ACF Fiorentina (Italy)

Fiorentina is a famous name in Italian football, with a long and proud history with financial mismanagement thrown in for good measure. Associazione Calcio (AC) Fiorentina was formed on August 29th 1926, after football had been established in the city for several years previously.

Florence Football Club was formed in 1898 before a group of youngsters started another club, Itala FC in 1902. Both club’s grounds were in the Campo di Marte area of the city. In 1903 Club Sportivo Firenze was established; playing several other sports as well as football.

Another club, Firenze Football Club came into being in 1908 playing matches at grounds called Prato del Quercione, at Parco delle Cascine before the formation of the football section of Palestra Ginnastica Fiorentina Libertas in 1910.

Firenze FC and Libertas soon became rivals with their grounds divided by a rope. Club Sportivo Firenze and Palestra Ginnastica Libertas went on to become the prominent sides in the city but were unable to challenge the bigger Italian sides of the day.

A merger seemed the natural solution; especially under the fascist regime of Mussolini who didn’t like rivalry in cities. During the period Ambrosiana merged with Inter in Milan. Napoli and Roma were also formed through mergers around the same time.

The merger between Libertas and Firenze was led by provincial fascist leaders; Luigi Ridolfi and Italo Foschi. PGF Libertas Firenze played for a season gaining a place in the second tier Prima Divisione for AC Fiorentina for the 1926-27 season.

The club started out playing in the city’s colours of red and white under Hungarian trainer Károly Csapkay. The first controversy surrounding the club came from claims of a bribe being paid by opponents US Savoia in the final game of the 1927-28, which led to sanctions being imposed.

For the 1928-29 campaign Fiorentina had progressed to the top tier Divisione Nazionale, but their poor performance meant them dropping down to Serie B; of which they became champions in 1930-31 under head coach Gyula Feldmann.

The club moved into the newly constructed Stadio Giovanni Berta, which in later years would be renamed Stadio Comunale Artemio Franchi. It’s original title was in honour of a local fascist and was opened with a 1-0 victory over Admira Wien.

‘La Viola’ remained in Serie A for seven seasons under several different coaches before being relegated in 1937-38 under the stewardship of Ferenc Molnár. The team regrouped under Austrian Rudolf Soutschek to regain their Serie A place at the first time of asking.

The 1939-40 season saw the club collect its first honour as the team under local playing stalwart Giuseppe Galluzzi lifted the Coppa Italia with a 1-0 win over Genova 1893 thanks to a goal from Celoria in Florence.

Following a break for World War Two the team had spells under head coaches Guido Ara, Renzo Magli, Imre Senkey and Luigi Ferrero before Fulvio Bernardini helped deliver a first Scudetto title to the club in 1955-56 with Giuseppe Virgili and Miguel Montuori banging in the goals.

The 1956-57 campaign saw runners-up finishes in the league and in the European Cup. IFK Norrköping, Grasshopper and FK Crvena Zvezda were defeated leading to the final at Estadio Santiago Bernabéu against Real Madrid which ended in a 2-0 defeat.

Fiorentina fished in second place in Serie A for another three successive seasons with Milan and Juventus proving just too strong at the time. Kurt Hamrin and Francisco Lojacono added the goals for teams under coaches Lajos Czeizler, Luis Carniglia and a second spell from Ferrero.

Carnaglia was in charge as the team went down in the Coppa final of 1959-60 to Juventus, but as the Turin side also lifted the title it led to La Viola representing Italy in the following season’s UEFA Cup Winners' Cup.

Nándor Hidegkuti was at the helm as Fiorentina won their second Coppa in 1960-61 with a 2-0 home victory over SS Lazio thanks to goals from Gianfranco Petris and Milan. Meanwhile the European campaign led to an even greater achievement.

Fiorentina secured a 4-1 aggregate win against Rangers. The following season saw the club reach the final once again. However, they failed to retain the trophy after defeat after a replay to Atlético Madrid at Stuttgart’s Neckarstadion.

Ferruccio Valcareggi had a couple of years in charge of the team before the arrival of Giuseppe Chiappella in 1964. US Catanzaro were defeated 2-1 in the 1965-66 final of the Coppa after extra time at Rome’s Stadio Olimpico, with a Hamrin strike and a Mario Bertini penalty sealing the victory.

The prolific Kurt Hamrin moved on in 1967 after scoring 150 goals for the club. Ferrero had a third spell in charge of the team before the appointment of Argentinian coach Bruno Pesaola, who led Fiorentina to their second Italian championship in 1968-69 with Mario Maraschi ending as top scorer.

Following terms under coaches Oronzo Pugliese, Nils Liedholm and Luigi Radice; Nereo Rocco led the team to the 1974-75 Coppa Italia with a 3-2 win against Milan in Rome as Rosi, an own goal and a Vincenzo Guerini effort sealed the victory.

Claudio Desolati and legendary midfielder Giancarlo Antognoni gave the Viola fans reasons to cheer for the rest of the decade as the side was led by coaches Carlo Mazzone, Mario Mazzoni, a returning Chiappella and Paolo Carosi.

Giancarlo De Sisti brought relative stability in his four year term from 1981 to 1985 with internationals Francesco Graziani and Daniel Bertoni starring along with Paolo Monelli adding further goals.

The second half of the decade saw Fiorentina employ Ferruccio Valcareggi, Aldo Agroppi, Eugenio Bersellini, Sven-Göran Eriksson and then Bruno Giorgi to run team affairs. Argentinian World Cup winning captain Daniel Passarella starred from 1982 to 1986.

Ramon Diaz, Stefano Borgonovo and the legendary Roberto Baggio were the heroes of the fans at Stadio Artemio Franchi. The team went on a run all the way to the UEFA Cup final of 1989-90 before losing to Juventus on aggregate.

Stadio Artemio Franchi was upgraded for the Italia 90 World Cup; which led to the second leg of the final being played in Avellino. More coaches came and went in quick succession such as Sebastião Lazaroni and Luigi Radice.

The club suffered relegation as players were sold in 1992-93 with Agroppi in his second spell unable to halt the slide despite the goals of Francesco Baiano and a new cult hero in Gabriel Batistuta.

The appointment of Claudio Ranieri in July 1993 saw a huge upturn in fortunes. Fiorentina raced to the Serie B title in 1993-94 and consolidated in Serie A as Batistuta smashed in the goals on a regular basis; assisted by Luís Oliveira in 1997-98; the season that Alberto Malesani coached the team.

Giovanni Trapattoni was appointed as head coach from July 1998 to June 2000. Batistuta moved on to Roma and was replaced by Enrico Chiesa, with Fatih Terim as coach. A sixth Coppa Italia was won in 2000-01 following an aggregate victory over Parma as Paulo Vanoli and Nuno Gomez netted.

However, it was in the summer of 2001 that the perilous state of the clubs’ finances was revealed. Players went unpaid with owner Vittorio Cecchi Gori unable to raise necessary funds. Several coaches including Roberto Mancini and Ottavio Bianchi passed through the club.

The team was relegated at the end of the 2001-02 campaign with the club placed into administration and refused a place in Serie B by the football authorities. A new club; Associazione Calcio Fiorentina e Florentia Viola led by the town mayor was set up.

New owner Diego Della Valle financed the club; which was placed in the fourth tier Serie C2 under coach Alberto Cavasin; which was won at the first attempt. Luck and timing played a huge part for the club as Catania complained that they had been relegated from Serie B unfairly.

The FIGC took the decision to extend Serie B to placate Catania and extend the league for the 2003-04 season. Florentia bought the right to use the old club name and were renamed ACF Fiorentina. The side finished in sixth place and then won the play-off against AC Perugia to win promotion to Serie A.

Emiliano Mondonico, Sergio Buso and Dino Zoff had time as head coach before the arrival of Cesare Prandelli in July 2005. The goals of Adrian Mutu took Fiorentina back into international competition in the UEFA Cup for 2007-08 where they went all the way to the semi-finals before losing to Rangers.

The 2007-08 domestic season ended up in a fourth place position and a Champions League place. Alberto Gilardino weighed in with the goals in 2008-09 as the same finish was achieved.

In 2009-10 La Viola went out in the round of 32 in the Champions League and finished in the mid table of Serie A. Siniša Mihajlović arrived to replace Prandelli in June 2010; before being succeeded by Delio Rossi from November 2011 to May 2012.

The goals of Stevan Jovetić and Juan Manuel Vargas were not enough to propel the team towards European qualification. Former international forward Vincenzo Montella was appointed as head coach in June 2012.

Borja Valero and Adem Ljajić provided a midfield spark for Fiorentina to finish in fourth place in 2012-13, 2013-14 and 2014-15. In the Europa League the team progressed to the semi-final in 2014-15 before being defeated by eventual winners Sevilla.

Paulo Sousa arrived at Stadio Comunale Artemio Franchi in June 2015 to take charge of the team with the pairing of Josip Iličić and Nikola Kalinić providing the goals to secure a top fifth finish, followed by eighth position in 2016-17.

June 2017 saw the appointment of Stefano Pioli as coach as Giovanni Simeone finished as top scorer in 2017-18. The following campaign saw La Viola avoid relegation by just three points; leading to the re-appointment of Montella to lead the team.

The adage of not to go back where previous success was achieved appears to have rung true, as Montella was dismissed and replaced by former Fiorentina midfielder Giuseppe Iachini in December, with the team a few points above the drop zone.

ACF Fiorentina will play in Serie A in the 2019-20 season.

My visit

ACF Fiorentina 2 AS Cittadella 0 (Tuesday 3^rd December 2019) Coppa Italia Fourth Round (Att: 8,988)

Fiorentina had been on my bucket list for some time; not least because the most convenient way to visit from London was via Pisa by plane and then train to Florence. I also wanted to visit both cities.

Everything ran to plan; and I was in reasonable shape as my train pulled into Florence station. This was despite only returning from a couple of weeks in Thailand the previous Saturday and completing a night shift finishing on Tuesday morning.

The Leaning Tower of Pisa had lived up to expectations with the additional bonus of gaining access into the Arena Garibaldi – Stadio Romeo Anconetani home of AC Pisa for photos. I even found the right train and got a nice comfy seat to briefly drift off.

Once out of the station it was time to explore a most beautiful city as the sun and temperatures dropped. It certainly lived up to expectations and reminded me of Seville with its narrow streets and stunning architecture.

The hours walk led me to Chiesa di Santa Maria Maggiore, Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore, Palazzo Vecchio, Museo Galileo, Ponte Vecchio and Ponte Santa Trinita as I threaded through the city taking as much in as possible. I was truly captivated.

It was time to find some food. My brother Nick and my sister-in-law Rachel had recommended La Grotta Di Leo from previous visits. It was certainly convenient as it was on Via della Scala; the same street as my hotel.

The meal matched up to the city. My ham and mushroom calzone was spot on. I’d been a fan of calzone’s ever since I visited the country for Italia 90 and had one for the first time on our camp site in Sorrento.

It also turned out to be excellent value; with the meal and a quarter litre of house red coming in at €12. The staff were friendly, and it looked like the restaurant turned over good trade. I’d certainly have no qualms in returning.

There was time for me to grab a quick lie down, but first I needed to check in to Hotel Elite. That was long winded as the hotel was partnered with Hotel Domus Florentiae across Piazza di Santa Maria Novella. I was required to call there to check in.

Eventually I got to my room. Hotel Elite was aging and emitted a strange aroma; which was not entirely pleasant. However, it was safe, warm, had a good shower and perfectly located for my early morning departure the next day.

Stadio Artemio Franchi was located across the city and the Google map App on my phone was offering conflicting advice on how to reach it. I queued once over for a bus that didn’t turn up before going for the train option.

After a little confusion I manage to work the ticket machine to take the service from the main Firenze S. M. Novella station to Firenze Campo di Marte. The fare was just €1.50 with a journey time of eight minutes. I was shocked to see no fans getting aboard.

There was about half an hour to the 9pm kick off as I followed groups of supporters going over the long footbridge over the tracks with the floodlights shining brightly up ahead. It was quickly apparent that the game was not going to attract a huge crowd.

The walk along Viale Manfredo Fanti took me past Stadio di atletica Ridolfi; the home of track and field and rugby union in the city. Gangs of young females with North American accents were heading to the game; presumably students in the city?

I'd bought my ticket and printed it online at home before departure for €14; carefully picking a place both good for access so I wouldn't be hemmed in and for photography. How little I knew! A lady was handing out free programmes in the street.

My ticket was for the Tribuna di Maratona side of the stadium; which necessitated a long walk past the main Tribuna Coperta and the club store to go around the Curva Fiesole to my entrance. As the crow flies it was one of the nearest, but the security for the away section around Curva Ferrovia made it the furthest.

After a couple of ticket checks and a frisk I was inside. The facilities were pretty spartan; as like with most southern European stadia. I certainly didn’t want a cold beer and wasn’t in need of food, so I gave the catering a miss.

The old Communale stadium was upgraded for Italia 90 with the removal of the running track and extra spectator facilities placed where it was down the sides. However, the ends were a long way behind the goals. The only covering was a small roof over the front Maratona section and along the Coperta.

The wind howled across the arena; straight to where I was located. The main feature stood at the rear in the form of the art deco Torre della Maratona (Marathon Tower) which was part of the original classic design by architect Pier Luigi Nervi.

A couple of hundred visiting fans were in the section protected by clear screens in the corner along to my left. The home ultras congregated on the curve to the right. Despite being low in numbers they gave it a good go in creating a noise. It must have been quite something with a full house.

Cittadella of Serie B were going well in their league; while La Viola were struggling. Head coach Montella was under a bit of pressure and made a few changes to give members of his squad a run out.

I attempted to find a warmer position to no avail no matter where I tried. At least the aesthetic students offered some rest bite and distraction. It was a relief when the sides came out and we were ready for action.

The game started slowly, with Fiorentina having lots of possession without creating too much. The away side had an effort from Andrea Bussaglia fly just over the bar of keeper Pietro Terracciano.

A clever low short corner then gave Cristian Ventola an opportunity to fire off a shot which was bending away as it just cleared the bar. Cittadella were certainly intent on giving it a real go, but it wasn’t long before the hosts responded.

An early cross from Dalbert Henrique went right across the box to find a colleague who also had too much elevation on his effort. Lorenzo Venuti fired in a ball to the back post where Dušan Vlahović misjudged an easy headed chance with the goal gaping.

Gaetano Castrovilli could have done better when set up on the edge of the box, but he at least forced Luca Maniero into a somewhat comfortable save. It wouldn’t be much longer before the home side went ahead on twenty one minutes.

Riccardo Sottil passed squarely into the box to find Marco Benassi; whose first touch was excellent before he left Maniero flat footed with a smart finish into the bottom corner to calm the frustrated home fans; for a few minutes anyway.

A seemingly innocuous pass from Cittadella right back Christian Mora squirmed its way through the heart of the Viola defence. Žan Celar latched onto it and was tripped by Venuti on the edge of the box, who was correctly shown a red card by the referee.

The home fans were more incensed by Montella’s decision to replace Sottil with defender Pol Lirola than the officials call. It was a sure sign that the head coach needed some results; and fast!

A superb weighted through ball from Manuel Iori put in Giuseppe Panico for the visitors. He lived up to his name and panicked putting the ball wide to spurn a glorious opportunity to equalise. Davide Luppi nodded down for Celar to force Terracciano into a save just before the break.

To try to warm up I ordered a large expresso; forgetting that to get a big cup I needed to ask for coffee Americano! I huddled by an extractor unit with other supporters to get some heat. It really was that cold. I saw a couple heading for the exit during the interval.

Eight minutes after the restart Fiorentina doubled their lead when a long ball set away Rachid Ghezzal down the right. His low centre found Benassi who finished low and hard. The provider was later substituted which caused more uproar among the loyal home fans.

Fredrico Prioa shot over the bar in response for Cittadella and then Vlahović went close with an overhead kick from Ghezzal’s centre for the hosts. Iori stung the hands of Terracciano with a free kick as the visitors refused to give in.

Castrovilli was denied by Maniero when put through by Vlahović as the chances continued to flow at both ends. Proia had a speculative volleyed effort saved by Terracciano in the final meaningful action of the game. At full time I was under orders and away!

I’d enjoyed visiting an iconic stadium and the game had been decent enough, but I was absolutely nithered. Thank goodness I’d worn thermal bottoms under my jeans! As there wasn’t a convenient train, I decided to leg it back into town.

Despite only being in Florence just for the evening, I declined the temptation to visit one of several bars I passed along the way. I was tired, cold and hungry. It took me around forty minutes to reach the station square.

It wasn’t the most Italian thing I could have done, but I went into McDonalds to get a hot tea and some food. It was there or a kebab at that time of night. Security was heavy to keep an eye on pickpockets and keep out beggars. It was just like London.

It’s fair to say that I slept well; at least for six hours until my alarm went off. It was time to shower and get ready for more adventures; first with a train to Bologna and then a flight onto Brussels. You can read all about that escapade on the page of Royale Union Saint-Gilloise, here.