Fiorentina played Roma on Saturday night and it was not the ideal outcome for the Viola.
Fiorentina lost 2-0 away to the Giallorossi and the performance was rather underwhelming.
Star striker Giuseppe Rossi was missing from Fiorentina’s attack and he is expected to have another operation on his troublesome right knee. Although it was just the opening round, Rossi’s absence had an effect on the Fiorentina and Roma might have exposed an apparent lack of depth in Montella’s side.
Fiorentina struggled to win the ball or keep possession in the first half, and despite displaying more attacking intent in the second half, the Viola lacked unpredictability and quality finishing in the final third of the pitch.
Fiorentina lacked confidence in the first half but they were able to hold onto the ball once attacking midfielder Josip Ilicic replaced defensive midfielder Joshua Brillante. He was able to dictate the play and possessed greater passing vision than his teammates.
Ahead of Ilicic were Khouma Babacar and Mario Gomez in attack, and while the Senegalese youngster also had an opportunity to equalise, Gomez failed to make an impact on the game. Usually when two centre-forwards play together, they don’t function well and Saturday’s match was more proof of that.
Montella had to change his formation on a few occasions last season because of Rossi and Gomez’s injuries and he probably has to do so this season as well. Fiorentina does not have another world-class support striker like Rossi on their roster.
Although Rossi is a major loss up front, the defence has also been Fiorentina’s weakness during the Montella era. Centre-back Stefan Savic was solid against the Roma but Gonzalo Rodriguez struggled and full-backs Nenad Tomovic and Marcos Alonso rarely joined the attack.
Despite the disappointing performance against the Roma, the Viola can still do well without Rossi. Colombian winger Juan Cuadrado was expected to leave Florence during the summer but has instead remained in Italy.
He also did not play against Roma and his return to the Fiorentina’s starting line-up would provide a major boost. His pace makes him a considerable threat down the right flank as well as his trickery and goalscoring touch.
Ilicic should be used as a starter and not as an impact player of the bench. He can play between the lines unlike David Pizarro, Alberto Aquilani and Borja Valero, who are better suited to playing as deep-lying playmakers.
Marko Marin has not made his Serie A debut yet but he will provide Montella with options. The German international can play as an attacking midfielder or winger but he will probably play as a winger due to the amount of creative midfielders already at Montella’s disposal.
Another player who can play in attack is youngster Federico Bernardeschi. The 20-year-old was impressive last season in a loan spell with Crotone in Serie B and Montella could use him on the right-wing or behind the strikers.
In defence Fiorentina have acquired Argentine defender Jose Basanta and English right-back Micah Richards. Although they are not superstars, they add more international experience to the rest of the Viola backline.
Fiorentina play Genoa in the second round of Serie A action and with more players available, Montella should be able to construct a team that will suit his possession-based football and give more protection to the defence. He will have to do it without Rossi though and his star quality will be missed.
If Montella can still work with what he has got, he can still put out a competitive team on the pitch.
Follow Vito Doria on Twitter: @VitoCDoria
