Fiorentina lets Fabio Grosso go: he was fired just before midnight
“ACF Fiorentina announces that Fabio Grosso has been relieved of his duties as head coach of the men’s first team, effective today.” In a terse statement released just over thirty minutes before midnight, the Viola club announced that it and the 2006 World Cup champion are parting ways.
Having arrived in Tuscany this summer following a successful stint at Sassuolo, the coach from Abruzzo endured a nightmare start to the season alongside his players: In quick succession came the crushing defeat at the Olimpico (4-0 to a Roma side led by a rampant Malen) and two home losses. The first, against newly promoted Frosinone, was a heavy loss (0-3); the second, against Ignazio Abate’s Torino, was less severe (1-2) but proved fatal.
Against Torino at the Franchi, Fiorentina had even taken the lead: In the 48th minute, Pellegrino caught Lucas Perri off guard with a shot from outside the box, giving the Viola fans false hope of a possible turnaround. But Torino fought back with grit, equalizing in the 74th minute through Mandragora—the day’s “former player,” sold by Fiorentina on the very last day of the transfer window for just five million—and completing the comeback in the 82nd minute with Adams, who skillfully finished with an acrobatic shot off an assist from Belghali. A finale to forget, amid the boos of an increasingly exasperated Franchi crowd.
The Curva had already made no secret of their discontent during the match, repeatedly chanting “Grosso, get off the bench.” This protest vividly captured the mood of a fan base that hadn’t even come to terms with the first two losses. Three losses in the first three matchdays, moreover, mark a start that Fiorentina hasn’t seen since the 1935–36 season.
In the hours immediately following the loss to Torino, Grosso had publicly ruled out any possibility of resigning, taking full responsibility for the disastrous start to the season: “I’ve never thought about resigning,” the coach had stated, noting that he had been aware from the start of the difficulties he would face in Florence. At that juncture, the club had signaled a commitment to continuity, deeming his dismissal premature given the numerous changes made over the summer. Evidently, within a few hours, something changed decisively.
Now the puzzle of finding a successor begins. In recent hours, a few names have already been circulating: among the candidates is Alberto Gilardino, a 2006 World Cup champion like Grosso and linked to Florence by his time as a player there from 2008 to 2015. An all-Italian choice to try to turn around a season that’s already on a dangerously steep downward slope.
