OFFICIAL: Gennaro Gattuso is Fiorentina’s next manager

The Gennaro Gattuso to Fiorentina rumors were quite the rollercoaster. Two weeks ago, he was seen as a near guarantee for the Viola bench. Then came news that he had rejected the Viola and was heavily considering Lazio. Even last night, a betting man would have seen Paulo Fonseca as the likeliest option to be Fiorentina’s new mister. However, in Calcio anything can happen in the blink of an eye, and that was once again proven today. Various journalists began reporting that the Fiorentina upper brass had begun a final intense push to lock up Gattuso after talks stalled with the Biancocelesti, and they succeeded. While no official contract length has been announced, various rumors seemed to agree on a two-year deal, potentially with the option for a third.

There are many reasons why this is a very exciting move for Fiorentina, and I’ll start with the most obvious: Fiorentina got their guy. Love or hate Gattuso, he has been Rocco’s #1 choice for months, even over managers with a higher pedigree such as Maurizio Sarri. This is a welcome change of pace from the Fiorentina of years past, who may have settled on a different option or given up altogether after Gattuso wavered two weeks ago. Instead, Rocco himself led the charge to lock up the manager that he wanted, and the Viola have all the pieces in place to fully back their new manager.

Speaking of backing, that’s another reason this move should excite every Viola fan. Through various sales, Fiorentina will have a war chest of over €100,000,000 to spend this summer without even needing to dip into Rocco’s Mediacom coffers. All reporting on the Gattuso to Fiorentina front has said that Gattuso wanted many technical guarantees (such as Dusan Vlahovic staying!) were he to take the job. Rocco has obviously accepted, and now a market frenzy will happen this summer. We have plenty of time this summer to go into more details about who we expect the Viola to buy and sell, but every fan should be buzzing at the prospect of a squad overhaul this summer, with a young and energetic manager who knows Serie A well.

Finally, Fiorentina now has a new catch-phrase. Thanks, Rino!

I’ll leave this short for now, but as I said I’m extremely excited- and you should be too. Fiorentina has been a club stuck in the mud the last few seasons, and Gattuso is just the man to come in and provide some enthusiasm while shaking up various front-office dynamics. Forza Viola!!