Fiorentina

Was it really just a week ago we all gathered round to agree Fiorentina had been harshly treated in a defeat in Munich?

A ridiculous decision by the match officials cost them dear in the Allianz Arena.

The Viola's performance in Germany had deserved much more than a 2-1 defeat.

Still, there is a commonly held belief that, in the course of a season, the bad decisions are shared out between all teams to establish a kind of balance.

That was proved to be a nonsense in the Stadio Artemio Franchi when Milan came to town.

With the game delicately balanced at 1-1, Riccardo Montolivo was hauled towards the ground by Thiago Silva inside the penalty box.

Then he tripped the Fiorentina skipper for good measure.

Everyone expected a penalty kick to be the result but the match referee, in his wisdom, decided to wave play-on.

Of course, Milan then went on to grab a late, late undeserved winner through Alexandre Pato.

No wonder the Tuscan club announced a press silence in its fury at the way their matches have been officiated of late.

Once again a key decision had killed them.

The result puts the Rossoneri back on course for an improbable league title while leaving Fiorentina's hopes of returning to European football in tatters.

The penalty error was unforgivable and, in the context of the match, produced an unjust scoreline.

Milan were second best for most of the game, they looked slow and predictable and rarely found their way to Sebastien Frey's goal.

The home side, on the other hand, produced some sparkling football.

It brought them no points once more.

It would be enough to make even the most seasoned sports watcher admit defeat and switch his television off for good and never return to the stadium.

We should all, of course, be able to accept defeat when the better team triumphs.

But when you watch a side struggle for the majority of the match and still come away with a victory it is very hard to take.

Of course, Milan fans will say their team has played well in the past and been beaten.

That is undoubtedly true but it does not make Wednesday night any easier to swallow for Viola followers.

The only thing they could reproach their team was a failure to score more goals in a first half they controlled and some rather negative substitutions, when the Rossoneri were clearly there to be beaten.

Maybe Leonardo's side are genuine title contenders but it was hard to believe on this showing.

On the other hand, if they can be outplayed to this extent and come away with a win maybe the Gods are on their side.

Fiorentina certainly must have done something pretty bad in a past life to be getting the kind of results they have lately.

They battered Roma, played superbly against Bayern and dominated Milan and lost all three matches.

Their hopes of climbing the league table are gone and now all attention must focus on the Champions League return tie and the second leg of their Coppa Italia semi-final with Inter.

That's all the Viola have left to fight for.

However, if they continue to suffer the kind of misfortune they have of late, all hope will probably be forlorn.

Football and fairness seem a long way apart.

Another night like this and everyone who holds the Tuscan side dear might just about throw in the towel.

Nobody rises to the top without getting their hands a little dirty.

So Fiorentina should not be ashamed of the manner in which they got a grubby little victory over Livorno at the weekend.

It was nothing to write home about, but at least it was three points which put them back into the top half of the Serie A table.

That just might be a building block toward making something worthwhile out of what remains of this season.

The Viola must have been getting tired of earning lots of praise for their play but coming away empty-handed anyway.

Against Roma most neutrals agreed they overwhelmed the Giallorossi only for Mirko Vucinic to strike and pinch the points at the Stadio Artemio Franchi.

And we all know about the travesty which was visited upon Cesare Prandelli's men when they faced Bayern Munich.

It was getting to feel like the fates had it in for the boys in purple.

On Sunday afternoon, the game looked to be following a familiar script.

Fiorentina tried to make the play while their visitors were happy to try to strike on the break. Eventually, a low Nelson Rivas free-kick delivered a lead to Livorno and a lot of heads were hanging as the Viola headed to the dressing room at half time.

This was a key moment of the season.

Defeat would have left the Tuscan side closer to relegation than the last Champions League berth in fourth place.

It was time to roll up the sleeves and get a result by whatever means possible.

Nobody is more determined in that regard than Peruvian battler Juan Manuel Vargas and it was no surprise when he struck a piledriver to level the scores.

Then Fiorentina got another welcome tonic.

Alberto Gilardino rose in the box to guide home a beautiful header and break his goal drought which stretched back to the beginning of January.

He was submerged by celebrating teammates.

When the final whistle blew, it seemed the whole side recognised it had not been a vintage performance.

They have played better in the past and came away with nothing.

This was a game of nasty, niggling fouls and a few contentious decisions which could have gone either way.

For once this season it went in Fiorentina's favour.

It is all well and good getting praise for your intrepid and enterprising play, but it is not much use if you can't get the results.

Sebastien Frey and company got an important win against Livorno but now they face a few key matches in the weeks ahead.

They will catch up their Serie A fixture with Milan this Wednesday and a couple of weeks after that Bayern Munich come to town.

In an ideal world, they would like to play some of their best football and win both games.

But in Italy, the ultimate land of sporting pragmatism, they would surely settle for another two victories in whatever manner they might be achieved.

“It’s embarrassing that you get this level of refereeing in the Champions League.”

Riccardo Montolivo summed up what pretty much the whole of Europe thought after Tom Henning Ovrebo’s disastrous performance last night. His farcical decision making, with the help of his assistant, has possibly cost Fiorentina the chance of an historic place in the Quarter Finals of the Champions League, and should once again raise the question of video technology. When such blatant mistakes can be made (and that offside was so blatant a blind person could have seen it), what valid argument can there be against it?

It's all very well Rummenigge and Robben saying that these decisions sometimes go for you, sometimes against you, but if you are a smaller club like Fiorentina, chances like last night don't come around often enough to see these things balance out. Nor is the argument that “these controversies are what we love about the game” a good one; try asking Fiorentina fans this morning what they think about it.

Technology works in nearly every other major sport – rugby, tennis, cricket etc. Platini's arguments that "football is different" is nonsense. To say that the use of technology would break up the game is unfounded – the system could be set up so that it was only used when the ball went out of play anyway. To check an incident would take all of twenty seconds. Each team could be given a set number of challenges perhaps as well, to prevent abuse of the system. That way it would only be the truly controversial decisions that would get looked at, and would surely prevent such blatant miscarriages of justice as occurred last night.

I don’t buy the “grass roots” argument either; that is, that lower levels of the game would not have access to such technology. The response to that must surely be, so what? In all sports, the elite have many benefits that the amateurs do not. It’s a bit like saying Formula 1 cars shouldn’t be allowed to have such fast engines because the amateur stock car racers can’t afford them. The fact that the top level of a sport has more benefits doesn’t prevent people at lower levels still enjoying playing the sport – just ask the kids in the park who use jumpers for goalposts. Think of what video technology would have done recently – Henry’s handball would have been spotted; Fiorentina would have picked up at least the point they deserved last night.

Let’s be honest, video technology was the only reason that justice was done in the World Cup final four years ago when Zidane had his moment of madness. Imagine the controversy if he had stayed on the pitch and scored a winning penalty. Would justice have been done then?

Platini has instead stubbornly refused to even consider its use, instead giving us the wonderful penalty box referees, as seen (and rarely heard) in the Europa League. The difficulty with this is that if a linesman can be in line and still miss such a blatant offside as Klose’s last night, how can we rely on a penalty box official to do any better? In fact, in the few matches there have been with this new innovation, mistakes have already been made. Just ask Everton about their first Europa League game this season.

The fact is, there are too many poor officials in the game, making too many obviously poor decisions in crucial games. Maybe that’s not their fault, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t think of a solution. The introduction of a properly thought-out and structured use of video replays would vastly improve important decisions and not leave teams feeling cheated by the incompetence of a poor official.

Yes, even video replays may not prove conclusive – but at least then that feeling of being robbed, as felt by Ireland’s and Fiorentina’s fans recently – would be greatly lessened.

Those against it will no doubt state that “mistakes are made all the time, it’s just the nature of the game.” This argument are fatally flawed however. In what other walk of life would you sit back and accept mistakes when there was already a ready-made solution out there? 

“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” seems to be Platini’s argument. Surely after yet another poor refereeing performance last night, that line of argument itself is broken.

The UEFA Champions League encounter between Bayern Munich and Fiorentina brought to light the disastrous officiating standards in Europe's premier competition once again.

Tom Ovrebo, the man who was infamously in charge of the Chelsea-Barcelona semifinal last year, was the culprit once again as a serious of shocking decisions left Fiorentina feeling like they were cheated out of a well deserved draw.

It was not just Ovrebo but also his assistant Dag Roger Nebben who made a horrendous offside call for Miroslav Klose's last minute winner. Klose was at least three yards offside as he headed the ball past Sebastian Frey, amidst protests from the Fiorentina players.

In the other game, Martin Hansson was also subject to much scrutiny as he allowed Porto to take a quick indirect free kick with Arsenal seemingly disoriented. Though the goal was legal and well within the framework of the rules, Arsenal may rightfully feel aggrieved.

Hansson, as the Irish will remember, was the man in charge of the controversial France-Ireland qualifier where he missed Thierry Henry's handball incident. It was his linesman again to be blamed for the debacle as Hansson's view was obstructed.

What surprises football fans the world over is how referees like Ovrebo are still officiating at the top level despite their evident mistakes in past games. Ovrebo has made a serious of high profile errors over the last two years and was even being considered for the World Cup this summer.

In typically appalling UEFA fashion, no official statement has been made and is unlikely to be made either about the incidents in Munich last night. In fact the UEFA website completely ignores Klose's offside in its official match report.

Clubs - The Real Sufferers

Michel Platini has been campaigning ever since he took up the Presidency for the inclusion of more teams from the smaller European nations. Though this move has been supported by most associations, it seems that UEFA itself is not competent enough to handle such an event.

The Champions League is about the best team on the continent plying their trade so it is expected that the referees are also among the best in the continent. Tom Ovrebo is certainly not amongst them and many of the other UEFA officials will also fall into this category.

The clubs are the ones who predictably suffer the most due to the poor officiating as it the Champions League is a very lucrative competition. Every round a team advances through earns them close to £5 million in TV rights and prize money. Manchester United walked away with a cool £33.5 million after their victory over Chelsea in the 2008 final.

For smaller clubs around Europe, every million means a lot more than to the European heavyweights. Fiorentina might have been denied a draw last night but it is likely to have an adverse impact on their earnings if they are to go out because of Ovrebo's mistakes.

The same point can be made with regards to smaller national associations like Latvia. The Latvians were at the receiving end of another shocking Ovrebo decision when he gave away the softest of penalties to the Greeks in their World Cup qualifying encounter.

Latvia were leading 2-1 at the time and went on to lose the game after conceding from the penalty. They finished third in their group only three points adrift of second placed Greece who went on to qualify for the World Cup. A World Cup spot is a straight injection of £10 million into the kitty of the association.

With such huge amounts of money at stake, it is confounding how UEFA decide to continue with their policy of having clearly incompetent referees.

The Solution

Under the current system referees from most of the European nations are elected as officials for the competition. Ovrebo and his staff for yesterday's game were Norwegian.

Without meaning any disrespect to the Norwegian Premier League it wouldn't be wrong to suggest that the level of the Tippeligaen and the Champions League is miles apart. A similar case can be made against Martin Hansson and his assistants who all hailed from Sweden.

In such a scenario as English is the official language of the competition, it might be a good idea to have some mix n' match with the referees. It shouldn't be entirely difficult to have referees from different associations coordinating together.

This way we can be assured that at least there is not a whole set of incompetent officials at a game who will ruin the match for everyone. Such a combination of referees from different countries has worked successfully at the World Cup so why not the Champions League?

The other option which I would personally favour is for the coefficient system to be applicable to the appointment of referees as well. If one can acknowledge the strength of various leagues, then the same must transcend to their officials as well.

It is a well known fact that some of the best officials come from the top European nations. In fact four of the last six referees for a European Championship final have come from one of Italy, Germany and France.

So why not have a similar structure throughout the competition where the referees from the most competitive associations are looking after the games in the Champions League.

It is indeed high-time that UEFA acted upon this problem lest it lead to a serious fallout.

Defeats are never easy to accept.

Sometimes you have to admit the better team won. Other times you realise that good fortune was simply not on your side.

But on other occasions, you feel like Fiorentina did in Munich.

The Viola went to Germany as massive underdogs and came within a whisker of getting away with a 1-1 draw which would have put them in the driving seat for Champions League quarterfinal qualification.

A horrendous error cost them that result.

With the game all square and the Italian team down to 10 men—more of which later—it looked like the Tuscan defence might hold.

A shot was fired in, Sebastien Frey parried it and from the rebound Ivica Olic headed it forward to Miroslav Klose standing a couple of yards offside.

He nodded the ball home but the Fiorentina players looked around for the flag of the referee's assistant to be raised.

It never happened.

Of course, a football official does not have an easy job and often has to make decisions in a split second. They deserve a bit of slack most of the time for any mistakes they make.

But not this one.

It was obvious at normal speed, it was obvious in slow motion and it was obvious in the 300 replays after the match. The officials got it badly, badly wrong.

We'll never know how the game might have panned out without that decision.

Bayern might easily have got a goal anyway through another source or in another manner.

However, that will not ease Fiorentina's fury.

They had played an impeccable game up to that point. With all the players following Cesare Prandelli's instructions to the letter they smothered out Franck Ribery to great effect.

Arjen Robben caused more problems but for the first half the Viola seemed to have matters under control.

The Allianz Arena appeared subdued and about 5,000 Fiorentina fans started to sense a famous result might be on the cards.

That hope took a blow just before halftime.

A clumsy challenge sent a Munich man flying and although Mario Gomez slotted the ball home afterwards, the referee brought play back to give the penalty.

The impressive Robben calmly gave the home side the lead.

It should have been a platform for Louis Van Gaal's side to get more goals but instead it was the visitors who hit back.

A lucky bounce off Stevan Jovetic from a corner fell invitingly at the feet of Per Kroldrup.

The big Dane swivelled and scored.

It gave the Viola a vital injection of confidence at a key moment and they stood toe to toe with the Germans and looked as likely to score as their hosts.

But then came Massimo Gobbi's red card.

It was a foolish obstruction, definitely, and maybe he did deserve to go for an early bath but his sending off did not seem consistent with other decisions.

Mark Van Bommel had gone in two footed on Riccardo Montolivo earlier in the game and escaped with a yellow.

And Klose was also only booked for a potential ankle-breaking lunge on a Viola defender afterwards.

In context, then, Gobbi's expulsion from the game seemed a little harsh.

It also ruined a delicately poised match.

For the final 15 minutes plus injury time, Fiorentina could think only of defending.

Yet they held on resolutely until that missed offside decision which will take some time for the Serie A side to digest.

Of course, a 2-1 defeat away from home is still a positive result and it gives them every chance of turning the tie around back in the Artemio Franchi.

And their display gave them plenty of encouragement too.

But a grave error has had a fundamental impact on this last 16 fixture.

Bayern Munich will now kick off in Florence knowing that a goalless draw will be enough to see them through.

They should not have had that luxury. 

Bayern Munich 2-1 Fiorentina

Goals: 46' Robben (pen), 89' Klose; 50' Kroldrup

We all love football because of the highs and lows; the way a game can change with the flick of a boot or the nod of a head; its unpredictability.  But there are times when its injustices make you question your attachment to the sport.  

Fiorentina travelled to Germany as massive underdogs.  Bayern had scored 39 goals in their last 11 games, Fiorentina had picked up only 2 points from the last 12 in the league.  But as happens so often in football, the form book was thrown out the window when the Champions League music started.  Far from being outplayed, Fiorentina matched the German giants blow for blow.

It was a couple of moments midway through the first half that should have raised the warning signs for what was to come, however.  I’m not talking about any great Bayern chances (there were none), but two pieces of “play” by Van Bommel.  First was a two footed jump at Montolivo, right in front of Tom Henning Ovrebo, the referee, who saw fit to only book him for it.  Van Bommel then proceeded to dive a few minutes later – and Ovrebo must have thought it a dive as no foul was given.  But no second yellow was produced.

Bayern of course then took an undeserved lead in stoppage time of the first half, Robben slotting home a penalty (although Ovrebo made another strange decision here, not allowing Gomez to score a rebound from the foul leading to the penalty, and instead making the Germans score again from the spot).  That didn’t halt Prandelli’s men however, who quickly grabbed a deserved equaliser from Per Kroldrup following a corner.

It appeared the strange decision-making of Ovrebo would not harm them after all.  But then Robben ran down the right wing.  Gobbi turned, his elbow slightly raised admittedly, which led to Robben sprawling to the floor.  It was a foul for obstruction, perhaps a harsh ref would say yellow, but incredibly Ovrebo, with the help of his assistant, pulled out a straight red.

Handing advantage to the Germans in such a way meant you feared the worst  for Fiorentina, but again they stood resolute.  Then Klose put in what can only be described as a leg-breaking challenge on Felipe, two feet off the ground, leading with his left foot, his studs cracking into the Brazilian’s shin.  A straight red, in anyone’s book, particularly as it happened right in front of the linesman.  But no, Ovrebo decided it was only a yellow.

Despite these ridiculous decisions, Fiorentina held on until the last minute.  But they hadn’t banked on Ovrebo and his assistant playing their final card.  And they saved the best for last.  Robben hit a powerful shot from the right, which Frey beat out to Olic, whose header found Klose unmarked 5 yards out, and he headed home.  Only it was obvious to everyone, in real time, never mind slow motion, that Klose was about two metres offside from Olic’s header.  Not only that, he was offside from Robben’s initial shot.

The linesman was right in line as Olic headed it across and yet his flag amazingly stayed down.  Fiorentina’s players were rightly furious, leading to a booking for Vargas.  Frankly they deserve a medal for not completely losing the plot at the linesman and Ovrebo.   His performance, from start to finish, was nothing short of a disgrace, daylight robbery from a Fiorentina side who deserved far more.  It would be very easy to make a case for outright cheating, so bad and biased were his decisions.   Even Sky’s pundits sided with the Italian team, which tells you something in itself.

Ovrebo has form for this, of course.  He was the man at the centre of controversy in the Chelsea – Barcelona semi-final last year.  He made bad decisions then, and yet he was awarded with another important Champions League tie.  No doubt UEFA were sure he would justify their faith.  Sadly he only showed how incompetent he – and by association – they are.  Perhaps he will never be allowed to referee another important top level game again.

Sadly for Fiorentina and their fans that will be little consolation.

When Fiorentina was drawn in Group E alongside Liverpool, Lyon and Debrecen, few expected the Viola to progress to the knockout stages of the Champions League—let alone as group winners as they relegated Lyon to second place and sent Liverpool packing.

The mighty Juventus crashed out in the group stages while cousins AC Milan and Inter Milan secured their places in the final 16 with labored performances, it was minnows Fiorentina that exceeded all expectations as they went on to collect an impressive 15 points in six games—with only Bordeaux boasting better numbers.

The last time Fiorentina was in the final 16 was back 1999. Since then the club has been to hell and back, clawing their way up from Italy’s fourth tier to once again grace the continental stage.

Their opening game away to Lyon—who incidentally knocked the Italians out of the group stages last season—was, however, anything but encouraging as Alberto Gilardino was not only dismissed, but also banned for the upcoming game against Liverpool at the Artemio Franchi. In a stroke of genius, Viola tactician Cesare Prandelli invented teenager Stevan Jovetic as a striker. The starlet didn’t disappoint and with his brace against the Merseyside team, he officially introduced himself to the rest of the world.

Viola went on to collect back-to-back victories against Debrecen before they once again dismantled Rafael Benitez’s side—this time at Anfield. Prandelli’s men then rounded up their impressive run in the group stages by securing their fifth consecutive victory in the tournament against Lyon—thus securing their spot in the final 16.

However, despite their impressive showings in the group stages were Cesare Prandelli’s men simply thrived in the underdog position, the knock-out stages couldn’t have come at a worst time. The Viola is officially in crisis after having picked up a single victory in five outings and currently resides in mid-table.

This season’s revelation, Juan Manuel Vargas has been struggling lately; Gilardino is a shady of his former self and with the team as a whole displaying a clear lack of energy and confidence, things doesn’t look very positive for the Tuscan side.

To add insult to injury, disgraced forward Adrian Mutu has been slapped with a ban for testing positive for the banned substance Sibutramine—leaving Gilardino and Jovetic to score the goals.

If that wasn’t enough, Bayern Munich has found their stride in the Bundesliga and is currently on an unbeaten run of 14 games. Players such as Daniel van Buyten, Ivica Olic and Arjen Robben are in scintillating form and let’s not forget that Franck Ribery has returned from his long-term injury layoff.

It seems like the Germans might be a bridge too far, however, Viola has been one of the surprise packages in Europe’s elite competition thus far. The self-belief Prandelli’s side has showcased this season is not to be underestimated considering their performances in the face of adversity.

Can Fiorentina surprise us yet again?

It was Lady Macbeth, I think, who told her husband not to lose his courage when he started to doubt their plans to kill King Duncan and seize the Scottish throne.

She simply told him failure was not an option—as long as he had the strength to carry out their fiendish plan.

How Fiorentina could do with her likes right now.

Everything was going swimmingly for the Viola before Christmas, and even outsiders were casting a jealous eye in the direction of the Tuscan capital.

Cesare Prandelli's men had come through a tough Champions League group in some style, they were on target for a top four finish in Serie A, and some of their young starlets were the envy of Italy.

Those times, however, have changed.

The boys in purple sit in the bottom half of the league table, their defence has leaked goals, and their prolific strike force has run dry.

It is not the best state to be heading to Munich for a crunch European tie, especially when your opponents just can't stop winning.

It would be easy to throw in the towel already and accept elimination as the only possible conclusion.

However, that's why Fiorentina desperately needs somebody to make a stand and keep the faith in the football, which got them so many rave reviews earlier this year.

The weekend defeat to Sampdoria did little to raise the spirits.

A wicked deflected headed goal by Franco Semioli (a former Fiorentina player) and a smart finish by Giampaolo Pazzini (also an ex-employee) killed off Alberto Gilardino and company.

It was another crushing blow on a dreadful, dreadful pitch at the Stadio Marassi.

In addition, Mario Santana and Alessandro Gamberini picked up injuries.

The grounds for optimism look few and far between.

But that's exactly why everyone at the Artemio Franchi has to keep their eyes on the goals which they set themselves at the start of the season.

They are still trying to play good football, they still have some top class players, and their manager remains one of the best in the business.

And the easiest way to emerge from this crisis would be a strong result in Germany.

Bayern Munich came from behind to beat Borussia Dortmund on Saturday, but not without throwing the Viola a few crumbs of hope.

The goal they conceded showed some defensive frailty, and there were large gaps which the likes of Stevan Jovetic and Marco Marchionni would love to exploit.

Of course, there was plenty to fear as well.

Fiorentina will need to block up the flanks for Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery and marshal Mario Gomez like they did Fernando Torres.

But it is vital they don't lose confidence in all the things which made them such a hit earlier in the year.

Seba Frey remains an outstanding goalkeeper, Lorenzo De Silvestri is a great marauding full-back, Riccardo Montolivo is having a season worthy of securing a World Cup spot, and Juan Manuel Vargas is simply awesome.

It's not easy to keep your head while people all around you are losing theirs, but that is exactly what the boys from the banks of the River Arno must do.

If they start to waiver and head to the Allianz Arena without the courage they showed in Liverpool or Lyon they will get massacred.

"Nervi saldi", they say in Italy, and it means "keeping your cool".

Fiorentina need that more than ever now. After all, there are still a Champions League quarter-final, the Coppa Italia final, and a decent Serie A finish left to fight for. 

At the key moments in any season, you need your stars to shine their brightest.

There is little doubt that the next few weeks represent a pivotal point in Fiorentina’s fortunes. Now, more than ever, they need Alberto Gilardino to stand up and be counted.

The prolific hitman’s form has cooled lately from its red-hot state earlier in this campaign.

On Sunday night against Roma, he missed a chance he would normally have gobbled up with relish.

His last Serie A goals came more than a month ago in the 5-1 mauling of Siena and since then, he has seemed less sharp than usual.

It is hardly a major goal drought, but still it is a cause for concern.

Cesare Prandelli’s men have slipped dangerously down a tightly-packed league table and are in serious danger of missing out on Europe next year altogether.

Sampdoria, and a striker the Viola discarded, Giampaolo Pazzini, could put another nail in that coffin on Saturday night.

Then comes Bayern Munich.

Fiorentina need their finest goalscorer to get his shooting boots back in full working order as soon as possible.

The absence of Adrian Mutu through suspension has only made the condition more acute.

New signing Keirrison will need time to find his bearings in Italy while Stevan Jovetic will never be an out-and-out striker.

The rest of the team can contribute a few goals, of course, but they need their talismanic forward to be firing on all cylinders to help them along.

When in full flow, Gilardino provides an outlet for all of the Tuscan side’s offensive play which they have desperately missed in recent times.

Nine times out of ten, he is the man who finds himself on the end of a Juan Vargas cross when it comes flying into the penalty box. But that has not been the case of late.

Clearly no one player can carry a team, nor should he be expected to do so.

However, the defeat to Roma must serve as a lesson.

Fiorentina dominated the Giallorossi for much of the game but failed to put the ball into the net. Then Mirko Vucinic gave them a harsh lesson in taking your chances.

Il Gila is not normally a man who needs to study anyone in terms of marksmanship. There are few more smooth operators inside the penalty box than the former Milan striker.

He turns and swivels with the grace of a ballet dancer.

The moves have all been there of late, it is just the finishing that has been missing.

Now more than ever, Fiorentina need their top scorer to come good and give them some assistance in clambering back up the league table and seeking progress in Europe.

The rest of the team will have to play its part, for sure, but a few goals from Gilardino could make all the difference.

Otherwise, a season which looked so promising might end up as one that will be easy to forget.

It can’t be easy to be a player nobody wanted.

When Fiorentina and Udinese went to sealed bids to settle their co-ownership of Martin Jorgensen in 2005, the results were not kind to the Danish midfielder.

Both teams offered nothing at all.

Italian league rules meant the Tuscan side, as the last one he had played for, kept the footballer.

It turned out to be the best money they never spent.

While his first season had not been a glittering success, hence the low offer for his services, he went on to become something of a stalwart.

He was both adaptable and dependable across a number of positions.

And every so often he would pop up with a vital goal.

With his unusual running style, it was easy to think that he was a bit too clumsy or idiosyncratic to make it in an elite league like Serie A.

However, when you scratched the surface, you actually got a classy professional who could play in countless positions and regularly came on as a substitute to help turn a game.

His first base in Italy was Udinese as a largely unheralded signing in 1997.

The Friuli club has made its reputation in recent years by uncovering foreign talent and they did it again with the gifted Dane.

He went on to play nearly 200 times for the boys from north east Italy and establish himself as a key performer for his country.

One of his finest moments at international level came with a goal which stunned Brazil in the World Cup quarter-finals at France '98.

It could not help his nation to avoid defeat but it did put him on the football map as a player who could perform at the highest level.

It was something of a surprise, therefore, when Udinese agreed a deal with Fiorentina in 2004 to sell them "half" of the player. However, it has long been the north-eastern club's transfer policy to discover young talents and then move them on, usually at a profit.

His immediate impact in Florence was not great and resulted in the two zero bids at the end of that first campaign.

It might have been a blow to some players, but not Jorgensen.

He resolved to show the Viola they had been lucky to get him.

He ended up playing more than 150 games for Fiorentina, and no goal will be more precious than the one he struck last season to ensure that they got into the Champions League qualifying rounds once again.

His parting gift was not bad either.

A splendid strike at Anfield helped the Viola on their way to defeating Liverpool in the Champions League group stages.

Now he has signed a deal to return home to Aarhus, the Danish club where he started his career before moving to Udinese.

A World Cup outing with his country this summer is also still on the cards.

His spiky hair, sharp features, and drop-of-the-shoulder dribbles will be sorely missed at the Stadio Artemio Franchi in the weeks and months to come.

He will always have a place in Fiorentina hearts, even if they did once think he was worth nothing at all.