Gennaro Gattuso left Napoli after failing to secure a Champions League spot; Lanchini departed from Fiorentina after an underwhelming season.
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Firoentina appointed Gennaro Gattuso as their manager on Tuesday. The World Cup winner resigned as the head coach of Napoli after failing to secure a Champions League spot. Fiorentina had an underwhelming season under outgoing manager Giuseppe Lanchini in the Serie A. Even though Gattuso had a decent season with Napoli, finishing fifth in the points table and missing the top-four on the last day of the season, the 43-year old had a fractured relationship with club chairman Aurelio De Laurentiis.
Gattuso joined Napoli in December 2019 and guided them to a seventh place finish in the following season. This season they stayed in the top-four for the majority of the 2020-2021 Serie A season. But Juventus finished in the top 4 on the final day as Napoli were held to a 1-1 draw by Hellas Verona and Juventus defeated Bologna 4-1. Napoli finished with 77 points, just one point behind fourth placed Juventus.
The 2006 World Cup winner has previously coached Sion, Palermo, OFI Crete, Pisa and AC Milan and he is also a Calibrian like Fiorentina president Roco Commisso. The hard tackling defensive midfielder has made 35 appearances for the Azzurris and retired from all forms of football in 2013.
Giuseppe Lanchini departed after Fiorentina finished 13th in Serie A. For a team that aspires to be in the European competitions regularly that’s a disappointment.
Lanchini was first appointed as Fiorentina manager in December 2019, then sacked the following November. However, he was reinstated after Cesar Pandelli’s departure in March.
Fiorentina finished their campaign with a 0-0 draw against Crotone. They haven’t qualified for European football since 2015. The positive thing for Gattuso is that La Viola are not short of talent.
21-year-old Dusan Vlahovic scored 21 goals in the campaign and finished fourth in the top-scorers list; eight behind top-scorer Cristiano Ronaldo.
The 38-year-old Franck Ribery who joined Gigliati in 2019 could still be handy off the bench. The former Bayern Munich legend has been their top assist provider this season with 6 assists.
