Fiorentina have sacked Fabio Grosso, having announced him as their new head coach a little over three months ago.
Grosso arrived with an upward trajectory, having had two successful seasons with Sassuolo, during which he brought them back up to Serie A and helped them survive in their first season back with an 11th-place finish.
So, what happened?
Pressure had been mounting at the club hierarchy after yet another awful start to the season. Since beating second-tier Benevento in their season-opening Coppa Italia game, Fiorentina have had three consercutive defeats to kick off their league campaign: an opening day 4โ0 loss away at Roma, and a 3โ0 home defeat to Frosinone, followed by 1โ2 home defeat at the hand of Torino.
The Curva Fiesole had lost faith and demanded Grossoโs immediate removal. Grosso stayed firm, stating that resignation was not on his mind. The club also remained inclined to give him time.
But everything changed during Grossoโs meeting with sporting director Fabio Paratici on Sunday afternoon, which got heated and led to Grosso indicating his wish to step away from the project, which the club have spent north of โฌ120 million building over the summer.
What happens now?
Paolo Vanoliย is once again set to take charge at the Artemio Franchi. He took charge at Fiorentina midway through last season and helped them stave off relegation. The names of Thiago Motta, Raffaele Palladino, Sergio Conceiรงรฃo, and Aurelio Andreazzoli had also been mooted.
Up next for Fiorentina in Serie A is a trip to Venezia this Friday.
Anshuman Joshi | GIFN
