With their Europa League victory over Tottenham Hotspur, La Viola beat considerable odds to join four other Italian qualifiers in the Round of 16; something their coach deserves much credit for.
In truth, it was a both a bigger and smaller surprise than it might have been.
Bigger, because the Viola entered the game with a three-man forward line that had combined for a total of five Serie A goals all season.
Smaller, because they were facing a Tottenham side who had half an eye on a Capital One Cup final on Sunday — to that end Harry Kane, Ryan Mason and Andros Townsend were all absent from the starting line-up.
Vincenzo Montella deserves a huge amount of credit for the way he has been able to turn around a ship that looked to be veering dangerously off course in the early part of the season.
When Napoli left the Stadio Artemio Franchi with all three points in early November, Montella’s side were 11th, and had won just thrice from their first 11 games. Since that game, they have lost only once more (inexplicably at Parma), with wins and points gradually accruing in a way that suggests Montella was working with a plan in mind all along.
The January recruits are settling in well. Mohamed Salah scored against Tottenham and has hit the ground running, while Alberto Gilardino and Alessandro Diamanti have been able to offer threat in their largely cameo appearances.
In turn, that has allowed a little of the burden to be taken off the back of Mario Gomez, who has spent a season fluffing his lines in front of goal in a style not befitting a man with a career ratio of better than a goal every two games over more than 300 appearances.
With Joaquin looking electric at times, and Khouma Babacar unplayable on occasion, Fiorentina are looking up the table again. Lazio sit just one point ahead and Napoli six, so there is opportunity to mount a challenge for a Champions League spot — something that would elevate both the team, and their coach, to another level.
Yet something seems almost inevitable that Montella will lead Fiorentina to fourth spot for a third consecutive season. That is an achievement that should not be underestimated, and other clubs would certainly be envious of that consistency.
Increasingly, though, it looks as though fourth represents a glass ceiling of sorts for the club. Without considerable investment, the Viola are unlikely to reach the Champions League by domestic means.
Thus, maybe Montella’s best chance of taking his side into UEFA’s main competition is by winning the Europa League. In doing so, or even while he is attempting to do so, he will see his stock rising outside Italy. However, in Serie A, they have yet to beat a team in the top six thus far, which rather neatly illustrates their failings.
Given the expansive, attacking style of football his Fiorentina side play, Montella’s coaching style almost looks better suited to a different league — it resembles that seen in Spain or Germany more than other Serie A clubs — as goal-heavy shootouts are not Serie A’s traditional stock-in-trade.
Perhaps that explains why relatively few Italian coaches travel overseas successfully — the likes of Fabio Capello, Carlo Ancelotti and Roberto Mancini are exceptions rather than the rule — but Montella’s ability to get an tune out of a selection of veterans and the injury-prone (Giuseppe Rossi and Alberto Aquilani both moved to Florence with that reputation, and both have prospered under Montella), as well as promoting youth, give reason to think he might be able to make a success of a move to another country.
He played in England briefly, forming a rapport with Fulham’s fans but eventually falling out of favour with consecutive coaches. If nothing else, that experience goes to prove that the Neapolitan is willing to travel to prove himself — something that might appeal if another season in Florence goes the same way as previously.
For now, though, Serie A can enjoy a Fiorentina who are eminently watchable. They entertain above all, with a number of different routes to goal, and have more than enough quality to be successful.
Vincenzo Montella can look on with pride at the side he has created, and if he can do so into the later stages of the Europa League, all the better.
