FLORENCE, ITALY – Paulo Sousa’s Fiorentina are being credited as potential challengers for the Serie A title after going solo at the top of Serie A thanks to a 3-0 home win over Atalanta on Sunday October 4, 2015.
The Florence side have 18 points from seven games, two more than Inter Milan, who went into the weekend joint top but slipped to second after being held 1-1 at Sampdoria.
Sousa was given a cool reception from fans in the summer when brought in to replace Vincenzo Montella, who led the Florence club to three consecutive fourth-place finishes but was sacked after relations with management broke down. The much-travelled Sousa’s CV was not particularly impressive, having coached Basel, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Queens Park Rangers, Swansea City and Leicester City. But he has turned them into a pleasant-to-watch side that seems to have more of a ruthless streak than they did under Montella when it comes to taking chances, with Croatia’s Nikola Kalinic leading the way with four league goals so far.
Sousa, a former Portugal midfielder who won the Champions League with Juventus and Borussia Dortmund as a player, has said he is aiming to keep Fiorentina in the chase for what would be only their third scudetto. And respected figures such as Italy’s 2006 World Cup-winning coach Marcello Lippi and current Azzurri boss Antonio Conte think he may be able to do that.
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