Viola Nation: for Fiorentina fans

Want to know who's happy that the international break is over? Yep, it's your three favorite Fiorentina podcast idiots, who are back on the microphone and raring to discuss everything Viola. After running down Tito's safe return from the woods and a quick rehash of the transfer window, we're delighted to dive into affairs that are considerably more current.

That means, of course, that we're trying to glean information from Rocco's recent comments to the media; the club owner turned the bombast way down from pressers past and we're fascinated to pick through this Commisso conversation (now with 100% less McMike slander!) and see what we can learn about Fiorentina's long-term direction, from the stadium to potential sales to where Serie A can go from here.

Don't worry, though. We move from the esoteric and philosophical to the painfully tangible as we break down that heartbreaker of an Atalanta game, trying to figure what, if anything, it means for Raffaele Palladino and his still-winless boys in the coming weeks and over the rest of the season.

Along the way, we learn whose house McMike allegedly hasn’t been inside of recently, how Producer Mike’s going to fix this defense, and Tito’s interest in a new player co-ownership model. Big thank you to the Sport Social Podcast Network for hosting us and to Windchime Weather for the music. Feel free to reach out to us on the website or on Twitter. As always, we had a blast making this and hope you enjoy listening. Forza Viola!

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The season's started, the transfer window's closed, and your favorite Fiorentina podcast idiots have a lot to say. McMike and Producer Mike try to figure out if Fiorentina is lost in the woods. Are they actually lost? Are they even in the woods? Is Tito out wandering through the forest trying to find them? Are we getting into Betteridge's Law territory?

The Mikes start the conversation with a dive into the flurry of activity that closed out the mercato. It's way too early to judge these moves and you'd better believe that won't stop us from running through all of Daniele Pradè's last minute machinations and handing out some grades.

Then it's a look at Fiorentina's Conference League draw and the rocky road to get there, Along the way, you get a glimpse of one of McMike's oldest friends, Producer Mike learning live on air just how many central defenders are suspended for the first Conference League game, and just how dead inside your podcasters here are feeling.

Thanks to the Sport Social Network for hosting us and to Windchime Weather for the music. Feel free to reach out to us on the website or on Twitter. We hope you enjoy listening to this as much as we enjoyed making it. Forza Viola!

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It's the most exciting time of the year for Viola fans: the end of the transfer market and the start of a new Serie A season. The only way we could possibly celebrate it is by getting all three of your favorite Fiorentina podcast idiots back together for the first time in nearly two months to talk it all over, starting with what's shaping up to be a furious end to the transfer window, with Nico González, Albert Guðmundsson, Amir Richardson, Pietro Terracciano's extension, and whatever's happening with Sofyan Amrabat as major points of discussion.

We also dive into the first game of the new campaign, attempting to glean what we can from an uneven 90 minutes and getting to grips with what Palladinismo actually looks like, from back to front and back again. Along the way, we get a little Mike-on-Mike identity theft, McMike and Warren G’s Midfield Regulator Index, and Producer Mike’s degenerate history that we can’t discuss.

As always, thank you to the Sport Social Podcast Network for hosting us. Windchime Weather provides our theme song, and check out Nate's new and very different band Friends Friends. Feel free to hit us up on the website or on Twitter. As always, we hope yall enjoy listening to this as much as we enjoyed making it. Forza Viola!

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Finally, McMike and Producer Mike get a chance to talk without Tito bringing weird medieval history into the conversation. Instead, we can focus on, y'know, actual Fiorentina stuff. We start with a rundown of Fiorentina's preseason thus far and what we can glean from it (Barák in midfield? Kean looking good?), and then, because that's all too happy, we turn to a topic that will crater any good vibes.

We're talking, of course, about the transfer market. We start with the outgoing--Nico González, Sofyan Amrabat--and then turn to the (possibly) incoming--Tanner Tessmann, Edoardo Bove, Albert Guðmundsson, David de Gea (whoopsie that actually happened)--and try to figure out just what this club's vision is. Spoiler alert: the conclusions we reached were uh pretty grim, touching on the long-term plans and how ambitious the Viola really are. Along the way, we learned about McMike’s Handsomeness Index, how many times you can fool Producer Mike, and which words we need Tito to pronounce.

Thanks as always to the Sport Social Podcast Network for hosting us and to Windchime Weather for the music (Nate's got a new project! It's called Friends Friends! It sounds nothing like the credit music! Listen to it!) Feel free to hit us up on the website or on Twitter. As always, we hope you enjoy listening to this as much as we enjoyed making it. Forza Viola!

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Two thirds of your favorite crew of Fiorentina podcast idiots dips into the Viola mercato thus far. Producer Mike and Tito dip into the preseason friendlies, desperately searching for meaning in games that are ultimately meaningless (and maybe learning some life lessons along the way, but probably not), but that's not what you're here for. You're here for a plunge into mercato madness.

And a plunge is what you'll get. We wade in a bit gingerly, looking at the deals that have gone official--Milenković, Kean, Pongračić, Valentini--before diving into speculation. We discuss departures for some guys who look to be well outside the first team (Brekalo, Nzola, Ikoné) and then it's the meat of the transfer industry: potential additions. Of course we're going in on Andrea Colpani, but we hit on a couple other names too.

Along the way, we learn what Peyton Manning taught Producer Mike about preseason, get a glimpse into some of Tito’s past trauma around empty beer cases, and figure out why we won’t be getting live updates on preseason from inside the Rocco B. Commisso Viola Park and Fun Time Activity Center.

Big thank you to Windchime Weather for the music (and check out Nate's new project Friends Friends, which is a very fun and very different musical outing) and to the Sport Social Podcast Network for hosting us. Feel free to reach out to us on the site or on Twitter. As always, we hope you enjoy listening to this one as much as we enjoyed making it. Forza Viola!

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We're doing a weird one here, as two-thirds of your favorite podcast idiots are unavailable at the moment. Which ones are missing, and why? Which one's still shrieking unintelligibly into a microphone? Well, you've got to listen to find out. That's how the podcasting business works.

The remaining podcast idiot glances at the weird Andrea Barzagli story before running through the Moise Kean deal and looking for clues about the future of Fiorentina's defense, with a little bit of Nicolò Zaniolo chat thrown in for good measure. After that, it's a villainous monologue about what Fiorentina can learn from Italy's performance at the Euros before a glance at how the Viola Primavera break through.

Thanks as ever to the Sport Social Podcast Network for hosting us, and to Windchime Weather for the theme music. Also, Nate (the man behind Windchime Weather) has a new project called Friends Friends that's rad as hell. Give it a listen. As usual, get hold of us on the website or on Twitter with any questions. We had a blast making this and hope you enjoy listening. Forza Viola!

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We've lived, laughed, and cried. We've gone through helium-sucking highs and survived the dark night of the soul, and we've come out the other side. That can only mean one thing: it's time for your favorite Fiorentina podcast idiots to dive into the transfer rumors that summer always brings.

After a quick rundown of the Viola players on international duty, we fully embrace the mercato. We start with the current squad, looking at players who are certainly departing or likely to do so, but that's just the appetizer. The primi and secondi piatti here are all the names the rumor mill has spat up. We analyze them, decide if they're realistic targets, and then rule on whether they'd be smart additions.

Along the way, we get the return of McMike's 1990s Movie Corner, which former New York Mets pitcher's house Producer Mike is squatting in and/or being escorted out of, and which of our intrepid heroes really likes the Big Boys. Big thank you to Windchime Weather for the theme music and to the Sport Social Podcast Network for hosting us.

Get in touch with us on the website or on Twitter with any questions. As always, we had a blast and hope you enjoy listening to this as much as we enjoyed making it. Forza Viola!

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The end of the Serie A season can only mean one thing: your three favorite Fiorentina podcast idiots stretching their hearts and minds over the 3-front campaign and figuring out what it all means. We each pick standout performers and try to dredge some conclusions out of a typically unhinged Viola year. We also bid a fond farewell to Vincenzo Italiano and look ahead to Raffaele Palladino.

Along the way, we get to (?) learn about McMike's Tina Turner legs, hear Producer Mike refute the tenets of linear algebra, and get a brief insight into Tito's pre-podcast life through a Paulo Sousa lens. Feel free to get in touch with us on the website or on Twitter. Big thank you to Windchime Weather for the music and to the Sport Social Podcast Network for hosting us. As always, we had a blast making this and hope you enjoy listening.

Forza Viola!

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Your favorite Fiorentina podcast idiots are all back in one place and in fine form, talking about these final few fixtures of the Viola season. The Conference League is obviously first and foremost in our minds and we run through our preliminary thoughts on that game in Athens. We aren't looking too far ahead, though, as we also detour into a brief conversation about the trip to Cagliari before getting a bit more philosophical wondering about whether or not this season has been a success.

For the second half of the pod, we talked about squad turnover, replacement managers, unpredictable highs and lows in the league, European triumphs and tribulations, and fans throwing flares that irritate their own team. No, it's not Fiorentina; we were so lucky to get Denis and Gav from the Red Sea Podcast, who explained all things Olympiacos to us. They covered the feeling in Athens, what to expect from the game, and just how wild the Erythroleykoi season has been. Spoiler alert: this may be the only team in Europe that's more capable of emotional whiplash than the Viola.

Along the way, we learned about our podcast's dark specter of negativity, McMike's fruit preferences, and just a single reference to Martin McDonagh's seminal film In Bruges. A huge thank you to Denis and Gav for coming on and to Windchime Weather for the music. Thanks as well to the Sport Social Podcast Network for hosting us. If you want to get in touch, hit us up on the website or on Twitter. We had a blast making this and hope you enjoy listening to it. Forza Viola!

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Your favorite Fiorentina podcast idiots recorded an episode on Saturday. Remember Saturday? It was a day of sunshine, joy, hope. The birds sang l'inno della Fiorentina. And you know what? McMike and Tito (no Producer Mike in this one) leaned into it, striking a tone that's way more optimistic than what we usually do around here. Don't worry. We thought it was weird too, but bear with us.

After a heartbreaking loss to Atalanta in the Coppa Italia semifinal second leg at Atalanta, maybe that kind of happiness can help us learn to feel again. So dive in to hear us discuss (sigh) our expectations for the game against la Dea. Fortunately, though, it's not all Coppa blues, as we also dug into the Conference League win over Viktoria Plzeň and looked ahead to the semifinal with Club Brugge before detouring through one of the most tempest-in-a-teacup stories about Vincenzo Italiano "kissing" a Sky Sports reporter you've ever heard.

Along the way, we learned about McMike’s yearning for a certain syrupy evening treat, got a glimpse into Tito’s weirdly encyclopedic memory for decade-old transfer rumors, and found out about what’s going on with Allen Iverson’s tiny statue. Big thank you to Windchime Weather for the music, as always, and thank you to the Sport Social Podcast Network for hosting us. We had a blast making this and hope you enjoy listening. Feel free to get in touch with us on the website or on Twitter, and, as ever, Forza Viola!

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