What happened to Fiorentina’s 2012 roster, Part 1

Today, Tuesday 10 February, is Facundo Roncaglia’s 39th birthday. He topped out as a squad member for Fiorentina for 2 years. He was never even a regular starter, swapping in and out with Nenad Tomović, but he was one of the most beloved pieces of those magical Vincenzo Montella teams, even inspiring a Facebook meme page (listen, 2012 was a different time). As I was thinking about Facundo, I started wondering about the other players on those teams. And because everything’s terrible right now, let’s look back at that 2012-2013 roster.

I’m breaking this thing into 3 pieces to keep it digestible. We’ll start with the goalkeepers and defenders, of course, with the midfielders and forwards emerging in the next couple weeks. Drop suggestions for other rosters in the comments if you’ve been wondering what happened to Players X, Y, and Z. Anyways, let’s get down to the important business of Remembering Some Guys.

Luca Lezzerini is back, baby. After a solid career mostly spent in Serie B, he returned to Fiorentina this summer to add veteran leadership and help with the academy graduate requirements. He probably won’t play but his sideline antics have been excellent and he looks set to join the list of beloved eccentrics like Lupatelli and Antonio Rosati as third goalkeeper.

Cristiano Lupatelli retired in 2015 and spent a couple years as a coach for the Primavera before working with the Juve and Italy youth teams. He’s now graduated to working with the senior Azzurri. The bald head remains but he’s sadly ditched the sideburns/goatee with a nondescript stubble.

Neto is 36 years old and back in Brazil with Botafogo. He’s had one of the wildest gun-for-hire careers in recent memory. Following his acrimonious departure from Florence, he’s turned out for Juventus, Valencia, Barcelona, Bournemouth, and Arsenal. We always thought he was a good goalkeeper but that’s an incredible CV.

Emiliano Viviano has become one of the more enjoyable media figures in the calcio extended universe. The massive-sideburns-and-mustache combo have been replaced by a beard and a dignified flat cap but he’s still the same zany, fun-loving guy, mixing his personal experience of the top flight to provide insight from a guy who played at the very tippy top of the game. He also just shared a story about being drunk for a game at Arsenal, which is fun. For a guy who’s worn his Viola heart on his sleeve for his entire career, he’s done very well. Bonus points for being one of the first to support Jakub Jankto coming out a few years ago, too.

Michele Camporese is back in Serie B with Livorno after the Amaranti snapped him up on a free late last month. He’s had a peripatetic career since bursting onto the scene by pocketing Zlatan Ibrahimović in his first 45 minutes as a pro but he’s earned one of the greatest honors any player can achieve.

Marvin Compper returned to Germany after just half an imcomppararble season in Florence. He had a spell at Celtic as well before hanging up his boots in 2020 with Duisburg and going straight into coaching. He’s been all over the place, mostly working as an assistant manager in the Red Bull system before signing up as Enrico Maaßen’s top lieutenant at St. Gallen. I can’t believe I missed him on the touchlines last year when Fiorentina won 2-4 at the Kybunpark but he was there and helped Espen give Raffaele Palldino’s boys a hell of a time.

Ahmed Hegazy never worked out in Florence but has carved out an impressive career across three continents with West Brom, Al Ahly, and Al-Ittihad, helping the latter win the league in inspirational fashion as he stayed on after suffering a late injury. He’s now captaining NEOM FC, a weird and slightly gross addition to the Saudi Pro League, and shows no signs of slowing down even at 35, although he’s retired from international duty after a dozen years and 88 caps.

Saverio Madrigali retired from the pro game aged just 23, having never made a competitive appearance for Fiorentina. I believed in his long-term potential and thought he deserved more than the single U18 cap he got but injuries eventually got to him. He’s left the game completely, returning to his native Pisa and I swear to god opening a goddamn fancy cake bakery (on Via Fiorentina, no less), which is apparently thriving if the 4.6-out-of-5 average on Google reviews is to be believed. If ever the Hallmark Channel was going to make a movie about a former Fiorentina player, it’s got to be him. And yeah, he’s still outrageously handsome, far more chiseled than a bakery owner has any right to be. Chapeau, Saverio.

Gonzalo Rodríguez was the soul of those magical Fiorentina teams, raiding forward to chip in key goals, spraying the ball across the park, and doing all the Argentine centerback things you’d expect. His romance with a local gelato shop owner, rock and roll guitar, and approachable off-field persona made him effortlessly cool. It stung when he was unceremoniously shuffled off to San Lorenzo, where he played another 3 seasons before retiring in 2020. He’s still around the city, popping up for the legends game last year which saw Gabriel Batistuta display his old prowess, but the Young Defender maintains a low profile from what I can tell.

Facundo Roncaglia, ah, Facuno Roncaglia. Happy birthday, big guy. His contract with Sarmiento just ran out but he played 22 games in the 2025 season for them (and picked up just 6 bookings). He’s probably weighing his options but could very well continue his career, which is wild. We all know why we’re here, though. Roll the tape.

Stefan Savić was a gawky 20-year-old who arrived in Florence alongside a heap of cash in exchange for Matija Nastašić. He quickly established himself as a slightly goofy, stolidly mustachioed figure at the back and formed a good partnership with several more adventurous defenders, remaining stolidly at the back. He moved to Atlético Madrid in 2015 and spent 9 highly-decorated years in the capital before departing for Trabzonspor, where he’s still a regular starter.

Nenad Tomović is 38 years old and back in his native Serbia with Čukarički. I wish he’d gotten there a couple years ago so we could’ve had a reunion with him in the Conference League but he was in Cyprus at the time. He’s nailed down a job as a dependable veteran and could keep going indefinitely. He became something of a meme towards the end of his Fiorentina tenure but he was solid as anyone for those first couple seasons.

Nii Nortey Ashong was a standout Primavera leftback who made his senior debut in the 2011-2012 Coppa Italia against Empoli. Unfortunately, that was his only senior appearance for Fiorentina, although he made the matchday squad several times in 2012-2013 and moved to Latina the following year. He’s been something of a nomad ever since, turning out for 9 clubs in 12 years since, mostly in Serie C. From what I can tell, he’s currently playing with amateur side Sanmichelese and, at 31, could continue for another decade at that level.

Manuel Pasqual left Empoli in 2019 but didn’t officially retire until January 2020, when he took on a job as a match commentator, first on the radio with RAI and, after a year on the mic, with DAZN for TV broadcasts. You can catch him sometimes on the world feed although he hasn’t gotten a Fiorentina game since 2024. He’s not just doing color commentary, though. After knocking out his thesis at Coverciano, he worked as a coach with the Italy U18s under Daniele Franceschini for a year and a half before taking over the U16 job. I haven’t been able to find his thesis at Coverciano but I assume it’s about crossing until your damn leg falls off.

Mattia Cassani was a regular starter the previous season but fell out of favor with Montella in 2012-2013 despite costing the club over €4 million. I really thought he’d be the solution at rightback but the curse at that position was too strong; he’d earned 11 Italy caps and, aside from 90 minutes against Malta, never turned out for the national sided again. He spent a couple years in Parma opposite Massimo Gobbi and hung up his boots in 2018 with Bari. After some time away from the game with his family, he’s started coaching at the grassroots level, working skills with young players.