This last few weeks could be one of the hardest moments for many Fiorentina fans as they have been hearing some worrying stories regarding one of their favorite players, Ricardo Montolivo, who has been rumored to be leaving the club.
After previous rumors claiming that Montolivo is wanted by Inter Milan and Arsenal, the latest news confirmed that the midfielder has been pending his contract renewal talk with the Viola, saying that he needs time to thing about his future.
“My links with the fans and the city and not up for debate, but the contract extension is another question, We are talking about a decision that’s relative to my future, so there is need of time to evaluate every aspect of it,” Montolivo said in an interview with Rai Sport. “My actual deal lasts until June 2012, so there is a long time to think about it.”
This statement surely brings out the speculation that Montolivo is starting to re-evaluate his footballing career, which is very normal for a player like him that hasn’t been involved in serious title challenging seasons so far. The former Atalanta youth player who has been hyped a lot during his youth career, hasn’t really step up into the level that many predicted despite being an important figure in the Fiorentina midfield for quite sometime.
It seems that having a special status in Fiorentina somehow made Montolivo stuck in the comfort zone for a little bit too long as his improvement hasn’t been that significant lately. The Italy international surely has every right to think that if there’s a chance to improve his career outside of Florence he should just take that opportunity.
Getting into a comfort zone, when you are rarely pressurized and criticized can sometimes holds up some players true potential as there’s not much that are expected from what they have already give. This could be the case with Montolivo, a talented act that until his 25-years-of age haven’t really tear down the Serie A as many would’ve thought few years ago when his talent first emerged in the lime light of Italian football.
Despite of the emotional attachment, fans ultimate love, there’s always the personal ambition that players have which is getting titles for the team he represent and individual achievement. Those two things are probably what Montolivo has in mind at the moment as he decide to hold down any transfer talks with Fiorentina’s management.
Honestly, the Viola fans should not be disappointed with the midfielder’s decision as he has every right to pick what he wants to aim for his future career, loyalty and passion or titles and personal achievement.
photo credit: ♪ Sleeping Sun ♪
