Fiorentina Fires Fabio Grosso After Just Three Serie A Matchdays

Three matchdays into Serie A and there's already nothing left of the project Fiorentina put together back in June. The 2-1 loss to Torino at the Artemio Franchi was the final straw: a day later, the club announced that Fabio Grosso was no longer the first team's coach.

The official statement left no room for doubt: "ACF Fiorentina confirms that Fabio Grosso has been relieved of his duties as first team coach today." No replacement was named right away, so the Viola start the week without a manager in place.

The detail carries weight: Grosso becomes the first coach fired this season among Europe's top five leagues, Italy, England, Spain, Germany and France. None of the other competitions had made a change yet, and it was Fiorentina that broke that early truce.

What stands out is how quickly it all fell apart. Grosso had arrived in June to take over from Paolo Vanoli, who left the team in a modest 15th place last season. The excitement didn't last long: after getting past Benevento of Serie B in the first round of the Coppa Italia, the team collapsed in the league. First came a 4-0 thrashing away at Roma on the league opener, then, in his home debut, a 3-0 loss to newly promoted Frosinone. After the subsequent stumble against Torino, the Serie A tally stood at just one goal scored and nine conceded in only three matches.

A Blow in the Middle of the Centennial

The timing of this crisis is almost ironic. Fiorentina is celebrating its centennial: the club was founded in 1926, and this year was supposed to be about marking that milestone in a different tone. Instead, the celebrations are unfolding alongside the worst possible run on the field.

There's also a delicate backdrop off the pitch. The club's longtime owner, Rocco Commisso, passed away in January, and since then Fiorentina has been in the hands of his son, Giuseppe Commisso, who now faces one of the first major decisions of his tenure.

It's worth remembering who Grosso is in Italian soccer history: he's the one who scored the decisive penalty in the shootout that gave Italy the 2006 World Cup title over France. That legacy as a hero wasn't enough to keep him on the bench once the results failed to come.

The schedule offers no time to think things over calmly. Fiorentina travels Friday to face newly promoted Venezia, and the following week brings a Tuscan derby in the Coppa Italia against Pisa. Two matches that will arrive with an interim coach or, perhaps, with a new name yet to be confirmed.