Looking at Fiorentina's 2013/14 campaign from a very harsh position, one might say that the club hasn't made significant progress. Vincenzo Montella's side achieved less points than last season and finished in the same position of 4th. However, one must recognise the turbulent recent history of the club and the difficulties that have faced the Viola this season alone to know that it has been a massively successful term. The club have yo-yo'd around in recent years so the fact that Montella has led them to two consecutive top 4 finishes in Serie A is a very welcome slice of consistency that has been lacking. However, what arguably makes this season an even more impressive one than its predecessor has been the major injuries to key players which the squad has endured. Star player Stevan Jovetic departed for England in the summer but he was replaced by a real potent looking strike-force as Giuseppe Rossi and Mario Gomez came in. The two looked set to complement each other really well as the team started the season very brightly but a serious knee injury to Gomez broke up the partnership. However, Rossi carried the can on his own admirably and was the most deadly striker in the league in the early months. His highlight was a hat-trick against Juventus as the Viola came from 2-0 down to beat the champions 4-2. The team were also doing well in the Europa League as they reached the knockout stages with ease. However, the wheels would start to come off at the turn of the year as Rossi's notoriously fragile knees succumbed to yet another injury. He had scored 14 goals in 18 games and looked well on course to be the "Capocannoniere" but he was cruelly cut down in his prime yet again and wouldn't return until near the end of the season. In that time, Fiorentina fell well off the pace in terms of their aspirations of finishing in the Champions League positions and were also eliminated from the Europa League by Juventus. Gomez made sporadic appearances towards the end of the season but most of the goal burden fell on the shoulders of January recruit Alessandro Matri and he once again proved to be a less than prolific frontman. The team had to rely on others to chip in. Juan Cuadrado continued his improvement into one of the finest wingers in the league. The Colombian has always had talent but was often erratic. This season he added consistency and end product to his game. Borja Valero was magnificent again as the creative force in the team and Gonzalo Rodriguez was reliable as ever at the back, chipping in with a few goals himself. Despite their harsh luck with injuries, the Viola still managed to make it to the Coppa Italia final but they were defeated by Napoli so their trophy drought goes on. Nevertheless, consistency was key for Fiorentina this season and they have now established themselves again as one of the big clubs in Italy. With the right funding and a little bit more luck with injures, they could make a serious push for Champions League qualification next season.
