Wednesday, December 25, 2024 - 11:12:15 AM

ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as Fiorentina ([fjoren'ti:naFiorentina) is an Italian professional soccer club located within Florence, Tuscany, Italy. The first team was formed through a merger that took place in the month of August 1926. The team was officially reestablished in August 2002, following the bankruptcy. Fiorentina were at the highest level in Italian football throughout the duration of their existence. four clubs have been involved for longer Serie A seasons.

Fiorentina has been awarded twice Italian Championships, in 1955-56 and in 1968-69, along with six Coppa Italia trophies as well as the Supercoppa Italiana. In the European stage, Fiorentina won the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in the years 1960-61 and then lost the trophy a the following year. They were runners-up at their 1956 and 1957 European Cup, losing against Real Madrid, and also was close to winning in the 1989-1990 UEFA Cup, finishing as runners-up against Juventus after losing the opening game in Turin and losing the second leg in Avellino.

Fiorentina is among the 15 European teams that reached the finals in the three main continental tournaments that include The Champions League (1956-1957, the first Italian team to make it to the final of the most prestigious continental competition) and The UEFA Cup Winners (1960-1961 and 1961-1962) and the UEFA Cup (1989-1990).

In the years since 1931 the team play at Stadio Artemio Franchi that currently is able to accommodate 43147. The stadium has been known by various names in the past and has been through several upgrades. Fiorentina is well-known by the name Viola which refers the distinctive violet colour.

1. History

This article discusses the background of the Italian team ACF Fiorentina.

1.1. Foundation to World War II

Associazione Calcio Fiorentina was founded in the fall of 1926 by a local wealthy along with National Fascist Party member Luigi Ridolfi who was the one to initiate an alliance between two previous Florentine club, CS Firenze and PG Libertas. The goal for the merger was provide Florence a formidable club to compete with the more prominent Italian Football Championship sides of the day from Northwest Italy. Additionally, it was a significant part of the revival of culture and discovering of Calcio Fiorentino as an ancestor of modern soccer that was played by players from the Medici family.

After a slow beginning after three consecutive seasons of the lower leagues Fiorentina made it to Serie A in 1931. In the same year, the club celebrated the official opening to the brand new arena. first named after Giovanni Berta, a prominent fascist. It is now known in the form of Stadio Artemio Franchi. In the early days, the stadium was an awe-inspiring feat of engineering and its debut was huge. In order to be able be competitive with the top team from Italy, Fiorentina strengthened their team by introducing new players, most notably those from the Uruguayan Pedro Petrone, nicknamed the Artillero. Despite having a successful season and finishing fourth spot, Fiorentina were relegated the following year, though they would soon return into Serie A. In 1941 they took home their first Coppa Italia title, however they were unable to grow on their success in the 1940s because of World War II and other problems.

1.2. First scudetto and '50–'60s

The year 1950 was when Fiorentina began to earn regular top five places within the league domestically. The team was comprised of top players like famous goalie Giuliano Sarti Sergio Cervato, Francesco Rosella, Guido Gratton, Giuseppe Chiappella and Aldo Scaramucci and, most importantly the offensive team consisting of Brazilian Julinho as well as Argentinian Miguel Montuori. The team was awarded the initial the scudetto (Italian title) between 1955 and 1956, twelve points ahead of second-placed Milan. Milan defeated Fiorentina to win the top spot in the following year, but more importantly, Fiorentina was the very first Italian team to take part in the European Cup final, when an undisputed penalty resulted in an 2-0 loss to Alfredo di Stefano's Real Madrid. Fiorentina finished runners-up in the subsequent three seasons. The 1960-61 season was when Fiorentina took home the Coppa Italia once more and also enjoyed success in Europe by winning the Cup Winners' Cup in the competition against Scottish club Rangers.

After a number of years of runner-up places, Fiorentina dropped away slightly during the 1960s, shifting from fourth to sixth but the team did win the Coppa Italia as well as in 1966, the Mitropa Cup in 1966.

1.3. Second scudetto and '70s

Although the 1960s resulted in some awards and Serie A finishes for Fiorentina however, no one believed that the club would be able to compete in the race for the top spot. The season of 1968-69 began with Milan as the frontrunners, however on matchday 7 they fell the match to Bologna and were beaten to Gigi Riva's Cagliari. Fiorentina after a mediocre beginning, was then elevated towards the top of Serie A, but the beginning of their season ended with an 2-2 draw against Varese which left Cagliari as the clear league leader. The second part of the season saw three-way war between the three rival teams, Milan, Cagliari and Fiorentina. Milan went down, focused on winning their efforts towards the European Cup, and it was believed that Cagliari would keep the top position. After Cagliari fell to Juventus but, Fiorentina took over at the top. The team triumphed in all their remaining matches, including beating their rivals Juve in Turin on the final day of play to secure their second and last, title for the national team. For the European Cup competition the following year, Fiorentina had some good outcomes, including a victory at home in the Soviet Union against Dynamo Kyiv however, they were eliminated in the quarterfinals following a 3-0 loss in Glasgow in the quarter-finals to Celtic.

The Viola players entered the 1970s with Scudetto stitched on their breasts However, the time was not particularly productive in the Viola's team. After finishing fifth in 1971, they ended up with a mid-table finish almost every year. They even flirted with the possibility of being dropped in 1972 and in 1978. The Viola did take home their first Anglo-Italian League Cup in 1974 and also won the Coppa Italia once more in 1975. The team was comprised of young talent such as Vincenzo Guerini and Moreno Roggi who were unfortunate enough to suffer serious injuries and, most importantly, Giancarlo Antognoni who was later to become the idol of Fiorentina's fans. The youthful average age of the players resulted in the team being referred to as Fiorentina Ye-Ye.

1.4. Pontello era

In the year 1980, Fiorentina was bought by Flavio Pontello, who was from a family that was wealthy and house-building. The team's logo was quickly altered by Flavio Pontello. emblem and anthem, which led to some complaints from supporters, but he began to sign top-quality players, such as Francesco Graziani and Eraldo Pecci from Torino; Daniel Bertoni from Sevilla; Daniele Massaro from Monza as well as a 20-year old Pietro from Como. The team was founded around Giancarlo Antognoni. Then, in 1982 Fiorentina played in an exciting match against the rival club Juventus. After a serious injury to Antognoni the title of the league came down to the last date of the campaign, when Fiorentina were unable to score a goal against Cagliari and could not take the title. Juventus took the title thanks to a controversial penalty, as the rivalry between both teams flared.

The years following were quite erratic for Fiorentina who fluctuated between high-finishing and relegation fights. Fiorentina also purchased two interesting players: El Puntero Ramon Diaz and more importantly the youthful Roberto Baggio.

The year 1990 was the time Fiorentina tried to prevent losing their place right until the last day of the season. They did manage to make it to their UEFA Cup final, where they were again in competition with Juventus. The Turin team was awarded the trophy, however the tifosi from Fiorentina was a real reason to complain The second leg of the final took place at Avellino (Fiorentina's home stadium was shut down) which was a city home to lots of Juventus fans. Also, the club's newest superstar Roberto Baggio was sold to the team that was competing at the time of the final. Pontello was suffering from financial problems, was selling the entire team and was forced to quit the club following a series of protests on the streets of Florence. The club was then purchased by the famous film director Mario Cecchi Gori.

1.5. Cecchi Gori era: from Champions League to bankruptcy

In the first year under Cecchi Gori's control was one of stabilisation following which the new chairman began signing excellent players such as Brian Laudrup, Stefan Effenberg, Francesco Baiano and, most important, Gabriel Batistuta, who became a cult player for the club during the 1990s. However, in 1993, Cecchi Gori passed away after which his son succeeded him as the chairman Vittorio. Despite a great beginning to the season Cecchi Gori dismissed his coach Luigi Radice, after losing against Atalanta and then was replaced by Aldo Agroppi. The results were terrible: Fiorentina fell into the lowest tier of the table and was exiled on the last date of their season.

Claudio Ranieri was brought in as the coach for the 1993-94 season. During that time, Fiorentina dominated Serie B, the second division of Italy. When they returned back to Serie A, Ranieri put together a strong team centered around the new top scorer Batistuta and signed young star Rui Costa, who was from Benfica and the world-class Brazilian player Marcio Santos. The former was a hero to Fiorentina supporters but the second one was not as popular and was sold after just one season. The Viola ended the season in tenth position.

The next year, Cecchi Gori bought other important players, including Swedish midfielder Stefan Schwarz. The club proved its strength in tournaments and won the Coppa Italia against Atalanta and coming in joint third at the top of Serie A. This summer Fiorentina was the only non-national team to be the winners of the Supercoppa Italiana, defeating Milan 1-1 in the San Siro.

The 1996-97 season of Fiorentina was not a great one in the league. However, they did make it to the Cup Winners' Cup semi final by defeating Gloria Bistrita, Sparta Prague and Benfica. They lost in the semi-final match to final winner of the tournament, Barcelona (away 1-1; home 2 -0). The most notable signings of the season included Luis Oliveira and Andrei Kanchelskis who both was afflicted with numerous injuries.

In the final stages of the season Ranieri quit Fiorentina to go to Valencia in Spain in Spain, with Cecchi Gori appointing Alberto Malesani as his replacement. Fiorentina performed well, but they struggled against smaller teams, however they were able to be able to qualify for their first ever UEFA Cup. Malesani quit Fiorentina after just one season and was replaced by Giovanni Trapattoni. Under Trapattoni's expert direction and Batistuta's goals Fiorentina was a contender to win the title in 1998-1999 but ended the season in third place, securing them a spot to the Champions League. The next year was a disappointment for the club in Serie A, but Viola played in some historic games within the Champions League, beating Arsenal in a 1-0 win at the old Wembley Stadium and Manchester United with a 2-0 win in Florence. The team was eliminated at the second stage of group play.

In the final stages of the season Trapattoni was dismissed from the club, and became replaced with Turkish head coach Fatih Terim. However, more importantly, Batistuta was sold to Roma which eventually won the title the following season. Fiorentina did well in 2000-01 and was at the top of Serie A, despite the resignation of Terim and the arrival of Roberto Mancini. They also were crowned the Coppa Italia for the sixth time and won it again. time.

2001 brought about significant shifts for Fiorentina in the wake of the dire state of their finances was exposed that they could not pay salaries and had debts that were in the region of 50 million dollars. The owner of the club, Vittorio Cecchi Gori, was able to raise additional cash, but it quickly proved insufficient to support the club. Fiorentina were relegated at the end of the 2001-02 season and went into judicially-controlled administration in June 2002. This type of bankruptcy (sports companies aren't able to go under as they do in Italy however, they could be subject to similar procedures) led to the club was not allowed to participate into Serie B for the 2002-03 season. As consequently, the club was unable to exist.

1.6. Della Valle era: from fourth tier to Europe (2000s and 2010s)

The club was reestablished in the summer of 2002 as Associazione Calcio Fiforentina and Florentia Viola with shoe and leather entrepreneur Diego Della Valle as new owner. The club was incorporated into Serie C2, the fourth highest level in Italian football. The only player who remained at the club under the new form is Angelo Di Livio, whose dedication to the cause of the club was a further reason to attract the supporters. With the help of Di Livio and the 30-goal striker Christian Rigano, the club was able to win their Serie C2 group with considerable ease, which could normally result in a move up to Serie C1. Because of the absurd Caso Catania (Catania Caso Catania) however the club was not able to participate in Serie C1 and was admitted to Serie B, something that was only possible due to the Italian Football Federation (FIGC)'s decision to end the Catania problem by expanding the amount of clubs that play in Serie B from 20 to 24 and also promoting Fiorentina because of "sports benefits." In the off-season of 2003 the club also bought back the rights for the Fiorentina name and famous jersey design and also rebranded its name in the name of ACF Fiorentina. The club ended the season in the sixth spot and won the playoff over Perugia in order to return to the top of the league football.

In their first year back to Serie A, however, the club was unable to avoid being relegated, but only managed to stay in the league on the final day of the season with a head-to head records in the match against Bologna as well as Parma. The year 2005 was the time Della Valle decided to choose Pantaleo Corvino as the new sports director. He was then which was followed by the appointment of Cesare Prandelli as the head coach for the next season. The club signed several players during the summer transfer window which included Luca Toni and Sebastien Frey. The move was a major one that led to them finishing fourth with 74 points, and an Champions League qualifying round ticket. Toni recorded 31 goals over 38 matches and was becoming the very first footballer to reach the 30 goal mark ever since Antonio Valentin Angelillo in the 1958-59 season for which Toni was given his European Golden Boot. 14 July 2006 the team Fiorentina had to be relegated back into Serie B due to their involvement in the 2006 Serie A match fixing scandal and were given a 12-point penalty. The team was relegated back to Serie A on appeal, however, with a penalty of 19 points for the season 2006-07. Its place in the 2006-07 Champions League place was also taken away. At the start in the campaign, Fiorentina's penalty decreased from 19 to just 15 after an appeal to Italian courts. Despite this punishment however, they were able to get a spot in the UEFA Cup.

In spite of Toni's departure to Bayern Munich, Fiorentina had an excellent beginning to the 2007-08 campaign and was regarded by Italian head coach of the national team Marcello Lippi, along with other as a possible opponent for the Scudetto and even though their performance slowed in the mid-season, the Viola did manage to get into their place in the Champions League. In Europe the club made it to the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup, where they were defeated by Rangers in the penalty shootout. The 2008-09 season continued the good run with a fourth place finish securing Fiorentina's place for the 2010 Champions League playoffs. The club's European campaign was similar to the one they had in their previous one, they were relegated to in the 2007-09 UEFA Cup and were eliminated by Ajax at the final.

In the season of 2009-10, Fiorentina started their domestic campaign with a strong start, but slowly lost momentum and falling to mid-table status in the conclusion in the campaign. In Europe Fiorentina was a surprising dark horse. After they lost their first game away against Lyon and then putting together an incredible comeback, completing five consecutive wins, winning all of their remaining games (including beating Liverpool both at home at home and on the road). The Viola won the group title however they lost out in the final game to Bayern Munich due to the away goals rule. The controversy was because of a erroneous refereeing decision made by Tom Henning Ovrebo, who allowed a clear offside goal in the favour of Bayern in the first game. Bayern ultimately finished the tournament as runners-up running deep until the final. The incident has brought to light the possibility of implementing videos in soccer. In spite of a successful European performance and reaching the semi-finals at the Coppa Italia, Fiorentina failed to reach the finals for Europe.

On 24 September 2009 Andrea Della Valle resigned from the position of chairman of Fiorentina and announced that the duties of Fiorentina were to be transferred temporarily over to Mario Cognini, Fiorentina's vice-president until a permanent post could be found.

In June of 2010 in June of 2010, the Viola said goodbye to director Cesare Prandelli, at the time being the coach with the longest tenure in team's history. He was leaving to become the coach of for the Italian nation's team. Catania coach Sinisa Mihajlovic was appointed to succeed Prandelli. The team spent a lot of the season's first half in the bottom third position, however their performance improved and Fiorentina ended up finishing on the ninth spot. After a 1-0 loss against Chievo in November of 2011, Mihajlovic was fired and was replaced with Delio Rossi. After an unspecified period of improvement however, the Viola were once again fighting for being relegated, leading to the demotion director of Sportsing Pantaleo Korvino in the early months of 2012 following the loss to Juventus. Their fight for survival was sustained through a string of shocking wins at home away, most notably in Roma in Italy and Milan. When they played at home against Novara with a deficit of 0-2 in less than one hour, coach Rossi chose to change midfielder Adem Ljajic at the start of the game. Ljajic was sarcastically applauding his opponent in anger, and Rossi responded by physically assaulting his player. This was an incident which eventually led to his dismissal at the hands of the club. The manager who replaced him, caretaker Vincenzo Guerini, then guided the team out of the relegation zone and to 13th place to close the season with a bang.

In order to revive the club following the poor season in 2012, the Della Valle family invested heavily in the middle of 2012, purchasing 17 new players and hiring Vincenzo Montella as head coach. The team started the season in good form, but they finished the year in a joint third position and ending the 2012-13 season fourth place, good enough for an entry into the 2013-14 Europa League.

The club lost their fan favorite Stevan Jovetic at the end of 2013, when they sold Jovetic the club to English Premier League club Manchester City for a EUR30 million transfer fee. They also transferred Adem Ljajic and Adem Ljajic to Roma and Alessio Cecci to Torino and used the funds to acquire Mario Gomez, Josip Ilicic and Ante Rebic, to name a few. The season was a success. Fiorentina won the Europa League group, moving to round 32 to play Danish team Esbjerg fB, which Fiorentina defeated 4-2 in an aggregate. In the next round of 16 but they lost to Italian opponents Juventus by a score of 2-1 and eliminated Fiorentina from the tournament. In the final stages year, they finished fourth in the league. They were they also finished the season with the title of Coppa Italia runners-up following a loss of three-one to Napoli at the end of their final.

In 2014-15, in the winter transfer window of 2015 the club sold the star player Juan Cuadrado to Chelsea for EUR30 million. However, they could get the loan of Mohamed Salah in exchange, who proved to be a major player during the second half during the course of. The 2014-15 Europa League campaign saw them reach the semi-finals in which they were eliminated by Spanish team Sevilla which would go on to become champions. In the 2014-15 season, domestically, Fiorentina once again finished fourth and qualified to play in the 2015-2016 Europa League. In June 2015 Vincenzo Montella was sacked as manager of the club after they became frustrated with the coach's inability to demonstrate their dedication to the club being replaced Paulo Sousa, who lasted until June 2017 and then the selection of Stefano Pioli. The captain of the club Davide Astori died suddenly at 31 years old in March of 2018. Astori was suffering from a cardiac collapse while staying in the hotel prior to an away match. The club then retracted Astori's number for kit, 13. Fiorentina was a victim of this season's Serie A campaign and ended the season with losing 14 times in a row and finished 16th with just 41 points. This was 3 points clear of the zone of relegation. On the 9th of April, 2019 Pioli quit as manager, and replaced with Montella.

1.7. Commisso era

The 6th of June, 2019 The club sold on June 6, 2019 to the Italian-American billionaire Rocco Commisso for approximately 160 million euro. The deal marked the end of Della Valle family's seventeen-year association with the club. Vincenzo Montella was confirmed as coach for the inaugural year of this new generation, despite the team's poor finish to the previous season, which saw them finish just three points ahead of the zone of relegation. Fiorentina did not improve that they had experienced in the previous year and spent the majority of the time in the lower midtable. Montella was fired on the 21st of December following seven games without a win which saw the club fall to 15th place. He the replacement was Giuseppe Iachini. In November of 2020, Cesare Prandelli was recalled to Fiorentina as coach, replacing Giuseppe Iachini as coach.

2. Players

Detail of the players as below mentioned.

2.1. Current squad

As of 1 September 2022

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Italy ITA Pietro Terracciano
2 DF Brazil BRA Dodô
3 DF Italy ITA Cristiano Biraghi (captain)
4 DF Serbia SRB Nikola Milenković (4th captain)
5 MF Italy ITA Giacomo Bonaventura (3rd captain)
7 FW Serbia SRB Luka Jović
8 MF Italy ITA Riccardo Saponara
9 FW Brazil BRA Arthur Cabral
10 MF Italy ITA Gaetano Castrovilli
11 FW France FRA Jonathan Ikoné
14 MF Morocco MAR Youssef Maleh
15 DF Serbia SRB Aleksa Terzić
16 DF Italy ITA Luca Ranieri
22 FW Argentina ARG Nicolás González
23 DF Italy ITA Lorenzo Venuti (vice-captain)
24 MF Italy ITA Marco Benassi
27 MF Poland POL Szymon Å»urkowski
28 DF Argentina ARG Lucas Martínez Quarta
31 GK Italy ITA Michele Cerofolini
32 MF Ghana GHA Alfred Duncan
33 FW Italy ITA Riccardo Sottil
34 MF Morocco MAR Sofyan Amrabat
38 MF Italy ITA Rolando Mandragora
42 MF Italy ITA Alessandro Bianco
72 MF Czech Republic CZE Antonín Barák (on loan from Hellas Verona)
95 GK Italy ITA Pierluigi Gollini (on loan from Atalanta)
98 DF Brazil BRA Igor
99 FW Ivory Coast CIV Christian Kouamé

2.2. Out on loan

As of 1 September 2022

No. Pos. Nation Player
DF Italy ITA Christian Dalle Mura (at SPAL until 30 June 2023)
DF Romania ROU Eduard DuÈ›u (at Reggina until 30 June 2023)
DF Italy ITA Edoardo Pierozzi (at Palermo until 30 June 2023)
DF Italy ITA Filippo Frison (at Fiorenzuola until 30 June 2023)
DF Italy ITA Davide Gentile (at Pro Vercelli until 30 June 2023)
DF Denmark DEN Jacob Rasmussen (at Feyenoord until 30 June 2023)
DF Italy ITA Lorenzo Cellai (at Virtus Verona until 30 June 2023)
DF Italy ITA Gabriele Ferrarini (at Monza until 30 June 2023)
MF Italy ITA Niccolò Pierozzi (at Reggina until 30 June 2023)
MF Italy ITA Giovanni Corradini (at Pro Vercelli until 30 June 2023)
MF Italy ITA Mattia Fiorini (at Fiorenzuola until 30 June 2023)
MF Croatia CRO Toni Fruk (at Gorica until 30 June 2023)
MF Italy ITA Vittorio Agostinelli (at Reggina until 30 June 2023)
FW Italy ITA Destiny Egharevba (at Vis Pesaro until 30 June 2023)
FW Italy ITA Gabriele Gori (at Reggina until 30 June 2023)
FW Russia RUS Aleksandr Kokorin (at Aris Limassol until 30 June 2023)
FW Romania ROU Louis Munteanu (at Farul ConstanÈ›a until 30 June 2023)
FW Italy ITA Samuele Spalluto (at Ternana until 30 June 2023)

2.3. Youth Sector

No. Pos. Nation Player
40 MF Italy ITA Costantino Favasuli
44 DF Bulgaria BUL Dimo Krastev

2.4. Notable players

Below is the list of footballers who have played at least 100 games in the club ACF Fiorentina.

2.5. Retired numbers

  • 13 Italy Davide Astori, Defender (2015–18) – posthumous honour

2.6. Management staff

Position Staff
Head Coach Italy Vincenzo Italiano
Vice Coach Italy Daniel Niccolini
Assistant Coach  
Assistant Coach  
Goalkeeping Coach Italy Angelo Porracchio
Athletic Trainer Italy Ivano Tito
Team Manager  
Video Analyst  
Chief Medical Officer  
Team Doctor  
Physiotherapist  
Physiotherapist  
Physiotherapist  
Physiotherapist  
Podiatrist  
Osteopath  
Nutrionist
 

3. Managerial history

Fiorentina has had numerous manager and head coaches over their time. Here is a list of their managers and head coaches beginning with the club's inception from 1926 until the present.

No Name Nationality Years   No Name Nationality Years
1 Károly Csapkay 1926–28   37 Ferruccio Valcareggi 1985
2 Gyula Feldmann 1928–30   38 Aldo Agroppi 1985–86
3 Gyula Feldmann 1930–31   39 Eugenio Bersellini 1986–87
4 Hermann Felsner 1931–33   40 Sven-Göran Eriksson 1 July 1987 – 30 June 1989
5 Wilhelm Rady 1933   41 Bruno Giorgi 1 July 1989 – 25 April 1990
6 József Ging 1933–34   42 Francesco Graziani 26 April 1990 – 30 June 1990
7 Guido Ara 1934–37   43 Sebastião Lazaroni 1 July 1990 – 30 September 1991
8 Ottavio Baccani 1937–38   44 Luigi Radice 1 October 1991 – 5 January 1993
9 Ferenc Molnár 1938   45 Aldo Agroppi 6 January 1993 – 30 April 1993
10 Rudolf Soutschek 1938–39   46 Luciano Chiarugi 1 May 1993 – 30 June 1993
11 Giuseppe Galluzzi 1939–45   47 Claudio Ranieri 1 July 1993 – 30 June 1997
12 Guido Ara 1946   48 Alberto Malesani 1 July 1997 – 30 June 1998
13 Renzo Magli 1946–47   49 Giovanni Trapattoni 1 July 1998 – 30 June 2000
14 Imre Senkey 1947   50 Fatih Terim 1 July 2000 – 25 February 2001
15 Luigi Ferrero 1947–51   51 Luciano Chiarugi 2001
16 Renzo Magli 1951–53   52 Roberto Mancini 26 February 2001 – 14 January 2002
17 Fulvio Bernardini 1953–58   53 Ottavio Bianchi 14 January 2002 – 31 March 2002
18 Lajos Czeizler 1958–59   54 Luciano Chiarugi 1 April 2002 – 30 June 2002
19 Luigi Ferrero 1959   55 Eugenio Fascetti June 2002 – July 2002
20 Luis Carniglia 1959–60   56 Pietro Vierchowod 1 July 2002 – 29 October 2002
21 Giuseppe Chiappella 1960   57 Alberto Cavasin 29 October 2002 – 10 February 2004
22 Nándor Hidegkuti 1960–62   58 Emiliano Mondonico 10 February 2004 – 25 October 2004
23 Ferruccio Valcareggi 1962–64   59 Sergio Buso 25 October 2004 – 25 January 2005
24 Giuseppe Chiappella 1964–67   60 Dino Zoff 25 January 2005 – 30 June 2005
25 Luigi Ferrero 1967–68   61 Cesare Prandelli 1 July 2005 – 3 June 2010
26 Andrea Bassi 1968   62 Siniša Mihajlović 4 June 2010 – 7 November 2011
27 Bruno Pesaola 1968–71   63 Delio Rossi 8 November 2011 – 2 May 2012
28 Oronzo Pugliese 1971   64 Vincenzo Guerini 3 May 2012 – 11 June 2012
29 Nils Liedholm 1971–73   65 Vincenzo Montella 11 June 2012 – 8 June 2015
30 Luigi Radice 1973–74   66 Paulo Sousa 21 June 2015 – 6 June 2017
31 Nereo Rocco 1974–75   67 Stefano Pioli 6 June 2017 – 9 April 2019
32 Carlo Mazzone 1975–77   68 Vincenzo Montella 10 April 2019 – 21 December 2019
33 Mario Mazzoni 1977–78   69 Giuseppe Iachini 23 December 2019 – 9 November 2020
34 Giuseppe Chiappella 1978   70 Cesare Prandelli 9 November 2020 – 23 March 2021
35 Paolo Carosi 1978–81   71 Giuseppe Iachini 24 March 2021 – 30 June 2021
36 Giancarlo De Sisti 1981–85   72 Vincenzo Italiano 30 June 2021 - Today

4. Colours and badge

As per detail below.

4.1. Badge

The emblem of Florence, the city's capital. Florence with its red fleur-de-lis with a white field has played a significant role in the symbolism that surrounds the club.

Through the span of the club's history They have seen a variety of badge modifications, all that included Florence's fleur de lis at some point. The first badge was simply Florence's city coat of arms which was a white shield that had the red fleur-de-lis in it. The symbol was later transformed into a stylized fleur-de-lis which was always red sometimes sans white background. The most popular symbol, used for around 20 years, was an unpainted white lozenge with a flower within. When they won the championship, when they became Italian champions when the lozenge was removed while the floral design was placed by the Scudetto.

The logo created by the owner Flavio Pontello in the year 1980 was distinct and consisted of one-half Florence's city's emblem , and the other half of the word "F" to represent Fiorentina. Many people were not pleased when it was first introduced and believed it was an economic decision, and most importantly, the symbol had more of the resemblance of the halberd rather than a fleur-de-lis.

The logo today is a kite-shaped double lozenge, bordered with gold. The outer lozenge is purple backgrounds that is adorned with letters "AC" on white. The letter "F" with red letters, symbolizing the name of the club. The inside lozenge is white, with gold borders and the red fleur-de lis of Florence. The logo was used from 1992 until 2002, however, following the crisis in finances and revival of the club, the new logo couldn't be based on the identical logo. Florence's comune granted Florentia Viola the right to use the stylised coat of arms that is used in various documents of the city. Diego Della Valle acquired the current logo in the year following at a judicial auction for EUR2.5 million, which makes this the highest-priced logo used in Italian football.

4.2. Kit and colours

When Fiorentina was formed in 1926, the team had white and red half-halved shirts, derived from hue of the city's emblem. The more famous and distinct purple uniform was introduced by the team in 1928, and it has continued to be in use for a long time, leading to the name La Viola ("The purple (team )"). The legend goes that Fiorentina acquired their purple kit accidentally after an accident washed the previous white and red colored kits by the water.

It has been mostly white, but sometimes with red and purple elements, but sometimes it's all white. The shorts were violet when the home kit had white shorts. The third kit of Fiorentina was first used in the 1995-96 seasons and was all-red and had the purple border and 2 Lilies around the shoulders. The red shirt is the most frequently worn 3rd shirts by Fiorentina but they also had rare yellow shirt ('97-'98, '99-'00 and '10-11') and a silver version, which was mostly worn in the Coppa Italia, in 2000-01.

In the 2017-18 season, and for it was for the very first time in the club's time, it wore five kits in the course of the entire season. They comprised of only one kit for home (all-purple) along with four away kit, every represents a distinct historic district of Florence. Florence that is blue all the way (Santa Croce) All-white (Santo Spirito) and all-green (San Giovanni) and all-red (Santa Maria Novella).

4.3. Anthem

"Canzone Viola" (Purple Song) is the name given to the song by Fiorentina, now more popularly known in the form of "Oh Fiorentina". It is the longest-running official football anthem of Italy and is among the most popular worldwide. It was composed in 1930, and only four years following the formation by the team, the tune was composed by a 12 year old youngster, Enzo Marcacci, and musically orchestrated by the master Marco Vinicio. The song was released in its first edition in 1931 by the editor Marcello Manni who was later an owner of rights. The song gained notoriety quickly thanks to the printing press and its Ordine del Marzocco the type of original viola club that printed the lyrics and then distributed the song to fans at a home game on the 22nd of November 1931. This song has been made into a song by Narciso Parigi in 1959, and later in 1965. The new version was able to replace the original version as the Fiorentina national anthem. In the following years, Narciso Parigi himself acquired the rights to the song that he gave at the end of 2002, to fan Club Collettivo Autonomo Viiola.

5. Kit suppliers and shirt sponsors

As per detail below.

5.1. Kit manufacturer

  • 1978–1981: Adidas
  • 1981–1983: J.D.Farrow's
  • 1983–1988: Ennerre
  • 1988–1991: Abbigliamento Sportivo
  • 1991–1993: Lotto
  • 1993–1995: Uhlsport
  • 1995–1997: Reebok
  • 1997–2000: Fila
  • 2000–2001: Diadora
  • 2001–2002: Mizuno
  • 2002–2003: Mizuno, Garman, Puma
  • 2003–2005: Adidas
  • 2005–2012: Lotto
  • 2012–2015: Joma
  • 2015–2020: Le Coq Sportif
  • 2020–: Kappa

5.2. Shirt sponsors

  • 1981–1983: J.D.Farrow's
  • 1983–1986: Opel
  • 1986–1989: Crodino
  • 1989–1991: La Nazione
  • 1991–1992: Giocheria
  • 1992–1994: 7up
  • 1994–1997: Sammontana
  • 1997–1999: Nintendo
  • 1999–2002: Toyota
  • 2002–2004: Fondiaria-Sai
  • 2004–2010: Toyota
  • 2010–2011: Save The Children
  • 2011–2014: Mazda
  • 2014–2016: Volkswagen, Save The Children
  • 2016–2019: Vorwerk Folletto, Save The Children, Dream Loud
  • 2019–present: Mediacom

5.3. Official Partners

  • EA Sports - Football Video Gaming Partner
  • Montezemolo - Fashion Partner
  • Gruppoaf - Official Partner
  • Sammontana - Official Ice Cream
  • Synlab - Health Partner
  • OlyBet.tv - Infotainment partner

6. Honours

ACF Fiorentina is an Italian football club based in Florence established in 1926. The list includes the most prestigious honors won by Fiorentina and also the records set by the players and team.

6.1. Leagues

Serie A

  • Winners  : 1955–56, 1968–69

Serie B

  • Winners : 1930–31, 1938–39, 1993–94

Serie C2

  • Winners: 2002–03

6.2. Cups

Coppa Italia

  • Winners : 1939–40, 1960–61, 1965–66, 1974–75, 1995–96, 2000–01

SuperCoppa Italiana

  • Winners: 1996

6.3. International

UEFA Cup Winners' Cup

  • Winners: 1960–61

Anglo-Italian League Cup

  • Winners: 1975

Mitropa Cup

  • Winners: 1966

6.4. Other

Coppa Grasshoppers

  • Winners: 1957

7. Divisional movements

Series Years Last Promotions Relegations
A 84 2021–22 drop 3 (1938, 1993, 2002)
B 5 2003–04 up 4 (1931, 1939, 1994, 2004) bankruptcy
C 1 2002–03 up 1 (2003) never
90 years of professional football in Italy since 1929

8. Fiorentina as a company

A.C. Fiorentina S.p.A. was not able to join the 2002/03 Serie B due to financial problems, and the title of the sport was transferred to a different firm as per Article 52 of the N.O.I.F., while the previous company was closed. The club was heavily dependent on windfall income from the sale of players, particularly with a pure player swap or cash and player swaps that could increase the cost due to the increased amortisation of contracts with players (an intangible asset). For instance, Marco Rossi joined Fiorentina for Lire 17 billion in 2000. But at the same at the same time Lorenzo Collacchioni moved to Salernitana for Lire 1 billion. That means the club earned the benefit of a player in the amount of Lire 997 million, and an additional Lire one billion that was to be amortized over five years. The year 1999 saw Emiliano Bigica, who was also a Giuseppe Taglialatela. was appraised at Lire 10.4 billion. The operating profit (excluding windfall profits from player trading) of the 2000-01 season was less than Lire the sum of 113,271,475,933 (minus the EUR58,499,835). The profit was only increased by the sale of Francesco Toldo and Rui Costa in June 2001 (a profit of Lire 134.883 billion; EUR69.661 million). It was also claimed that they were set to transfer to Parma for an estimated Lire 140 million. The two players later became part of Inter Milan and A.C. Milan in the 2001-02 fiscal year, instead of paying undisclosed costs. In the absence of financial support from club's owner Vittorio Cecchi Gori the club was forced to close due to the huge gap in its operating revenue.

Since its re-establishment in 2002, ACF Fiorentina S.p.A. are yet to sustain themselves to maintain the team's position in the top division and competing in European competitions. In the fiscal year 2005 that included the first Serie A season, the club suffered the net loss of $9,159,356 which was followed by the loss of EUR19.519,789. For the year 2006 (2005-06 Serie A and 2006-07 Serie A), Fiorentina was heavily invested in players, which means that the amortisation of the intangible asset (the contract with the player) was been increased by EUR17.7 millions and EUR24 million. However , the club was afflicted by an Italian football scandal that means that the club was unable to have the necessary qualifications to join Europe. In 2007, Fiorentina was close to breaking even and had the net loss being 370,953 EUR. In 2007's financial year, the revenues from television increased after they were able to qualify for the 2007-08 UEFA Cup. Even though they qualified for in the 2008-09 UEFA Champions League, Fiorentina suffered a loss of 9179,484 euros in the 2008's financial year following the rise in TV revenues was offset by an increase in wages. In 2009, the budget year Fiorentina had a net profit of EUR4,442,803, mostly because of the profits from trading players (EUR33,631,489 from players like Felipe Melo, Giampaolo Pazzini and Zdravko Kuzmanovic, up from EUR3.5 million in the year 2008). However, this was compensated by the write-down of players who had sold (EUR6,062,545 which came from players like Manuel da Costa, Arturo Lupoli and Davide Carcuro).

In the event that the club did not be able to qualify for Europe at the conclusion of 2009/10 Serie A, as well as the lack of profit for players, Fiorentina turnover was decreased from EUR140,040,713 in 2009 down to only EUR79,854,928, however, despite wage costs decreasing, the Viola nonetheless lost a net EUR9,604,353. In the year of 2011's financial year the turnover fell to EUR67,076,953 due to the club was unable to make capital profits from selling players and the financial year of 2010 still contained the instalments of UEFA for the in the 2009-2010 UEFA Europa League. Additionally, the gate revenue was reduced from EUR11,070,385 down to EUR7,541,260. The wages bill didn't drop much, and in the reverse, the amortization of transfer fees had seen a dramatic increase because of new signings. La Viola had savings in other expenses, but was weighed down by a massive EUR11,747,668 write-downs for the departure of players, as a result of D'Agostino Frey and Mutu however, the latter could be counterbalanced by co-ownership's financial earnings, which meant that the operating cost was higher than the previous year. In addition, the performance was enhanced by buying the asset from a an affiliate (related in AC Fiorentina) and the refinancing of its value in the an independent balance sheet. When deducting the income (EUR14,737,855) the 2010 financial year's net loss was 24,342,208. 2011's result was less than that, with EUR8,131.876 being the only figure in the separate balance sheet. For 2012 the team gained from the sale of Matija Nastasic and Valon Behrami. They were followed by Stevan Jovetic and Adem Ljajic in 2013. In 2014, as a result of a EUR28.4 million decrease from the windfall profits from selling player, Fiorentina posted the worst financial performance since re-founding, despite the fact that the club remained at the same amount of windfall income but the outcome was less than the 2013. Furthermore, Fiorentina also revealed that the club earned a football net income of just EUR19.5 million during the initial review period for UEFA Financial Fair Play Regulations during 2013.14 season (in April 2014). (aggregate of 2013 and 2012 performance) and was is within the limits of less than EUR45 million in addition to less than EUR25.5 million during the assessment period 2014-2015 (aggregate of 2012 results, 2013, and 2014). But, since the limit was decreased to less than EUR30 million for the assessment period 2015-16 the 2016-17 season, 2017-18 season and 2015-16 and 2017-18 season, the club needed to earn a net income of EUR5.6 million during the 2015 . The financial year of 2015. La Viola sold Juan Cuadrado to Chelsea in January of 2015 for a EUR30 million, which was so that the club could be eligible for the take part in the 2016-17 edition of UEFA competitions.

9. League history

  • 1926–1928 Prima Divisione (2nd tier)
  • 1928–1929 Divisione Nazionale (1st tier)
  • 1929–1931 Serie B (2nd tier) – Champions: 1931
  • 1931–1938 Serie A (1st tier)
  • 1938–1939 Serie B (2nd tier) – Champions: 1939
  • 1939–1943 Serie A (1st tier)
  • 1943–1946 no contests (WW II)
  • 1946–1993 Serie A (1st tier) – Champions: 1956, 1969
  • 1993–1994 Serie B (2nd tier) – Champions: 1994
  • 1994–2002 Serie A (1st tier)
  • 2002–2003 Serie C2 (4th tier) – Champions: 2003
  • 2003–2004 Serie B (2nd tier)
  • 2004–present Serie A (1st tier)

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