Fiorentina chase unprecedented survival after 16-match wait, Paratici hired to lead January reset | OneFootball

Fiorentina finally broke a 16-match Serie A drought, and now chase a survival feat never achieved after a first win this late. According to L'Équipe, owner Salvatore Commisso has moved to bring in Fabio Paratici ahead of January to drive the rebuild.

Last week ended a 210-day wait, between a 3-2 win at Udine on the final day of 2024-2025 and a 5-1 against Udinese on the 16th matchday. It was skewed, as Udinese had ten from the seventh minute after their keeper’s red.

The trip to Parma, first above the drop zone, should be a truer gauge. Two weeks ago they failed a similar test, losing 2-1 at home in stoppage time to Hellas Verona, the other winless side then.

At home the mood is toxic. Pressure in Florence is heavy even in normal times, with a demanding fanbase despite a Coppa Italia final, two Conference League finals and finishes between sixth and eighth over the past four seasons.

Paratici arrives from Tottenham. The Italian executive left his homeland after a 30-month suspension in the so-called fictitious capital gains case at Juventus, having been a key architect of nine straight scudetti from 2012 to 2020.

Paratici must retool a squad short on variety despite €90 million spent last summer and the seventh-biggest wage bill. It remains to be seen whether he keeps Paolo Vanoli, whose arrival in place of Stefano Pioli has coincided with a drop from 1.11 to 0.89 points per game across all competitions.

Source: L'Équipe