Three matchdays were enough to once again shake up Fiorentina. Fabio Grosso is no longer the Viola coach: a disastrous start to the season, with three consecutive defeats and the team stuck at the bottom of the table with zero points, proved fatal.

The season’s course clearly tells the story of the crisis. First, a 4-0 defeat against Roma, then a 0-3 home loss to newly promoted Frosinone, and finally, Torino’s 2-1 win at the Franchi. Nine goals conceded and only one scored, that by Mateo Pellegrino in the last match. Those stats pushed the club to immediately end the Grosso experiment.

From Vanoli to Grosso… and Back to Vanoli

The peculiarity of the situation becomes even clearer by retracing the last few months. Paolo Vanoli had led Fiorentina up to the end of the 2025/26 season, after stepping in during a very complicated year and guiding the team to safety.

In June, however, the club decided not to continue with him. From July 1, the new project was entrusted to Grosso, coming off some good seasons at Sassuolo. A project that lasted just three Serie A matches.

As also summarized by Sofascore’s graphic, the circle now closes in the most surprising way: Vanoli, who said goodbye on June 30, returns to the Viola bench just over two months later.

Vanoli Returns to Save Fiorentina Once Again

The decision was made quickly in the night following the sacking. Alternatives such as Thiago Motta and other profiles were considered, but Fiorentina preferred to rely on a coach who already knows the environment, the team, and the challenges of the club.

For Vanoli, it is almost a paradox: after hoping for confirmation at the end of last season, he is recalled now that the new project has already fallen into crisis.

And he won’t have much time to work. The next appointment is Friday, 11 September against Venezia, another important team in the coach’s career. Next comes Pisa in the Coppa Italia and, above all, Napoli in the league.

Two Months to Return to Square One

Fiorentina thus finds itself back at square one, but in an even more complicated situation. They changed managers in the summer, built a squad for a new project, and decided to end it after just three matchdays.

Vanoli was considered expendable in June and now becomes the solution once again in September. This is the clearest image of the current Viola situation: a club searching for stability that, after just over two months, has chosen to go back exactly to where it started.