Viola Station 53: A long overdue chat with the innimitable Giancarlo Rinaldi

It's just two of your favorite Fiorentina podcast idiots in this one--McMike's off listening to birdsong to write an Oliver Messiaen-type symphony--but we've got enough gloom for the three of us. Producer Mike and Tito run through the grimmest week of results in recent Viola memory. Yep, we're talking about losses at opposite ends of the spectrum (Real Betis and Venezia) that result in similar outcomes: goodbye Europe. Don't worry, though. We don't confine ourselves to just that one kind of sadness. We look ahead to the potential repercussions of missing out on continental competition, looking at who might be edging towards the exit and which loanees saw their chances of sticking in Florence drastically reduced. We tried to avoid going full Zack Snyder and interspersed the grim dark greys and muted blues with the odd Wes Anderson pastel: Producer Mike pouring his first-ever beer, for example, or Tito trying to combine American football, the Tyrannosaurus Rex, and a shrimp. Thank you to ⁠Sport Social Podcast Network⁠ for hosting us and to ⁠Windchime Weather⁠ for the music. As always, we hope you enjoy listening as much as we enjoyed making this. Forza Viola! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

15 Touko 59min

Your three favorite Fiorentina podcast idiots are back together for the first time in a minute and we've got a lot to talk about. We looked back at the triumphant Derby dell'Arno before glancing ahead at the Conference League semifinal against Real Betis. We also ran through some of the key absences facing the Viola at the moment. The big thing we did, though, was play a little game we're calling McMoneybags McMike. Imagine, if you will, that our favorite big bearded boy bought the club and brought Producer Mike and Tito along for the ride, but with a catch: they both have to present a plan for the summer transfer window. Nepotism? Absolutely. Do they still have some decent ideas? Sure. Is there pandering to those with a fondness for midfielders whose cheeks are sharp enough to puncture tires? Oh, most definitely. Thank you to Sport Social Podcast Network for hosting us and to Windchime Weather for the music. As always, we hope you enjoy listening as much as we enjoyed making this. You can listen to the episode on the embedded player on this page or wherever you get your podcasts. Forza Viola! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

1 Touko 1h 43min

EDITOR'S NOTE: We didn't talk about the Celje win (?) because we recorded a couple days beforehand. Due to real world constraints, by which we mean Producer Mike's day job, this one's a couple days behind. Anyways, it's the Tito and Hines show today as McMike is on a super-secret special assignment that certainly doesn't involve hiding in suburban New Jersey shrubbery. We had a somewhat grim conversation about the dire draw against Parma and a somewhat less grim conversation about the first leg win at Celje before swerving into predictions for the rest of the season and then descending back into the serious stuff about the newest betting scandal hitting Serie A, which touches on a couple of Fiorentina players. Come for the heavy topics but stick around for the more important stuff: where McMike is, what conspiracy of primates knocked Producer Mike out of commission as we recorded, and Tito's triumphant return to What Are You Drinking. Thank you to Sport Social Podcast Network for hosting us and to Windchime Weather for the music. As always, we hope you enjoy listening as much as we enjoyed making this. Feel free to drop us a rating and review but it’s whatever. This is for discerning listeners like you rather than the hoi polloi. Forza Viola! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

18 Huhti 59min

The birds sing. The sun kisses your skin. There's no doubt about it, there's something in the air, and that something is a couple of big wins over Juventus and Atalanta. McMike and Tito bask in that positivity (mostly because Producer Mike isn't around to bring it crashing back into an emotional nuclear winter) as they look back over the past couple outings. It's not just the games that count in the standings, though. Stroll with us through the golden garden of halcyon memories as we hit the highlights of #PepitoDay, celebrating the one and only Giuseppe Rossi and some of his friends who swung through town to hang out for his testimonial match. We wrap up with a discussion of Raffaele Palladino's chance of getting the axe before the end of the season or over the summer. Along the way, we listen to McMike try to name a single actor under the age of 30 and find out which American city Tito hates most. Thank you to Sport Social Podcast Network for hosting us and to Windchime Weather for the music. As always, we hope you enjoy listening as much as we enjoyed making this. Feel free to drop us a rating and review or whatever. Forza Viola! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

3 Huhti 1h 8min

Your favorite Fiorentina podcast idiots are back for a new episode looking at the same problems plaguing the VIola in deflating losses at Panathinaikos and against Napoli from which they limped away with even more self-inflicted wounds, which should feel like business as usual at this point but still hurts our feelings. We also discuss expectations for the rest of the season and weigh the merits of Serie A versus the Conference League in a discussion that we certainly won't look back on as hopelessly optimistic in a few months. The real fun part, though, is a look at all the Fiorentina loanees. This is the loaniest club in the league and we wanted to look at those short-term deals through a longer-term lens, so we played a new game we're calling Keep or Yeet with the guys currently at the club, and a similar game called Try Again or To the Bin with the guys elsewhere. Along the way, you'll get to hear about the Irish Hineses of Monterrey in Mexico, McMike learning what yeet means, and Tito once again reduced to dead air (because that's what makes for compelling audio content). Thank you to Sport Social Podcast Network for hosting us and to Windchime Weather for the music. As always, we hope you enjoy listening as much as we enjoyed making this. You can listen to the episode on the embedded player on this page or wherever you get your podcasts. Forza Viola! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

12 Maalis 1h 11min

Are you feeling happy? In a good mood? Surrounded by your loved ones? Maybe a kitten purring in your lap? Well, your favorite Fiorentina podcast idiots are here to ruin all that. To be fair, it's not entirely our fault: the Viola have been, in a word, cheeks for the past few weeks and we don't like it. We don't like it one little bit. We talk about the dispiriting loss to Hellas Veorna, particularly the utter failure of the team's medical personnel and the league's health protocols in the wake of Moise Kean's really frightening concussion. After that, we look forward and forecast the rest of the year, trying to figure out if the January mercato made any impact. Spoiler alert: the mood doesn't really lift. Along the way, learn more about McMike barging his way into a familiar bunker, Producer Mike's Beautiful Mind, and Tito's textile tirade. Thank you to Sport Social Podcast Network for hosting us and to Windchime Weather for the music. As always, we hope you enjoy listening as much as we enjoyed making this. Forza Viola! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

28 Helmi 1h 2min

The transfer window has slammed shut, thank goodness. Just before the sash met the sill, though, your favorite Fiorentina podcast idiots convened to talk it over. We covered most of the arrivals--Nicolò Zaniolo, Nicolò Fagioli--and the departures--Jonathan Ikoné, Christian Kouamé, Cristiano Biraghi--but we did record with a day left, so there are a couple of gaps in the record. That wasn't all that happened, though, because there was a real, honest-to-god Serie A game too. We ran through the action in Fiorentina's alternately enjoyable and miserable win over Genoa. And of course, we couldn't let the episode end without a discussion of Rocco Commisso's burner accounts, which is a real thing that a billionaire in his 70s had (has?). Along the way, we found a new nickname for Producer Mike that he really, really likes and learned about McMike's logic-defying Moebius underpants. Thank you to Sport Social Podcast Network for hosting us and to Windchime Weather for the music. Reach out to us on Twitter, Blue Sky, or the website if you're so inclined. As always, we hope you enjoy listening as much as we enjoyed making this. Forza Viola! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

7 Helmi 1h 48min

For the first time in what feels like years, your three favorite Fiorentina podcast idiots reunite to talk shop. While that reunion was pretty joyous, the cloud surrounding the Viola is less so. We discuss just how stinky that cloud is following the collapse against Torino, whence that stink is emanating, and whether there's a way to eliminate or just cover it. It's hard to say, but having club leadership slap-fighting in the media probably isn't the best approach. After that, we turn to everyone's favorite disinformation mill: the transfer market. We run down some potential arrivals and some potential departures, as you'd expect. We touch on Michael Kayode and Jonathan Ikoné (both healthy scratches against the Granata) as well as a couple other candidates for a January exit before hitting the names you'd expect. Yep, it's Pablo Marí, Tony Sanabria, Dennis Man, and Brian Cristante. Along the way, we get some god-tier Foley from McMike, an explanation of Tito's new split custody arrangement of his body, and how pantslessness affects an audio medium. In unrelated news, we also get Producer Mike's Rum Reviews. Thanks to the Sport Social Podcast Network for hosting us and to Windchime Weather for the music. Get in touch with us on the website, Twitter, or Bluesky. As always, we hope you enjoy listening to this as much as we enjoyed making it. Forza Viola! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

22 Tammi 1h 30min