Episodes

  • Viola Station 82: More grist for the rumor mill

    Viola Station 82: More grist for the rumor mill
    Jul 9 2025
    We're fully into the summer transfer window madness phase of the year and two of your three favorite Fiorentina podcast idiots are doing their best to hang on. Producer Mike and Tito are back to chop it up (McMike's got some family stuff to attend to, so keep him and his in your thoughts). What is it? Well, that's always a question with lots of answers, isn't it? In this case, the main business at hand is Moise Kean and his €52 million release clause that only exists for another week. We also run through a few more potential additions--Adrián Bernabé, Sebastiano Esposito, Nadir Zortea--and, unfortunately, a couple potential departures in Dodô and Rolando Mandragora. Along the way, we learn about Tito's fun fun game to play with Manchester United fans, Producer Mike's come-get-me plea to Guy Fieri, and even get a complete linguistic meltdown. 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
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    1 hr and 5 mins
  • Viola Station 81: Beating the heat in the mercato pool

    Viola Station 81: Beating the heat in the mercato pool
    Jun 26 2025
    The mercury's rising, the sun's beating down, and the oppressive heat of another off-season has us questioning our choices. Fortunately for your favorite Fiorentina podcast idiots, we can dive into the cooling waters of the transfer window, especially since Daniele Pradè is actually getting stuff done before the last week of the mercato. We start with the additions of Edin Džeko and Jacopo Fazzini, breaking down how they'll fit in with the current squad and what grades Pradè gets for them. We then turn to the more nebulous rumors, working through some of the more plausible whispers, including a whole passel of Espositi. There's more to life than the transfer window, though, so we also try to figure out what new manager Stefano Pioli will bring to the table, both tactically and emotionally. We forecast the strengths and weaknesses of the squad for his approach before turning to the possible exits of current players. Along the way, we learn about the efficacy of dance-offs in a strictly audio medium, a conversational transition that might've gotten us excommunicated, and Producer Mike being too poor for IMDB. Also, the audio quality on this episode is pretty bad. We had some equipment issues her at Viola Nation studios but should have them fixed in time for the next episode, so bear with us. 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
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    1 hr and 31 mins
  • Viola Station 80: Everything is Totally Normal

    Viola Station 80: Everything is Totally Normal
    Jun 9 2025
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    1 hr and 28 mins
  • Viola Station 79: Sadness with a chance of sadness

    Viola Station 79: Sadness with a chance of sadness
    May 15 2025
    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
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    1 hr and 2 mins
  • Viola Station 78: McMoneybags McMike

    Viola Station 78: McMoneybags McMike
    May 1 2025
    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
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    1 hr and 48 mins
  • Viola Station 77: Unexpected macrofauna and table predictions

    Viola Station 77: Unexpected macrofauna and table predictions
    Apr 18 2025
    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
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    1 hr and 2 mins
  • Viola Station 76: Winning is fun

    Viola Station 76: Winning is fun
    Apr 3 2025
    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
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    1 hr and 11 mins
  • Viola Station 75: Reactions, predictions, and a whole lot of loan talk

    Viola Station 75: Reactions, predictions, and a whole lot of loan talk
    Mar 12 2025
    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
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    1 hr and 14 mins