Player Focus: Giuseppe Rossi's Impressive Return To Action With Fiorentina

2-0 is often referred to as the most dangerous scoreline in football. Teams in the position are apprehensive about pushing forward to add a third, but in turn are fearful about sitting too deep to invite pressure on the backline, therefore running the risk of allowing the opposition back into the encounter. This is precisely what happened between Fiorentina and Juventus on Sunday.

The Serie A champions went into the break with a 2-goal lead courtesy of strikes from Carlos Tévez and Paul Pogba, only for Giuseppe Rossi to inspire the Viola to a 4-2 victory after a head-rearing 16 minute spell in the second half. His hat-trick means Rossi has now scored the most goals in Serie A (8) this term, an impressive turn in fortunes following 19 months on the sidelines having suffered successive anterior cruciate ligament injuries with Villarreal.

Yet, Fiorentina took a chance on his return to fitness and they are profiting as a result. In a summer where Joaquín, Mario Gomez and Josip Ilicic all arrived, Rossi has been the leading light in the Fiorentina team, garnering an average WhoScored.com rating of 7.67, with that figure the highest of every player in Vincenzo Montella’s squad.

That comes as little shock when considering his impact in the Fiorentina team. Netting 47.1% of the 17 league goals that see them sitting 6th in Serie A is an impressive return for a player who has spent so much time out of the game. When it was confirmed that Gomez and Juan Guillermo Cuadrado had picked up injuries, the attacking onus was thrust onto the shoulders of the Italian, but he’s evidently accepted the challenge with open arms.

This is reinforced in his 2 WhoScored.com man of the match awards so far this season, both of which came in emphatic wins for Fiorentina in games that he netted in. Considering Rossi stands at just 5ft 8in tall, that he’s largely played as the lone frontman this term as a result of injury to Gomez, his attacking input is that bit more impressive.

Unsurprisingly, this has seen him operate a lot closer to the opposition goal as he looks to utilise an impressive finishing ability, a WhoScored.com strength of his, that has seen him score the most goals from inside the box (6) in Serie A this term. As such the 26-year-old is averaging just 17.9 accurate passes per game, hinting that the striker is rarely involved in build up play, but rather tasked with hanging on the shoulder of the last defender, ready to pounce on any mistakes or threaded passes from the midfield.

With the amount of goals he has to his name this term, not to mention the number of times he’s netted inside the penalty area, Rossi’s style of play is clearly working in the favour of the club, highlighted in the level of service from his teammates.

The 10 clear-cut chances Fiorentina have created, 2 fewer than Inter’s league-high of 12, indicates how Montella has requested that his players look to regularly provide for Rossi, with the majority coming from those tasked with offering the creative threat from the midfield; Borja Valero (3), Alberto Aquilani, Matías Fernández and Cuadrado (all 1). Moreover, Only Rodrigo Palacio (5) has netted more clear-cut goalscoring opportunities than Rossi (4) this season, while the Italian has been presented with 6 such chances in total.

Whether he remains as the focal point of the attack upon Gomez’s return to first-team duties, it remains to be seen, but he’s clearly doing enough to warrant a starting berth. One critique, understandably, would be his fitness concerns, with Rossi playing the full 90 minutes in a game just the once this season; the 1-1 draw with Cagliari.

Having been substituted a total of 7 times in Serie A, no player has been subbed off more this season, and there are clearly still concerns regarding his fitness. Yet, when he is on the pitch, Rossi’s capability to consistently hit the back of the net and impressive movement inside the 18-yard box are attributes that he has evidently retained despite his extended spell on the sidelines.

With a conversion rate of 27.6% and firing an average of 3.6 shots per game, halting the efforts of Rossi when he’s in this form is easier said than done. Following an injury-laden spell of his career and a subsequent battle to return to first-team duties, this run of luck is more than he deserves as he aims to secure a place in the Italy squad ahead of the World Cup next summer.

His priorities, however, must surely lie with Fiorentina in their attempts to secure Champions League football following the heartbreak of missing out last season. Yet, if Rossi can maintain this impressive start to campaign, the Viola stand a great chance of building on their 5th placed finish from last term, more so if the club continuously look to exploit his ability in and around the 18-yard box.