bring a smile to my face, even only a day after such a loss. So many things made those teams great, but it all started with the philosophies and flair of the coach, Cesare Prandelli.

Many years and coaches away from Cesare, we find ourselves lining up against Sassuolo in a 3-5-2 consisting of 3 defensive-minded players in midfield, Ghezzal and our phenom Castrovilli. The strength of the two defensive minded midfielders on the wings is pace up and down and then crossing. But cross to who? Beppe has Chiesa and Ribery at the tip rounding out a mind numbing starting lineup.

That is all that i will say about that. I just want a coach that we all love and respect, a coach in the same light of the man who helped me to find my fandom with the Viola many years ago.

Let’s hear from our global fans.


Andrea Di Salvo - Charming host of Lady Radio - “Now we have to worry, 1 point in 3 games, 6 points from the relegation zone, no game, no goals and probably some internal problems. Fiorentina comes out with a defeat at home against worrying Sassuolo. If we fail to make some points, we risk being pulled down into a bad ranking. Iachini can’t find a convincing game plan that can help the team, Castrovilli has also really disappointed. The coach must close a little more, otherwise it will be painful.”

Matteo Bambi on behalf of Viola Club Paris - “Physically weak. Morally unmade. Worrying. Iachini has serious limits. Church as the first tip is an insult. He does not see the goal even if they enlarged it to 10 meters. And not realizing it is criminal. How to keep Igor on the bench at the expense of Ceccherini? And don’t take Castrovillari out of the 45th for Duncan. In short, Iachini is fond of him but now there are three candles to collect three wins. 9 points are needed and what worries me is the lack of pressure that can be applied in the stadium. For the moment they are not afraid but they should be.”

Faza Fauzan Adhima, Member of Viola Club Indonesia - “Looks like Fiorentina have to overhaul all players on all fronts next season, that’s if Rocco wants to be serious. Today’s players aren’t mentally prepared. Why did Ribery try again? Open the space, penetrate the opponent’s defense, find the assist. The big problem is our finishing is so bad. Fiorentina showed that the mental pressure was too big. They have shown that there are no core players now, except Ribery himself. Next season, if Rocco is serious about building Fiorentina, he must come with a classy coach and supply the coach with classy players too. No more mediocrity like this season.”

Flavio Gori, President of Fiorentina Fan Club Tokyo - “Pure disgust. The team needs to find their heart. Iachini needs to find his conscience. Chiesa seems like his head is already with another team.”

Alessandro Pasquetti, member of Fiorentina Fan Club Tokyo - “Certainly Iachini is clearly confuse, with no ideas on what to do, but changing “on the fly” is useless. Now we think of salvation since in these three races where we should have had 6 points we only made 1.”

Stefano Del Corona, Director of FiorentinaNews.com - “It was better when we stayed at home and nobody played at Franchi’s Stadium”

Gianni Matteo Rontani, President of the Rocco Commisso Fan Club - “It’s a bad step back. Tonight everything went wrong but De Zerbi’s Sassuolo dominated and won with full merit. I think Beppe Iachini is now aware that he will say goodbye to Florence at the end of the season, but he has a duty to finish the season in a decent way at the cost of kicking at least 4/5 players in the butt! And have more courage in the second half, especially if you’re below. I’m very sorry for Rocco and Joe who absolutely don’t deserve this. Even for him now is the time to lower the romance and raise his voice to the coach and players. I don’t see any other choice.”

Gianluca Caminati, President of Viola Club KK - Gli Ingestibili and host of CurvaSport - Bar Live - “Brutal”

Yotam Shavit, President of Viola Club Israel - “The first three minutes of the game were genuinely nice. Chiesa did miss the one v one, but we’re used that. From then its all just a big confusion of bad tactical rigidity, bad lineup selection and being unaware of needed changes. Beppe really messed up here. Every player on the pitch messed up. Glad Cutrone finally scored, but it came way too late. I really hope this is not going to be another scrappy end to the season.

Massimiliano Lelli of Viola Club Brussels and Europa Viola - “Last night the game was a disaster. It is incredible how we approached the game mentally, technically. In Brescia it was more the result than the game itself, same with Lazio as you saw a positive approach. Against Lazio, we were the better them. Last night we were awful. After Chiesa’s miss the team disappeared, except for Ribery. I didn't see any improvement in their games. Iachini is the one responsible for this. He has not given the team the right mentality or formation. Prade is also under judgement as Rocco guaranteed him a lot of money in January and none of those players have given value back to the club. I am more worried about Rocco - the stadium situation, the loss and the lack of results will weigh on him. I am afraid he is going to a bit pissed off. I fear he will lose his affinity towards us as he has been through a lot.”

Maurizio Gamberucci, President of Viola Club Texas - “It is too bad to be true. This team looks lost and without guidance. The quality of players is highly questionable. Is Chiesa really the top player he thinks he is if he keeps missing these goals? Definitely he is not a leader when the going gets tough. The first disappointing game from Castrovilli. We forgive him. Prade and the beloved Beppe Iachini. This is the last stop for them. A gear shift is needed.”