It was mid-September and the floodlights illuminated the pitch at Fiorentina’s Stadio Artemio Franchi. Supporters were edgy during what was the fourth match of the season after Stefano Pioli’s side had been convincingly beaten in the first two games and – aside from a 5-0 thumping of newly-promoted Hellas Verona – the team seemed to be struggling.
Their opponent that day was Bologna and the scores were pegged at 1-1 after veteran Rodrigo Palacio had immediately cancelled out Federico Chiesa’s stunning opener. After a quarter of an hour or so of frustration, Cristiano Biraghi took an outswinging corner in front of the Curva Fiesole, the set piece picking out fellow defender German Pezzella. The Argentine out-jumped and outmuscled Rossoblu right-back Emil Krafth, his strong header finding the back of the net to the relief and delight of those supporters.
That match-winning goal was his first and so far only strike for the Viola since joining the club from Real Betis this summer, his arrival meaning he would face the difficult task of replacing his much-loved compatriot Gonzalo Rodriguez. The former Fiorentina captain was not offered a new contract by the club and therefore the 33-year-old made a premature move to San Lorenzo, the team where his career very first began.
Yet the transition has been somehow seamless, Pezzella already becoming just one more Argentine player to have a genuine bond with the club and supporters. His performances in the Viola backline have been truly impressive, and only one player from the top half of the table – AS Roma veteran Daniele De Rossi who has made five less appearances – can boast as many as interceptions (2.2) per match.
After Pezzella opened his scoring account for the Tuscan side he was embraced by compatriot Giovanni Simeone, another from the South American country that has quickly won over the hearts of the fans. But there was someone else watching him in the stands. Former Fiorentina centre-back Daniel Passarella was looking on, a man who then held the record number of goals scored in a single Serie A season by a defender with 11 fired in for the Viola in 1985/86.
“I’m here to write another Argentine story in the history of La Viola,” said Pezzella to the Corriere Fiorentino newspaper this week. “For my career this was the best option, better than Bayern or Inter. To score in front of Passarella was fantastic. He told me that mine was the type of goal he used to score here.”
The former Argentina Coach presided over River Plate plate back when the Pezzella was in the youth ranks, and will undoubtedly be pleased with the progress he has made. Indeed, the 26-year-old received his first full international caps back in November, called up by international boss Jorge Sampaoli. An anecdote reported in newspaper La Nacion claimed that the defender had to show ID when he first showed up at the AFA in Ezeiza, Buenos Aires, the security guard on duty not even recognising his face.
Perhaps it won’t be long before he is more commonly known though, as he aims for a place in the Albiceleste squad for the World Cup this summer.
It was hearing Passarella talk favourably about Fiorentina back when they were at River Plate, in addition to being hugely impressed by their new boss Stefano Pioli that made Pezzella decide that Florence was the best destination for him. In that same interview he discusses how much he loves living in the city, and how impressed his parents were with spectacular views on offer when they came to visit.
The defender feels like the right fit for the club, and the club the right fit for him. This stable environment will surely help his chances of making it to Russia this summer, his performances steadily improving as the squad continues to gel. Whilst no-one will ever surpass the emotion felt for the legendary Gabriel Batistuta in Florence, German Pezzella will surely be hoping that Fiorentina pay the €9 million fee to allow him to write a permanent story in the Renaissance city.
