The Stadio Artemio Franchi was a sea of purple long after the final whistle. The fans refused to leave, their voices joined in a thunderous chorus led by the ultra-leader, Alex. They weren't just celebrating a win; they were celebrating the birth of a new era.
The 5-0 victory over Parma was a historical anomaly. While Fiorentina had scored five before (back in 2010), those goals were the result of chaotic set-pieces and lucky headers. Today was different. Every single goal was born from Open Play.
Renzo Uzumaki, despite playing only 59 minutes, turned in a stat sheet that looked like a cheat code:
Passes: 72 (Top 3 on the team despite missing 30+ minutes).
Accuracy: 98.9% (A figure that left professional scouts speechless).
Assists: 2.
Key Passes: 5.
The true value of the "Maestro" was felt most when he wasn't there. When Montella subbed Renzo off in the 60th minute, the fluidity of the Viola evaporated. While Salah and Cuadrado added two more goals, they were "solo efforts"—raw individual talent dragging the ball through a crumbling Parma defense.
The effortless, surgical "tiki-taka" that Renzo provided was gone. The midfield went from a high-speed processor back to a manual gearbox.
As the fans in Japan refreshed their sports apps at 4:00 AM, a collective gasp swept through the forums.
"Look at the Assist Leaderboard!"
"He's in the Top 5. He's actually in the Top 5!"
In just 6 matches, Renzo Uzumaki had recorded 11 assists. To put that in perspective, the titans who had been playing since August—Andrea Pirlo, Paul Pogba, Miralem Pjanić, and Marek Hamšík—were all hovering around 10 to 12 assists.
Renzo had done in one month what the best players in the world took half a year to achieve.
But it was the "Key Pass" metric that truly terrified the rest of Italy.
Andrea Pirlo: 3.2 per match.
Pjanić: 2.9 per match.
Renzo Uzumaki: 5.4 per match.
This wasn't just a slight lead; it was a statistical cliff. Renzo was creating nearly double the goal-scoring opportunities of the greatest deep-lying playmaker in history.
On the Italian forums of Gazzetta dello Sport, a blasphemous question began to trend, sparking heated debates from Turin to Naples:
"Between the 36-year-old Master, Andrea Pirlo, and the 16-year-old Ghost, Renzo Uzumaki... who is the true Maestro of Italy?"
The debate was no longer about "potential." It was about the throne. And with the Europa League and Inter Milan on the horizon, Renzo was about to give his final answer on the pitch.
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