Fiorentina Femmenile release squad numbers

With Fiorentina Femmenile kicking off their Serie A campaign in less than a week, it’s time to buckle in and get ready for what looks to be a fascinating season. Gone are stalwarts Alia Guagni, Ilaria Mauro, Davina Philtjens, Laura Agard, and Alice Parisi. New arrivals Louise Quinn, Claudia Neto, Tessel Middag, Daniela Sabatino, and Martina Zanoli. That means that we’ve got a lot of new faces in the team, and in turn a lot of new numbers that the team just released. Let’s take a look.

1: Stephanie Öhrström—The veteran goalkeeper has worn 87 (her birth year) since joining the Viola, but has taken a more traditional number now that Francesca Durante has moved on. Love having a goalie with the one shirt, particularly one as talented as Öhrström.

2: Janelle Cordia—The resident American reprises her shirt from last year, which she rescued from goalkeeper Francesca Durante (ugh). What’s more interesting is that she’s now listed as a defender on the roster after spending much of the previous campaign in central midfielder. That could mean she gets the unenviable task of sliding into Guagni’s spot, especially since there isn’t another natural rightback in the squad.

4: Janni Arnth—The Dane is Fiorentina’s only ranking returner in defense and has opted to keep her number. A rock-solid defender with a rock-solid defender’s number is good.

5: Alice Tortelli—The young defender sticks with her choice from last year as well.

6: Stephanie Breitner—The German is a pure ball-winner sweeping up in front of the defense, so seeing her keep a great defensive midfielder number is pleasant.

7: Greta Adami—Normally, a central midfielder wearing a winger’s number is irritating, but this is a bit like David Pizarro; Adami’s worn 7 for years and has been a great member of the team, so we’ll let it slide.

8: Claudia Neto—The Portuguese midfield schemer is already making good choices. With her usual 5 already taken, she made a good choice in Parisi’s old shirt. While she often plays a bit deeper than a real box-to-box player, 8 is the classic number for the player in the middle of everything, and that’ll likely be Neto.

9: Daniela Sabatino—As a pure poacher who knows exactly where the goal is and how to put the ball in it (remember, she’s a former capocannoniere and should hit double figures this year again), she’s a worthy heir to Mauro in the hallowed purple nine shirt.

10: Tatiana Bonetti—The most sacred number in soccer stays with Fiorentina’s most talented attacker. Bonetti is lightning in a bottle and has more fantasia in her boots than some teams have in their entire rosters. Thrilled she’s sticking with it.

11: Valery Vigilucci—The young winger could see a bigger role this year, but she’s kept hold on a shirt that reflects her ideal position.

12: Marta Mascarello—I’m generally against anyone but a backup goalkeeper wearing 12, so this is the first one that bothers me. Marta sported these digits last time out, though, and is a rising talent in central midfield, so she could make this one hers with a strong campaign.

14: Tessel Middag—Another new midfielder knocking it out of the park. As a worshiper at the temple of Johann Cruyff, there’s something magical about a Dutch 14 for me.

15: Chiara Ripamonti—The U19 international centerback probably won’t play too many minutes given the quality of the players ahead of her, but she can rest secure in choosing a very good shirt number for a reserve defender.

16: Louise Quinn—The Irish international claimed her favorite number from last year’s holder Monnecchi. I’ve always felt that 16 is a good, no-nonsense shirt for solid defender, so I think this fits better.

17: Margherita Monnecchi—The U19 attacker moved up a digit to accommodate Quinn and ended up with a jersey that seems more fitting for a goalscorer than 16; Lisa de Vanna wore it last year, for example, and finished as the team’s second-leading scorer. Everyone wins.

18: Martina Piemonte—The former wunderkind likes 18 (maybe a nod to the age at which she debuted for the Azzurre) and must have been pleased to find that Marta Morreale’s move to Empoli left it open.

20: Michela Catena—The midfielder struggled a bit with injuries last year but can take comfort in keeping the shirt she wore last year as well.

21: Camilla Forcinella—It’s a bit of an odd choice for a goalkeeper but certainly not objectionable.

22: Sara Baldi—The former Hellas Verona star like 11 but settles for 22. Still a good number for a versatile young attacker who could see some time as a substitute.

23: Martin Fusini—The versatile defender wore 33 last year, so she’s only a couple of years from taking Guagni’s number if she keeps this up.

25: Frederikke Thøgersen—The Danish winger takes 25 for the second year in a row. Is 25 a Viola winger number now?

26: Lana Clelland—She’s sticking with this one, and although we don’t really know why, we’re not going to challenge the Queen of Scotland on this. Or anything.

30: Martina Zanoli—After wearing 12 last year at Orobica, she had plenty of options and went for the rather anonymous 30. Seems like a humble move from a precocious teenager who could wind up being a starter.

33: Sofia Lorieri—The 18-year-old academy product has picked a solid number in taking over for Fusini. For the record, she could give Zanoli a run for her money at the leftback spot, so keep an eye on her.

71: Katja Schroffenegger—There’s always that one player who’s going to do something wild, and now we know who it is. Schroffenegger is this year’s Lord of Chaos.

A couple of interesting notes: Guagni’s 3 shirt has been left vacant, which is probably a good choice, since it might take a year or two for the mystique to drain away from it. Full credit to the team as a whole, too, for honoring Davide Astori’s 13 by leaving it empty, as usual.