The summer’s been fun enough, I guess. There was a World Cup and the excitement of Fabio Paratici spending as much Commisso money as he could. But international tournaments and transfer shenanigans are a pale substitute for what really matters, and what really matters is Fiorentina. Last week’s big win over Benevento in the Coppa Italia was a nice little amuse-bouche but the main course begins on Monday. That’s right, everyone. Buckle in for another 38 games of sadness because the Viola are back.
The curtain-raiser comes at Roma. Gian Piero Gasperini led the Lupi to the Champions League and the club has backed him, splashing out €120+ million in transfer fees to reinforce a squad playing in the premier continental competition for the first time since 2018-2019. The Viola haven’t beaten the Giallorossi in Rome since 2018, which makes getting the Fabio Grosso era off on the right foot feel even more important. The match will be played on Monday, 24 August 2026, at 19:45 GMT/2:45 PM EST at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome. Even with the sun down, it’ll be hot. C’mon, man. It’s an Italian summer. You know what to expect.
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One of the weirdest tactical issues I’ve seen from Fiorentina in preseason is the narrowness of the fullbacks in defensive phases. That’s made it very easy for opponents to hit diagonals to the wingers, who then have time and space to build up a head of steam. Benevento isn’t particularly good but built most of its attacking threat from those situations. Roma has much better players to punish the Viola in those situations. As far as I can tell, it’s the only significant weakness in Grosso’s system.
From what I can tell, the mister’s greatest fear is having an opposing forward get into the channel between Fiorentina’s centerback and fullback. To minimize that threat, he’s ordered the fullbacks to pinch in very tight, forcing everything outside. I’m sure that there’s some sort of analytical reason for this approach but I worry that a tactician as cagey as Gasperini will find that thread immediately and keep pulling on it until the whole thing unravels.
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The question is how Gasperini will exploit that weakness. My guess is that Donyell Malen will hug the touchline to provide an outlet on Fiorentina’s right. The Dutchman’s a handful if he’s allowed to reach full speed and is probably relishing the opportunity to attack João Mário. However, if he stays high and wide at all times, João Mário will have free reign going forward. Since Gasperini prefers a man-to-man marking system at all times, pushing the rightback very high might be the best defensive solution if it keeps Malen deeper.
Despite media reporting that Fiorentina’s played a 4-3-2-1, it’s looked a lot more like a 4-4-2 with Albert Guðmundsson joining Moise Kean up front while Arthur Atta and Cher Ndour nominally occupy the left and right midfield spots, although both have license to attack more central areas as well. We’ve seen a few excellent combinations to progress the ball down the wings and for the first time in years, it feels like those wide options have the pace and technical ability to win individual battles.
The question is how that translates into goals. Energy was enough to beat Benevento but Roma’s a different proposition, not least because the squad’s full of physically good players to counter an energetic Viola engine room. I’ll be interested to see how Grosso wants his guys to get forward. We’ll see channel balls for Kean to chase, of course, but I’m not sure this group can consistently beat its direct opponents to get forward.
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Grosso’s got a couple of jokers up his sleeve, though. Franco Mastantuono will probably start from the bench but could offer another playmaking option to unlock Roma’s defense. Alternatively, the admittedly-uneven Christ Inao Oulaï could offer dynamism through the middle, using his incredibly quick feet to slither past his marker and deform Roma’s defense. Both will probably start on the bench but have the ability to change the game completely.
I don’t usually read much into preseason because it doesn’t matter. The players aren’t pushing the pedal all the way down because they don’t want to risk injury. The manager uses scrimmages as extended training sessions, sometimes ordering his charges to do stuff that they won’t do in a real game. Despite what the dummies on the internet claim, all the friendlies in the world tell you less about a team than a single league game.
And hey, here’s a single league game. I don’t want to fall into the equally odious trap of extrapolating from one datum so I won’t sweat the result too much. I’ll try not to draw any sweeping conclusions from these 90 minutes (probably end up closer to 110 with the cooling breaks) but I’m also fascinated to see how all these pieces fit together. That’s the whole reason for all the transfers and all the tactics and all the other noise. It’s about winning the games and I have no idea if this centenary edition of the Viola can do that. Can’t wait to find out.
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The bookies favor Roma and they’re probably right. After all, the hosts have greater continuity, a proven coach, and a roster that reached the Champions League last year, as well as some key reinforcements. Despite the frenzy of transfers, Fiorentina hasn’t proven anything and hasn’t earned the right to be taken seriously yet, especially because it may take a few more weeks for everything to click into place with so much roster turnover.
I’ll still take the Viola to get the 1-2 win even though it’s not going to happen. Goals for Kean, Ndour, and Malen highlight a game in which Roma sees over 60% of the ball but slightly lacks that cutting edge as Grosso’s compact Viola rides its defense and its luck to open up the 100th anniversary of the club with a big win. What, did you expect real predictions in TMBGD?
Forza Viola!
