Fiorentina’s three-week pause offers Paolo Vanoli more than time on the training ground. It gives him an opportunity to settle one of the questions left open at the front of his side: whether Mateo Pellegrino or Beto should lead the attack when the league resumes.
The decision
Pellegrino has remained at Viola Park while Beto is away with Guinea-Bissau for Africa Cup of Nations qualifying, and the Argentine is using the interval to strengthen a small early advantage. Vanoli only took charge on 7 September, and the break has arrived at a useful moment for a coach still shaping the team he inherited.
The centre-forward position is among his principal decisions. Vanoli expects both strikers to be used over the course of the season, rather than appointing an untouchable first choice. Yet the opening weeks have suggested that Pellegrino currently sits slightly ahead in the contest.
The former Parma forward joined Fiorentina on 13 August, brought in through an investment of €22.5 million plus a possible €2.5 million in bonuses. Fabio Paratici had identified him as a target well before the move. Pellegrino arrived while Moise Kean was still part of the squad, although the club already knew a post-Kean rebuild was approaching.
That earlier arrival allowed him to play against Roma at the Olimpico and Frosinone at the Franchi, before another outing against Torino, with Fabio Grosso still in charge. His goal gave Fiorentina a brief lead in the Torino match, though the eventual defeat led to Grosso’s dismissal.
Beto arrived more than two weeks later as Kean’s permanent replacement. The Portuguese-born Guinea-Bissau international started under Vanoli at Venezia, while Pellegrino came on to score Fiorentina’s third in a 3-1 win. Pellegrino then returned to the starting side against Napoli, another indication that the hierarchy remains fluid rather than decided.
Between those league fixtures, Pellegrino also began the 3-0 Coppa Italia victory over Pisa. Beto was not yet at full physical condition, and the match added to Pellegrino’s case. He has made five Serie A appearances and scored twice, alongside one cup appearance and one goal.
Vanoli’s choice to retain Pellegrino from the Pisa tie into the Napoli match was not definitive, but it was meaningful. The striker developed at Vélez will now try to preserve that marginal lead as Fiorentina prepare for Genoa.
Beto is due back in Florence this week after Guinea-Bissau face Nigeria tomorrow afternoon, leaving him sufficient time to compete for the place. He already has a connection with Pellegrino on and off the pitch, but their partnership also contains a direct contest. Vanoli had wanted Beto at Torino as a replacement for the injured Duván Zapata, and the coach may feel the forward’s profile is particularly suited to the football he wants in Florence.
For Fiorentina, the selection is not merely about the next line-up. It is part of the broader attempt to give Vanoli’s team a recognisable identity, with the right forward chosen to carry the scoring responsibility through the season.
