"Daniele Prade had described Fiorentina v Lecce as a question of life or death, but as the occasion approached he remembered football's third option: you can always just walk away. On Saturday, a little more than 24 hours before this game was due to take place, he left his role as sporting director of the Viola by mutual consent. The timing was a surprise, but not the decision. Fiorentina had made a shockingly poor start to the season, collecting four points from their first nine games, and Prade was adamant that he alone should shoulder the blame."
"The club put 90m at my disposal to build the team, he pointed out last month. If anyone is responsible for the current situation, it's me. Those words were intended as a shield to the manager, Stefano Pioli. Perhaps even Prade's actions this weekend represented one last attempt at protection: not so much stepping away as in front of the metaphorical bullet he saw flying toward them."
"Their newly-promoted opponents scored early through Medon Berisha, then leaned on some excellent goalkeeping by Wladimiro Falcone who denied Moise Kean more than once at the other end. Fiorentina were awarded a penalty in the 84th minute, only to have it taken away by a contentious VAR review. The first replays showed Luca Ranieri kicking his own heel before falling inside the box, but another angle showed Santiago Pierotti's knee appearing to catch his calf while applying pressure, causing him to lose balance first."
Daniele Prade resigned as Fiorentina sporting director just over 24 hours before the Lecce match, taking personal responsibility after Fiorentina collected four points from nine games. Prade had said the club put 90m at his disposal to build the team and accepted blame to shield manager Stefano Pioli; his departure was portrayed as a protective gesture amid growing anger. Ultras displayed banners reading 'team, manager, club: you are the shame of this city'. Lecce scored early through Medon Berisha while goalkeeper Wladimiro Falcone frustrated Moise Kean. An 84th-minute penalty was overturned by VAR after replays suggested Santiago Pierotti's knee made contact, and Luca Ranieri reacted angrily to officials.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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