German Pezzella is one of the hottest acquisitions of this season’s start with Fioretina. The rockey defender has already won the Viola fans over, highlighting his qualities that led to various clubs having him on their watch list, including Inter.
Sponsored by Javier Zanetti, a long term target of Walter Sabatini and comparisons to Walter Samuel, the former Real Betis was a top target on the Beneamata’s radar. So why did he end up in Florence? According to FcInterNews.it from sources close to the player, the “fault” lies with last seasons Inter manager Stefano Pioli.
Inter’s former coach, along with Pantaleo Corvino, played a decisive role in Fiorentina’s approach for the player from Bahia Blanca in Argentina. The Viola men “pampered the mastiff” even before he arrived, tending to praise him and making him feel like an important part of his team’s future project even before the signing. German was literally “seduced” by the attention of the technician from Parma and the Tuscan director. He felt unhappy. Therefore with the certainty of being able to improve within the Italian championship and moving to a team with promising plans it was not a difficult decision. As a result it was the quick decision and determination with which Fiorentina had applied that meant that they were the winners of a competitive race.
Alternatively Inter’s strategy was the complete opposite. The player like the idea of joining the Nerazzurri outfit, but there was never a concrete move to get the newly-called Seleccion prospect. Some brief discussions, but never an official offer. This is not because Pezzella was not considered attractive enough, but because there was no space for him to break-out into the first team. With Jeison Murillo who had not yet signed for Valencia and Andrea Ranocchia who was still hoping for a move to the Premier League. Even when Inter defeated his former side Real Betis in a friendly, there were tangible steps forward towards a negotiation but it still never blossomed.
On the other hand, the Beneamata followed many other young talents so the hit taken from missing Pezzella was not entirely catastrophic (as for the names, they included Lemos, Kimpembe etc), therefore it could be considered more of a market choice forced by the events. For the joy of Stefano Pioli and all Viola.
