Ideas and moves for the future. Palladino’s suggestion. Giuntoli, sporting director, calls for a social push.

The separation between Daniele Pradè and Fiorentina has shattered the tranquility the team sought to best prepare for today’s match against Lecce. While the sporting director had been pondering his options for some time, no one at Viola Park imagined such a strong decision could materialize on the eve of such a crucial match. Yet, it was precisely to give the players a boost that Pradè decided to resign. Typically, in these cases, a change of coach is the preferred choice; Fiorentina chose another path at the behest of their now former sporting director. Rocco Commisso received the news in the dead of night in New York. He had just enough time to accept Pradè’s resignation and speak with general manager Ferrari before the official statement was released at 11:57 a.m.

What now? This question was asked by just about everyone yesterday, although today is a day to focus exclusively on the pitch. Fiorentina needs to win its first league match, and discussions about Pradè’s replacement will begin tomorrow. Meanwhile, the sporting department has also been taken over by Alessandro Ferrari, assisted by technical director Goretti, who is expected to remain in his role despite rumors circulating that he would be promoted to sporting director. In reality, at least one new director will arrive. And that’s a given. After a couple of days of settling in, the club will begin canvassing availability and candidates. The first will be Cristiano Giuntoli. Yesterday, his name bounced around the Fiorentina social media world. Among the sporting directors without a team, he’s the most popular. Others could also be on the list, from Petrachi (formerly of Torino and Roma) to Bonato (most recently at Cagliari). Then there’s the figure of Paolo Maldini, who intrigues many Fiorentina fans. The former AC Milan captain is much less a sporting director and more of a general manager.

But it’s clear that coaching is also a key issue, as we wait to see what happens this afternoon at the Franchi. Stefano Pioli’s future remains up in the air, and at this point, since Fiorentina currently lacks a sporting director, if things were to deteriorate, the technical choice would fall squarely to Commisso. In this sense, the names of Vanoli and Thiago Motta remain valid (much less so at this point than De Rossi, who Pradè has always favored), but Raffaele Palladino’s sensational candidacy is making a comeback, having suddenly resurfaced following Pradè’s resignation. It’s no secret that there was bad blood between the two, and that the former coach resigned precisely because of disagreements with the then sporting director. For now, this is a suggestion (as of last night) with no contact. It’s possible that Ferrari and Commisso, should they decide to change coaching, will also listen to the opinions of the dressing room leaders, some of whom remain very close to Palladino. We’ll see what happens; these will certainly be intense days on all fronts. And now Fiorentina can no longer sit back: they need to make the right choices for the present and the future.