Fiorentina wins Copa America and the Euros

It’s been one heck of a week for Fiorentina. Yes, the team’s gotten back together in Moena, which means everyone’s gotten to meet new boss Vincenzo Italiano. However, there are some notable names absent from the proceedings, and there’s a very good reason for that: four Viola players have just become continental champions.

Germán Pezzella, Lucas Martínez Quarta, and new signing Nicolás González hoisted the Copa America on Saturday. While everyone will remember this as Lionel Messi’s first tournament win with Argentina after decades of near misses, it’s a heck of an accomplishment for the Fiorentina trio as well, who can all take this triumph to start building momentum.

Pezze appeared in every game but the opener, starting 4 of them and even contributing 11 minutes in the final. The 30-year-old team captain was generally pretty solid, justifying Lionel Scaloni’s inclusion of him despite a rough season in Tuscany. González appeared in 5 games, starting 4 and, while he missed a good chance, was overall solid enough. LMQ started the opener but didn’t make it off the bench after that. What matters, though, is that they’ve taken Argentina to its first Copa since 1993.

The next day, Gaetano Castrovilli watched from the stands as Italy overcame England. While Tanino only played 3 minutes in the tournament after being included as an injury replacement for Stefano Sensi, he’s also earned his medal and place in history as part of the first Azzurri side to win the Euros since 1966.

These four will likely rejoin the rest of the side in a few weeks, as they’ll need some time to relax and recover. It’s quite a boost for the team and for Italiano, though, to be able to count on four continental champions for next season. Not many 13th place teams get that luxury, and it should help instill some joy into the squad for next year. For now, though, congratulations to Germán, Nicolás, Lucas, and Gaetano for all their hard work. Enjoy it, ragazzi. You deserve it all.