Fiorentina will surely take the award for biggest disappointment of the season. They started the campaign looking like potential challengers for the top 4 but ended it sweating on their Serie A status.
With an average age of around 23, the Viola are one of the youngest squads in Europe and for that reason alone, their inconsistency can almost be expected but not to the extent that they should be fighting to stay in the top flight on the final day of the season.
Stefano Pioli took charge for the vast majority of the season. His best achievement was getting the team to the semi-finals of the Coppa Italia where they were overpowered by an excellent Atalanta side. In the league, they were simply inconsistent and indecisive. They drew 17 Serie A matches - the most in the league. After a run of just 1 win in 11 games, Pioli resigned after an embarrassing home defeat against Frosinone but there were also issues between him and club behind the scenes which left a sour taste.
The board recalled Vincenzo Montella who forged a reputation as one of the brightest young coaches around in his first stint in Florence but he has failed to hit the same heights since and it hasn't been the happy reunion that Viola fans would have wished for. He failed to win any of the 8 games he was in charge of and, if the season had gone on any longer, the club may well have faced an unthinkable relegation.
Despite the doom and gloom, this isn't a bad squad of players. Federico Chiesa is one of the best young talents in Italy and often dragged the team out of difficult situations on his own. However, at 21 years old, it's hard to keep asking him to be the saviour and sometimes his over-eagerness to fulfill that role is detrimental to the team. Luis Muriel provided a spark after arriving in January with some electric performances up front whilst Alban Lafont looks a promising young goalkeeper.
There is more than enough talent there to do a lot better than a 16th place finish but is Montella the right man to lead them forward or is he a former flame that's better left in the past? It's a big summer for Fiorentina and they can't afford to get it as horribly wrong as they have this season.
