Fiorentina’s season has found a different rhythm since the change on the bench, and Franco Mastantuono has become one of the clearest symbols of it. The Argentine has scored three times in seven appearances across Serie A and the Coppa Italia, with his hat-trick against Venezia underlining the response after Fabio Grosso’s dismissal and Paolo Vanoli’s arrival.
Vanoli has overseen two victories and one draw since taking charge, giving the Viola a lift after a flat spell. Mastantuono, initially affected by the wider difficulties around the side, has returned to the centre of the story with the kind of individual quality Fiorentina needed.
Quick facts
- Mastantuono has played seven matches for Fiorentina: five in Serie A and two in the Coppa Italia.
- He has scored three goals, all in the hat-trick against Venezia.
- Fiorentina changed coach after Grosso was sacked, with Vanoli appointed.
- Vanoli’s opening run has brought two wins and one draw.
- The Argentine is on loan from Real Madrid and has joined Argentina’s national-team camp.
The former Real Madrid player has settled into his first experience of Italian football after arriving on loan from José Mourinho’s club. Speaking before reporting for Argentina duty, he said he was enjoying life in Florence and felt increasingly comfortable in Serie A.
“I am very well here. I am adapting to Italian football and I am very happy,” Mastantuono said. “I am playing, I feel good and I am happy.”
He rejected the idea that the move represented a personal revenge in the battle for a place with Argentina. Instead, he described Serie A as a demanding but enjoyable new environment, distinct from the football he knew in Spain.
“It is not about revenge with the national team,” he said. “It is a very good league, different from Spanish football, and I am enjoying it a lot.”
Mastantuono now joins Lionel Scaloni’s Argentina squad at a significant moment for the national side. He has been called up for what is expected to be Lionel Messi’s farewell with the Selección, an occasion the Fiorentina forward described as emotional for the whole country.
“It will be difficult because he is an idol for all of us, not only for what he has done as a player,” Mastantuono said. “He is an idol for the entire country and it will be sad without him. But we have to do it for him, because he will surely be happy.”
For Fiorentina, the immediate focus is closer to home. Vanoli’s early points have changed the mood, while Mastantuono’s sudden impact has given the club a young reference point as the season moves into its next phase.
