Fiorentina decided to wait three weeks before playing Pedro Gonçalves, the new Portuguese striker, for reasons of form and strategy. Coach Paolo Vanoli explained that the choice was not due to a quality problem, but rather to the need to get him back into shape after a summer spent at home with Sporting CP. The Portuguese, in fact, had to follow a path of athletic reactivation before being able to be fully available for the team.
Gonçalves was purchased by Fiorentina in the final hours of the summer transfer market, but arrived in Florence in less than optimal form. The three-week break for national team commitments was seen as the ideal opportunity to allow him to recover his physical fitness and adapt to the pace of his teammates. Atta's injury and Mastantuono's intercontinental trip created further opportunities for the Portuguese, but the Marassi match against Genoa was only given nine minutes of play, the shortest interval since he arrived in Florence. This raised questions among the fans, especially in light of the words of coach Vanoli, who declared that he had seen a "different" Gonçalves in the last period.
Despite his experience, with 104 career goals and 239 appearances for Sporting, Gonçalves played less than other forwards in the team, including Kean and Gudmundsson, who got more playing minutes. Fiorentina highlighted two main problems at the start of the season: the difficulty in creating scoring opportunities and the lack of a leader on the pitch. The Portuguese, with his ability to score, could help solve these shortcomings.
The paradox is that Fiorentina needs goals, quality and personality, but continues to leave a player on the bench who, at least theoretically, could offer all of this. Gonçalves is not yet at the top of his game, but the question remains: when will he really have the opportunity to prove his worth? The next match will be crucial to understand whether Vanoli's management will lead to more frequent use of the new attacker and whether Fiorentina will be able to improve its offensive performance.