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The part I always hated about playing football in high school and college was the stretch before the game where you're in the locker, all dressed, just waiting to get to the field. You're just stuck sitting there with nothing to do, and, if you're an anxious person like I am, you throw up a lot. The waiting is the hardest part.
That's what this apparently interminable international break is like. Being helpless (well, more helpless even than fans usually are) to do anything, to make anything happen, to watch anything but replays, just eats you up, no matter how many discussions about tattoos you have. You're terrified that the break will have completely destroyed the team's mojo, and that they'll crash back into the surface of the planet and suddenly be Mihajlovic-bad. Or maybe you're fearless and just need your fix, to get some more wins in your system to digest, because you know that this is Fiorentina's year, baby, and THE SCUDETTO IS OUR DESTINY. More realistically, you are probably somewhere in between that.
No matter how you feel about la Viola's prospects this year, though, you are already sick unto death of this stupid international break getting in the way of Fiorentina's stint at the top of the table(did we mention that Fiorentina's at the top of the table?). But rejoice, because the break is done, and everything is back to normal. Back to Italy. Back to the Franchi. Back to NapOHMYGOD WHY IS HIGUAIN SCORING EVERYTHING. Basically, welcome back to normal: sweating, panicky, and genuinely thrilled to have Fiorentina back.
The latest
Wait, did we say Fiorentina's on break? Not entirely true. Fiorentina Women's kicked off in style, with a 3-1 thrashing of Castelfranco.
And fine. If you want to hear about the international games, here's our preview, and here's our recap.
Must reads
We've got a new series going about the team and the city. The first entry is about the mechanics of actually watching a Fiorentina game live, and should be required reading.
To coin a phrase (or rather steal one from Nolan), Borja's back. Back again. Check out our piece on the maestro's revival.
If you're going to be in Florence, invest in tickets to Rossifest.
Comment of the week
Facundo jokes are always good. Facundo comic strips are even better.
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Hipster theme song of the week
That'll do it for today, folks. And the waiting is almost over.