Bolton Wanderers reject Fiorentina bid for Marcos Alonso

The Marcos Alonso to Fiorentina rumor has just taken an interesting turn. In today's pre-match press conference, manager Dougie Freedman confirmed that not only had Bolton Wanderers received a bid for the young defender from Serie A side Fiorentina but the club had rejected it.
What makes this interesting is that Marcos Alonso is out of contract in the summer and should Bolton Wanderers not sell the player and should he not sign a new deal, the Trotters could easily lose him on a free transfer in just a few months.
According to a story in the Bolton News yesterday, Bolton Wanderers had apparently opened negotiations on a new deal for Alonso last year with the defender and his family but the pen had not been put to paper yet.
Per yesterday's report, Fiorentina want the defender not only for defensive competition but to potentially free up midfielder Cristian Llama for a sale to Palermo or Parma.
Personally, we hope that Alonso does stay with Bolton as not only would the fee from Fiorentina not come anywhere near covering the initial price that the Wanderers paid for him, but Alonso is finally starting to show his talent. He's shown his quality in the last few matches and with that quality came consistency that Bolton fans had long wanted from him.

Official: Wolski to Fiorentina

It is now official that Fiorentina have a deal with Legia Warsaw for Rafal Wolski, who “has left for Italy to undergo his medical.”
As we reported earlier this evening, there were rumours that the two clubs had reached an agreement worth around €2.8m for the 20-year-old Polish international midfielder.
“Wolski has left for Italy to undergo his medical with Fiorentina,” read a statement on the Legia Warsaw website.
“The agreement with Fiorentina has not yet been signed, but the clubs are negotiating and very close to a deal.”
It is believed only formalities remain before the contracts can be signed

Arsenal £20m offer for Jovetic?

Arsenal are reportedly preparing a £20m offer to tempt Fiorentina star Stevan Jovetic away in the January transfer window.
According to the British media, the Montenegro international is a prime target for Arsene Wenger, who also heaped praise on Milan’s Stephan El Shaarawy recently.
The rumour comes just days after Fiorentina again assured Jovetic was not for sale, even with the arrival of Giuseppe Rossi from Villarreal.
Juventus have repeatedly made offers for Jovetic and seen them rebuffed, as the Viola are flying high in Serie A and pushing for a European place.
“Juventus have to get over it,” smiled general manager Sandro Mencucci on Sky Sport Italia.
“Jovetic is staying next season even if Giuseppe Rossi has arrived.”

Montella joins Garrone mourners

Fiorentina boss Vincenzo Montella has exclaimed his condolences to the family of Sampdoria chief Riccardo Garrone, who died yesterday evening.
The honorary President of energy company ERG passed away on Monday evening after losing his battle with illness.
And the Viola Coach, who played under Garrone at the Bluerchiati, has sent his sympathies.
“He had a great enthusiasm for the game,” Montella told Sky Sport Italia. “He really could convey the true values of sport.
“I'm so sorry. I felt a great affection for him.
“I want to send a huge hug to his family and join the many mourners.”

El Hamdaoui happy with Viola arrivals

Fiorentina striker Mounir El Hamdaoui isn’t concerned by the increased competition for places after the club signed Giuseppe Rossi and Marcelo Larrondo.
Rossi has arrived from Villarreal and could be back in action by March after long-term injury, while Larrondo has been netted from Tuscan rivals Siena.
But the Moroccan international, currently on duty at the African Cup of Nations, doesn’t fear for his future at the club.
“I am never worried. I just have to concentrate on myself,” he told Football Italia’s South African correspondent Rossella Marrai.
“I do my job and they do their job in buying players which is good for us because we have a stronger team.”
The Moroccan arrived at Fiorentina in the summer of 2012 from Ajax Amsterdam and has started to show promise under Vincenzo Montella.
“Montella is a good Coach and he is a young Coach. I think he has done a really good job with us all,” he added.
“Last year Fiorentina struggled and now we are fifth in the table. He is doing a really good job and I think we have a lot of good players.
“Now they have bought some new players, so it is a good team and hopefully we will continue with the good run.”
The 28-year-old has three goals in 12 League games this term.

Fiorentina 1-1 Napoli: Cavani header rescues the Partenopei a point

Fiorentina held Napoli to a 1-1 draw at the Stadio Artemio Franchi in the early kick off on Sunday in Serie A.
A comical fast half goal from Facundo Rocaglia was cancelled out less than ten minutes later by Edinson Cavani as the points where shared in Florence.
After a game which had seen more yellow cards than clear cut chances, five within the first thirty minutes, it was Fiorentina who were to take the lead in somewhat peculiar circumstances.
Facundo Roncaglia held the ball on the half way line and played a ball forward hoping to pick out target-man Luca Toni. In a moment in which Morgan De Sanctis will hope to never see again, the Italian came forward to meet the ball, but misjudged the situation completely, instead getting mixed up with two of his own defenders, as the ball sailed over them all, took one bounce before settling in the back of the net.
The Viola defender almost looking embarrassed that he had managed to score.
The home side’s lead did not last for long however as Napoli equalised through talismanic centre forward, Edinson Cavani who notched up his 100th Serie A goal.
Juan Guillermo Cuadrado brought down Juan Zuñiga on the left flank and Marek Hamsik swung in the resulting free kick. The Uruguayan wrestled off his marker and sent his glancing header past Norberto Neto.
The scores remained even as the referee brought the first half to a close.
It was Napoli who were to carve out the first chance of the second half as Hugo Campagnaro combined with Cavani whose near post shot was smothered by Neto.
Fiorentina had a chance of their own moments later but Alberto Aquilani’s long range shot was comfortably saved by De Sanctis.
Inside the final twenty minutes, both sides pressed for the winner and Gökhan Inler was to draw the best from Neto in the Viola goal. The Swiss born midfielder curled an effort from the edge of the area only to be meet by an acrobatic dive from the young Brazilian goalkeeper who pushed the ball to safety.
Neto again was to come to the rescue of Vincenzo Montella’s men this time with an excellent reaction save to a Goran Pandev header.
Deep into injury time Aquilani had a chance to win the game for the hosts but his effort went high and wide of the Napoli goal and game finished level.

Fiorentina-Roma 0-1 at Franchi in Coppa Italia Fixture

The Giallorossi came out on top in extra time thanks to a goal from their forward. Fisticuffs at the end of the game. Taddei, Dodò and Cuadrado all saw red. The Viola did hit the crossbar and the post twice. But its Zeman’s side that go through to face Inter in the semi-final, after surprising everyone and playing with a 3-man defence.

Roma bounce back. Following 2 defeats in a row, 3 in their previous 5 games, they win at the Franchi in the Coppa Italia, beating Fiorentina to claim the place in the semi-final against Inter. The game in Florence ended 0-1 to the Giallorossi, after extra time. And it was Destro who grabbed the winning goal, in the 97 minute. The match had been a very exciting one, packed full of defensive errors and, above all, a lot of goal chances that kept the fans on their feet. The winning goal came in extra time, via the player who had tried the hardest to get on the score sheet all game, Destro. But Fiorentina have plenty to feel aggrieved about: they hit the woodwork on a total of 3 times – the crossbar once and the post twice. But they just weren’t able to get the better of Zeman’s side and their new-look defence: the coach switched to playing 3 men at the back. It was Fiorentina’s 3rd consecutive defeat, following defeats in Serie A against Pescara and Udinese.

Zeman's 'revolution' — Zeman surprised everyone. He played an improvised 3-man defence, in complete contract to his usual tactics of playing a 4-man defence. And Roma didn’t concede any goals, with Marquinhos, Burdisso and Castan lining up at the back. Destro was the lone striker in attack, as both Osvaldo and Lamela were suspended from this game, and Totti was injured. Florenzi and Pjanic started in a 3-4-3. Montella started the match with Toni alongside Jovetic in the Fiorentina attack. Neto started in goal rather than Viviano.

Lots of chances - but no goals — That’s how the 1st half went. Roma actually passed the ball around well. They were very fluid but despite creating a host of goal scoring chances, were unable to get the ball into the net. De Rossi came close to scoring via a header early on and the visitors had another fantastic chance to take the lead thorough Destro, who powered forward, only to see his fierce effort across the face of goal go just wide. Fiorentina did come under pressure, especially at set-pieces, and also when Florenzi, who was full of energy, pushed forward on the left. But the home side coped. And they did get forward themselves too, through Jovetic. Their best chance came from a fantastic right foot effort from Aquilani: his free-kick rattled the crossbar. The sides went into the half-time break 0-0. But, despite the scoreline, the 1st 45 minutes (plus the 1 minute of injury time) had been extremely exciting and end-to-end stuff.

Chances not taken — Fiorentina came out playing better football in the 2nd half. They started to take control and grew in confidence. But they still did mess things up in defence: first Tomovic and then Rodriguez both failed to clear and handed Destro 2 gilt-edged goal scoring chances. The forward set up Florenzi with the 1st (keeper Neto did brilliantly to save) and then Destro himself missed the 2nd with a left foot effort that he should have done better with. Roma did actually get the ball in the net, via a De Rossi header, but the midfield player was rightly given (just) offside. It was back to square one. Fiorentina pushed forward more and hit the woodwork again, this time through Borja Valero. His splendid left foot shot deserved a goal. Then Destro again wasted a chance when one-on-one with Neto: he lofted the ball over the keeper with a delicate chip – but Savic got back to clear off the line. The 90th minute also passed with the score still 0-0.

Destro scores — The goal came 7 minutes into the 1st half of extra time. The ball fell to Destro who, this time, couldn’t miss after he was set up brilliantly from the right by Pjanic.

More bad luck for the Viola — But it just wasn’t Fiorentina’s night. They fought back immediately, but, rather than brining the equaliser, an effort from Cuadrado hit the woodwork. Taddei, who had come on as a substitute for Piris late in the 2nd half, was sent off after pulling back Borja Valero: he had already been booked 2 minutes earlier. But Fiorentina still couldn’t break through despite the game ending in the 123rd minute – there was even time for Dodò and Cuadrado to both be sent off following fisticuffs almost on the stroke of the final whistle, a melee that involved players from both sides. The 2nd semi-final of the Coppa Italia will therefore be Roma-Inter. They will play each other 3 times in the 10 days from January 20 to January 30: as well as the two-legged Coppa Italia game, the sides will also face each other in Serie A.