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ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as Fiorentina (), is an Italian professional
football club A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an all- ...
based in
Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico ...
,
Tuscany it, Toscano (man) it, Toscana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Citizenship , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = Italian , demogra ...
, Italy. The original team was founded by a merger in August 1926, while the actual club was refounded in August 2002 following bankruptcy. Fiorentina have played at the top level of Italian football for the majority of their existence; only four clubs have played in more
Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Copp ...
seasons. Fiorentina has won two Italian Championships, in 1955–56 and again in 1968–69, as well as six
Coppa Italia The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since. History The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity ...
trophies and one
Supercoppa Italiana The Supercoppa Italiana ( en, Italian Super Cup) is an annual football match contested by the winners of the Serie A and the Coppa Italia in the previous season. If the same team wins both the Serie A and Coppa Italia titles in the previous seas ...
. On the European stage, Fiorentina won the
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tourn ...
in 1960–61 and lost the final one year later. They finished runners-up in the
1956–57 European Cup The 1956–57 European Cup was the second season of the European Cup, Europe's premier club football tournament. The competition was won for the second time by Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football C ...
, losing against
Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...
, and also came close to winning the
1989–90 UEFA Cup The 1989–90 UEFA Cup was won by Juventus on aggregate over Fiorentina. This was the first final between two Italian sides in the UEFA competitions history and the third between two clubs of the same country. It was the last season for which ...
, finishing as runners-up against
Juventus Juventus Football Club (from la, iuventūs, 'youth'; ), colloquially known as Juve (), is a professional football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, that competes in the Serie A, the top tier of the Italian football league system. Founded in ...
after losing the first leg in
Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. Th ...
and drawing in the second one in
Avellino Avellino () is a town and ''comune'', capital of the province of Avellino in the Campania region of southern Italy. It is situated in a plain surrounded by mountains east of Naples and is an important hub on the road from Salerno to Benevento. ...
. Fiorentina is one of the fifteen European teams that played the finals in all three major continental competitions: the Champions League (1956–1957, the first Italian team to reach the final in the top continental competition), the UEFA Cup Winners (1960–1961 and 1961–1962) and the UEFA Cup (1989–1990). Since 1931, the club have played at the Stadio Artemio Franchi, which currently has a capacity of 43,147. The stadium has used several names over the years and has undergone several renovations. Fiorentina are known widely by the nickname ''Viola'', a reference to their distinctive purple colours.


History


Foundation to World War II

Associazione Calcio Fiorentina was founded in the autumn of 1926 by local noble and
National Fascist Party The National Fascist Party ( it, Partito Nazionale Fascista, PNF) was a political party in Italy, created by Benito Mussolini as the political expression of Italian Fascism and as a reorganization of the previous Italian Fasces of Combat. The p ...
member Luigi Ridolfi, who initiated the merger of two older Florentine clubs,
CS Firenze Club Sportivo Firenze also known as CS Firenze or simply Firenze, was an Italian football club from Florence, Tuscany, that was founded in 1903. The club is most noted for competing in the early Italian Football Championship competitions (below t ...
and
PG Libertas Palestra Ginnastica Libertas, also known as P.G. Libertas, was an Italian association football club from Florence founded in 1912. The club is short-lived, lasting little more than a decade before merging with fellow Florence club C.S. Firenze ...
. The aim of the merger was to give Florence a strong club to rival those of the more dominant
Italian Football Championship Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...
sides of the time from
Northwest Italy Northwest Italy ( it, Italia nord-occidentale or just ) is one of the five official statistical regions of Italy used by the National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT), a first level NUTS region and a European Parliament constituency. Northwes ...
. Also influential was the cultural revival and rediscovery of , an ancestor of modern football that was played by members of the family. After a rough start and three seasons in lower leagues, Fiorentina reached the in 1931. That same year saw the opening of the new stadium, originally named after
Giovanni Berta Giovanni Berta (August 24, 1894 – February 28, 1921) was an Italian fascist militant of the Florentine ''Squadrismo'', later killed by communist militants during the Pignone clashes in Florence. Biography Giovanni Francesco Berta, known as Gian ...
, a prominent fascist, but now known as Stadio Artemio Franchi. At the time, the stadium was a masterpiece of engineering, and its inauguration was monumental. To be able to compete with the best teams in Italy, Fiorentina strengthened their team with some new players, notably the Uruguayan
Pedro Petrone Pedro Petrone Schiavone (11 May 1905 – 13 December 1964) was a Uruguayan footballer who played in the role of striker. His nickname was ''Artillero'', meaning artilleryman or gunner, in reference to his amazing goalscoring prowess. Club caree ...
, nicknamed ''el Artillero''. Despite enjoying a good season and finishing in fourth place, Fiorentina were relegated the following year, although they would return quickly to . In 1941, they won their first
Coppa Italia The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since. History The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity ...
, but the team were unable to build on their success during the 1940s due to World War II and other troubles.


First ''scudetto'' and '50–'60s

In 1950, Fiorentina started to achieve consistent top-five finishes in the domestic league. The team consisted of players such as well-known goalkeeper
Giuliano Sarti Giuliano Sarti (; 2 October 1933 – 5 June 2017) was an Italian professional football player, who played in the position of goalkeeper. Throughout his successful career, he played for several Italian clubs, although he is mostly remembered for ...
,
Sergio Cervato Sergio Cervato (; 22 March 1929 – 9 October 2005) was an Italian footballer who played as a defender. Club career Cervato was born in Carmignano di Brenta, province of Padua. Playing for Fiorentina, he formed a formidable defensive partner ...
, Francesco Rosella, Guido Gratton, Giuseppe Chiappella, Aldo Scaramucci, Brazilian Julinho, and Argentinian Miguel Montuori. This team won Fiorentina's first ''
scudetto The ''scudetto'' ( Italian for: "little shield") is a decoration having the colors of the flag of Italy which is sewn onto the jersey of the Italian sports clubs that won the highest level championship of their respective sport in the previous se ...
'' (Italian championship) in 1955–56, 12 points ahead of second-place
Milan Milan ( , , Lombard language, Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the List of cities in Italy, second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4  ...
. Milan beat Fiorentina to top spot the following year. Fiorentina became the first Italian team to play in a
European Cup The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...
final, when a disputed penalty led to a 2–0 defeat at the hands of
Alfredo Di Stéfano Alfredo (, ) is a cognate of the Anglo-Saxon name Alfred and a common Italian, Galician, Portuguese and Spanish language personal name. People with the given name include: * Alfredo (born 1946), Brazilian footballer born as Alfredo Mostarda ...
's
Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...
. Fiorentina were runners-up again in the three subsequent seasons. In the 1960–61 season, the club won the Coppa Italia again and was also successful in Europe, winning the first
Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European association football, football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised ...
against Scottish side Rangers. After several years of runner-up finishes, Fiorentina dropped away slightly in the 1960s, bouncing from fourth to sixth place, although the club won the Coppa Italia and the
Mitropa Cup The Mitropa Cup, officially called the La Coupe de l'Europe Centrale or Central European Cup, was one of the first international major European football cups for club sides. It was conducted among the successor states of the former Austria-Hunga ...
in 1966.


Second ''scudetto'' and '70s

While the 1960s did result in some trophies and good
Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Copp ...
finishes for Fiorentina, nobody believed that the club could challenge for the title. The 1968–69 season started with Milan as frontrunners, but on matchday 7, they lost to
Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 1 ...
and were overtaken by
Gigi Riva Luigi "Gigi" Riva (; born 7 November 1944) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a centre-forward. Considered to be one of the best players of his generation, as well as one of the greatest strikers of all time, Riva enjoyed ...
's
Cagliari Cagliari (, also , , ; sc, Casteddu ; lat, Caralis) is an Italian municipality and the capital of the island of Sardinia, an autonomous region of Italy. Cagliari's Sardinian name ''Casteddu'' means ''castle''. It has about 155,000 inhabitan ...
. Fiorentina, after an unimpressive start, then moved to the top of the Serie A, but the first half of their season finished with a 2–2 draw against
Varese Varese ( , , or ; lmo, label=Varesino, Varés ; la, Baretium; archaic german: Väris) is a city and ''comune'' in north-western Lombardy, northern Italy, north-west of Milan. The population of Varese in 2018 has reached 80,559. It is the c ...
, leaving Cagliari as outright league leader. The second half of the season was a three-way battle between the three contending teams, Milan, Cagliari and Fiorentina. Milan fell away, instead focusing their efforts on the European Cup, and it seemed that Cagliari would retain top spot. After Cagliari lost against
Juventus Juventus Football Club (from la, iuventūs, 'youth'; ), colloquially known as Juve (), is a professional football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, that competes in the Serie A, the top tier of the Italian football league system. Founded in ...
, however, Fiorentina took over at the top. The team then won all of their remaining matches, beating rivals Juve in
Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. Th ...
on the penultimate matchday to seal their second, and last, national title. In the European Cup competition the following year, Fiorentina had some good results, including a win in the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
against
Dynamo Kyiv Football Club Dynamo Kyiv (, ) is a Ukrainian professional football club based in Kyiv. Founded in 1927 as a Kyivan football team of republican branch of the bigger Soviet Dynamo Sports Society, the club as a separate business entity was offic ...
, but they were eventually knocked out in the quarter-finals after a 3–0 defeat in
Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated pop ...
to Celtic. ''Viola'' players began the 1970s decade with ''Scudetto'' sewed on their breast, but the period was not especially fruitful for the team. After a fifth-place finish in 1971, they finished in mid-table almost every year, even flirting with relegation in 1972 and 1978. The ''Viola'' did win the
Anglo-Italian League Cup The Anglo-Italian League Cup ( it, Coppa di Lega Italo-Inglese, also known as the Anglo-Italian League Cup Winners' Cup) was a short-lived football competition between teams from England and Italy – an English cup-winning team (League Cup or FA ...
in 1974 and won the Coppa Italia again in 1975. The team consisted of young talents like Vincenzo Guerini and Moreno Roggi, who had the misfortune to suffer bad injuries, and above all
Giancarlo Antognoni Giancarlo Antognoni (; born 1 April 1954) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. A skillful and creative offensive playmaker, regarded as one of the best Italian players of all time in his position, he played mos ...
, who would later become an idol to Fiorentina's fans. The young average age of the players led to the team being called ''Fiorentina Ye-Ye''.


Pontello era

In 1980, Fiorentina was bought by Flavio Pontello, who came from a rich house-building family. He quickly changed the team's anthem and logo, leading to some complaints by the fans, but he started to bring in high-quality players such as
Francesco Graziani Francesco "Ciccio" Graziani (; born 16 December 1952) is an Italian football manager and former football player who played as a forward. He began his career with Arezzo in 1970, and later joined Torino in 1973, where he remained until 1981, ...
and
Eraldo Pecci Eraldo Pecci (; born 12 April 1955) is an Italian writer, pundit, and former footballer, who played as a midfielder. Club career During his club career, Pecci played for Bologna, Fiorentina, S.S.C. Napoli and Torino, winning a Coppa Italia wi ...
from
Torino Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The ...
;
Daniel Bertoni Ricardo Daniel Bertoni (born 14 March 1955) is an Argentine former footballer who played as a right or left winger. In Argentina, he had a successful career at Club Atlético Independiente, where he won three Copa Libertadores, one Intercontine ...
from
Sevilla Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsul ...
;
Daniele Massaro Daniele Emilio Massaro (; born 23 May 1961) is an Italian former footballer who played as a forward. He is mainly remembered for his highly successful career with AC Milan during the late 1980s and 1990s, under managers Arrigo Sacchi and Fabio ...
from
Monza Monza (, ; lmo, label= Lombard, Monça, locally ; lat, Modoetia) is a city and ''comune'' on the River Lambro, a tributary of the Po in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capital of the Province of M ...
; and a young
Pietro Vierchowod Pietro Vierchowod (, born 6 April 1959) is an Italian former footballer who played as a defender, and a current manager. He also represented the Italian national side during his career, and was a member of the Italian squad that won the 1982 ...
from
Como Como (, ; lmo, Còmm, label=Comasco , or ; lat, Novum Comum; rm, Com; french: Côme) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como. Its proximity to Lake Como and to the Alps has m ...
. The team was built around Giancarlo Antognoni, and in
1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C., Un ...
, Fiorentina were involved in an exciting duel with rivals Juventus. After a bad injury to Antognoni, the league title was decided on the final day of the season when Fiorentina were denied a goal against Cagliari and were unable to win. Juventus won the title with a disputed penalty and the rivalry between the two teams erupted. The following years were strange for Fiorentina, who vacillated between high finishes and relegation battles. Fiorentina also bought two interesting players, ''El Puntero''
Ramón Díaz Ramón Ángel Díaz (born 29 August 1959) is a former Argentine footballer and the current manager of Saudi Professional League club Al Hilal. He played for River Plate as a striker, and coached it for three tenures, winning eight titles. ...
and, most significantly, the young
Roberto Baggio Roberto Baggio (; born 18 February 1967) is an Italian former professional footballer who mainly played as a second striker, or as an attacking midfielder, although he was capable of playing in several offensive positions. He is the former pre ...
. In 1990, Fiorentina fought to avoid relegation right up until the final day of the season, but did reach the
UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, cla ...
final, where they again faced Juventus. The Turin team won the trophy, but Fiorentina's ''
tifosi Tifosi () is a group of supporters of a sports team, especially those that make up a tifo. Etymology It is erroneously claimed that "In Italian, literally means those infected by typhus disease, a reference to someone acting in a fevered man ...
'' once again had real cause for complaint: the second leg of the final was played in
Avellino Avellino () is a town and ''comune'', capital of the province of Avellino in the Campania region of southern Italy. It is situated in a plain surrounded by mountains east of Naples and is an important hub on the road from Salerno to Benevento. ...
(Fiorentina's home ground was suspended), a city with many Juventus fans, and emerging star Roberto Baggio was sold to the rival team on the day of the final. Pontello, suffering from economic difficulties, was selling all the players and was forced to leave the club after serious riots in Florence's streets. The club was then acquired by the famous filmmaker
Mario Cecchi Gori Mario Cecchi Gori (; 21 March 1920, in Florence – 5 November 1993, in Rome) was an Italian film producer and owner of companies. He produced over 200 films, notably with Damiano Damiani, Dino Risi (''The Easy Life'', ''I Mostri'') and Ettore Scol ...
.


Cecchi Gori era: from Champions League to bankruptcy

The first season under Cecchi Gori's ownership was one of stabilisation, after which the new chairman started to sign some good players like
Brian Laudrup Brian Laudrup (, born 22 February 1969) is a Danish former professional footballer who played as a winger, forward or as a midfielder, and was regarded as one of the most talented players of his generation. He currently works as a football co ...
,
Stefan Effenberg Stefan Effenberg (; born 2 August 1968) is a German former footballer who most recently acted as sporting director for KFC Uerdingen 05. A midfielder, he was known for his leadership skills, passing range, shooting ability, and physical strengt ...
,
Francesco Baiano Francesco Baiano (; born 24 February 1968) is an Italian footballer coach and former player who was last in charge at Varese. He played as a striker for several Italian clubs throughout his playing career, and he also played for Derby County in ...
and, most importantly,
Gabriel Batistuta Gabriel Omar Batistuta (; born 1 February 1969) is an Argentine former professional footballer. During his playing career, Batistuta was nicknamed Batigol () as well as El Ángel Gabriel (; Spanish for ''Angel Gabriel''). Regarded as one of the ...
, who became an iconic player for the team during the 1990s. In 1993, however, Cecchi Gori died and was succeeded as chairman by his son, Vittorio. Despite a good start to the season, Cecchi Gori fired the coach,
Luigi Radice Luigi "Gigi" Radice (; 15 January 1935 – 7 December 2018) was an Italian football manager and player. A strong, tenacious, and consistent defender, he was usually deployed as a left-back. As a manager, he was known for his use of " zona mist ...
, after a defeat against
Atalanta Atalanta (; grc-gre, Ἀταλάντη, Atalantē) meaning "equal in weight", is a heroine in Greek mythology. There are two versions of the huntress Atalanta: one from Arcadia (region), Arcadia, whose parents were Iasus and Clymene (mythology ...
, and replaced him with Aldo Agroppi. The results were dreadful: Fiorentina fell into the bottom half of the standings and were relegated on the last day of the season.
Claudio Ranieri Claudio Ranieri Grande Ufficiale OMRI (; born 20 October 1951) is an Italian football manager and former player. He will be the new head coach of club Cagliari from 1 January 2023. Ranieri began his managerial career in the lower leagues in I ...
was brought in as coach for the 1993–94 season, and that year, Fiorentina dominated
Serie B The Serie B (), currently named Serie BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 season. It had been ...
, Italy's second division. Upon their return to Serie A, Ranieri put together a good team centred around new top scorer Batistuta, signing the young talent
Rui Costa Rui Manuel César Costa (; born 29 March 1972) is a Portuguese former professional footballer who is the 34th president of sports club S.L. Benfica. He also succeeded Luís Filipe Vieira as president of the club's SAD board of directors. ...
from Benfica and the new world champion Brazilian defender Márcio Santos. The former became an idol to Fiorentina fans, while the second disappointed and was sold after only a season. The ''Viola'' finished the season in tenth place. The following season, Cecchi Gori bought other important players, namely Swedish midfielder
Stefan Schwarz Hans-Jürgen Stefan Schwarz (born 18 April 1969) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Schwarz started off his career with Malmö FF in 1987 before moving on to represent Benfica, Arsenal, Fiorentina, and Valenc ...
. The club again proved its mettle in cup competitions, winning the Coppa Italia against Atalanta and finishing joint-third in Serie A. In the summer, Fiorentina became the first non-national champions to win the
Supercoppa Italiana The Supercoppa Italiana ( en, Italian Super Cup) is an annual football match contested by the winners of the Serie A and the Coppa Italia in the previous season. If the same team wins both the Serie A and Coppa Italia titles in the previous seas ...
, defeating Milan 2–1 at the
San Siro Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, commonly known as San Siro, is a football stadium in the San Siro district of Milan, Italy, which is the home of A.C. Milan and Inter Milan. It has a seating capacity of 80,018, making it one of the largest stadiums ...
. Fiorentina's 1996–97 season was disappointing in the league, but they did reach the
Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European association football, football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised ...
semi-final by beating Gloria Bistrița,
Sparta Prague ) but refer to Spartans as "''Rudí''" ( en, The Dark Reds/The Maroons).'' Letenští'' , ground = Generali Česká pojišťovna Arena , capacity = 19,416 , clubname = Sparta Prague , image = Sparta Praha logo.png , image_size = 160px , fu ...
and Benfica. The team lost the semi-final to the eventual winner of the competition,
Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ...
(away 1–1; home 0–2). The season's main signings were
Luís Oliveira Luís Airton Barroso "Lulù" de Oliveira (born 24 March 1969) is a football manager and former player. A striker, he spent most of his playing career in Italy. Born in Brazil, Oliveira was an international footballer for Belgium. Playing car ...
and
Andrei Kanchelskis Andrei Antanasovich Kanchelskis ( uk, Андрій Антанасович Канчельскіс; russian: Андрей Антанасович Канчельскис; born 23 January 1969) is a professional football manager and former player. H ...
, the latter of whom suffered from many injuries. At the end of the season, Ranieri left Fiorentina for
Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...
in Spain, with Cecchi Gori appointing
Alberto Malesani Alberto Malesani (; born 5 June 1954) is an Italian football manager and former player. As a manager, he is mostly remembered for his successful spell with Parma during the late 1990s, where he won the Coppa Italia, the UEFA Cup, and the Superc ...
as his replacement. Fiorentina played well but struggled against smaller teams, although they did manage to qualify for the UEFA Cup. Malesani left Fiorentina after only a season and was succeeded by
Giovanni Trapattoni Giovanni Trapattoni (; born 17 March 1939), sometimes popularly known as "Trap" or "Il Trap", is an Italian football manager and former player, considered the most successful club coach of Italian football. A former defensive midfielder, as a ...
. With Trapattoni's expert guidance and Batistuta's goals, Fiorentina challenged for the title in 1998–99 but finished the season in third, earning them qualification for the Champions League. The following year was disappointing in Serie A, but ''Viola'' played some historical matches in the Champions League, beating
Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
1–0 at the old
Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...
and
Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
2–0 in Florence. They were ultimately eliminated in the second group stage. At the end of the season, Trapattoni left the club and was replaced by Turkish coach
Fatih Terim Fatih Terim (born 4 September 1953) is a Turkish association football manager and former player. He is the former manager of Galatasaray, a position he previously held four times. Terim has managed several clubs in Italy (Milan and Fiorentina) ...
. More significantly, however, Batistuta was sold to
Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: Places Australia * Roma, Queensland, a town ** Roma Airport ** Roma Courthouse ** Electoral district of Roma, defunct ** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council * Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...
, who eventually won the title the following year. Fiorentina played well in 2000–01 and stayed in the top half of Serie A, despite the resignation of Terim and the arrival of
Roberto Mancini Roberto Mancini (; born 27 November 1964) is an Italian football manager and former player. He is currently the manager of the Italy national team. As a player, Mancini operated as a deep-lying forward, and was best known for his time at Sampd ...
. They also won the Coppa Italia for the sixth and last time. The year 2001 heralded major changes for Fiorentina, as the terrible state of the club's finances was revealed: they were unable to pay wages and had debts of around US$50 million. The club's owner, Vittorio Cecchi Gori, was able to raise some more money, but this soon proved to be insufficient to sustain the club. Fiorentina were relegated at the end of the 2001–02 season and went into judicially-controlled administration in June 2002. This form of bankruptcy (sports companies cannot exactly fail in this way in Italy, but they can suffer a similar procedure) meant that the club was refused a place in Serie B for the 2002–03 season, and as a result effectively ceased to exist.


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

The club was promptly re-established in August 2002 as Associazione Calcio Fiorentina e Florentia Viola with shoe and leather entrepreneur Diego Della Valle as new owner and the club was admitted into
Serie C2 Lega Pro Seconda Divisione was the fourth highest football league in Italy, the lowest with a professional status. Usually it consisted of 36 teams, but in the 2011–12 season, there were 41 teams divided geographically into two divisions of ...
, the fourth tier of Italian football. The only player to remain at the club in its new incarnation was
Angelo Di Livio Angelo Di Livio (; born 26 July 1966) is an Italian former professional football midfielder and defender. He played for several Italian clubs in Serie A throughout his career, coming to prominence with Juventus, where he won several domestic ...
, whose commitment to the club's cause further endeared him to the fans. Helped by Di Livio and 30-goal striker
Christian Riganò Christian Riganò (born 25 May 1974) is an Italian football manager and former professional footballer who played as a striker. Career Early career Riganò was born in Lipari, Province of Messina. A former bricklayer, he started his career wi ...
, the club won its Serie C2 group with considerable ease, which would normally have led to a promotion to
Serie C1 Lega Pro Prima Divisione was the third highest football league in Italy. It consisted of 33 teams, divided geographically into two divisions of 16 and 17 teams for group A and B respectively. Until 2008 it was known as Serie C1. Before the 1978 ...
. Due to the bizarre '' Caso Catania'' (Catania Case), however, the club skipped Serie C1 and was admitted into Serie B, something that was only made possible by the
Italian Football Federation The Italian Football Federation ( it, Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio; FIGC), known colloquially as ''Federcalcio'', is the governing body of football in Italy. It is based in Rome and the technical department is in Coverciano, Florence. I ...
(FIGC)'s decision to resolve the Catania situation by increasing the number of teams in Serie B from 20 to 24 and promoting Fiorentina for "sports merits." In the 2003 off-season, the club also bought back the right to use the Fiorentina name and the famous shirt design, and re-incorporated itself as ACF Fiorentina. The club finished the 2003–04 season in sixth place and won the
playoff The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...
against
Perugia Perugia (, , ; lat, Perusia) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber, and of the province of Perugia. The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and par ...
to return to top-flight football. In their first season back in Serie A, however, the club struggled to avoid relegation, only securing survival on the last day of the season on head-to-head record against
Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 1 ...
and
Parma Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, music, art, prosciutto (ham), cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 inhabitants, Parma is the second mos ...
. In 2005, Della Valle decided to appoint Pantaleo Corvino as new sports director, followed by the appointment of Cesare Prandelli as head coach in the following season. The club made several signings during the summer transfer market, most notably
Luca Toni Luca Toni (; born 26 May 1977) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a striker. A prolific goalscorer, Toni scored over 300 goals throughout his career, and is one of the top-five highest scoring Italians in all competition ...
and
Sébastien Frey Sébastien Jacques André Frey (born 18 March 1980) is a French former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. His club career began in France with Cannes in 1997, but later went on to spend most of his career in the Italian Serie A, ...
. This drastic move earned them a fourth-place finish with 74 points and a Champions League qualifying round ticket. Toni scored 31 goals in 38 appearances, the first player to pass the 30-goal mark since Antonio Valentin Angelillo in the 1958–59 season, for which he was awarded the
European Golden Boot The European Golden Shoe, also known as European Golden Boot, is an award that is presented each season to the leading goalscorer in league matches from the top division of a European national league. The trophy is a sculpture of a football boot ...
. On 14 July 2006, however, Fiorentina were relegated to Serie B due to their involvement in the 2006 Serie A match fixing scandal and given a 12-point penalty. The team was reinstated to the Serie A on appeal, but with a 19-point penalty for the 2006–07 season. The team's 2006–07 Champions League place was also revoked. After the start of the season, Fiorentina's penalisation was reduced from 19 points to 15 on appeal to the Italian courts. In spite of this penalty, they managed to secure a place in the UEFA Cup. Despite Toni's departure to Bayern Munich, Fiorentina had a strong start to the 2007–08 season and were tipped by
Italian national team The Italy national football team ( it, Nazionale di calcio dell'Italia) has represented Italy in international Association football, football since its first match in 1910. The national team is controlled by the Italian Football Federation (FIG ...
head coach
Marcello Lippi Marcello Romeo Lippi (; born 12 April 1948) is an Italian former professional football player and manager, who led the Italian national team to victory in the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He was appointed as Italy head coach in the summer of 2004 and ...
, among others, as a surprise challenger for the ''
Scudetto The ''scudetto'' ( Italian for: "little shield") is a decoration having the colors of the flag of Italy which is sewn onto the jersey of the Italian sports clubs that won the highest level championship of their respective sport in the previous se ...
'', and although this form tailed off towards the middle of the season, the ''Viola'' managed to qualify for the Champions League. In Europe, the club reached the semi-final of the
UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, cla ...
, where they were ultimately defeated by Rangers on penalties. The 2008–09 season continued this success, a fourth-place finish assuring Fiorentina's spot in 2010's Champions League playoffs. Their European campaign was also similar to that of the previous run, relegated to the
2008–09 UEFA Cup The 2008–09 UEFA Cup was the 38th season of the UEFA Cup football tournament. The final was played at the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium, home ground of Fenerbahçe, in Istanbul on 20 May 2009. This season was the final one to use the UEFA Cup fo ...
and were eliminated by
Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * ''Ajax'' (play), by the ancient Gree ...
in the end. In the 2009–10 season, Fiorentina started their domestic campaign strongly before steadily losing momentum and slipped to mid-table positions at the latter half of the season. In Europe, the team proved to be a surprise dark horse: after losing their first away fixture against
Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of ...
, they staged a comeback with a five-match streak by winning all their remaining matches (including defeating Liverpool F.C., Liverpool home and away). The ''Viola'' qualified as group champions, but eventually succumbed to Bayern Munich due to the away goals rule. This was controversial due to a mistaken refereeing decision by Tom Henning Øvrebø, who allowed a clearly offside goal for Bayern in the first leg. Bayern eventually finished the tournament as runners-up, making a deep run all the way to the 2010 UEFA Champions League Final, final. The incident called into attention the possible implementation of video replays in football. Despite a good European run and reaching the semi-finals in the Coppa Italia, Fiorentina failed to qualify for Europe. During this period, on 24 September 2009, Andrea Della Valle resigned from his position as chairman of Fiorentina, and announced all duties would be temporarily transferred to Mario Cognini, Fiorentina's vice-president until a permanent position could be filled. In June 2010, the ''Viola'' bid farewell to long-time manager Cesare Prandelli, by then the longest-serving coach in the team's history, who was departing to coach the Italian national team. Catania manager Siniša Mihajlović was appointed to replace him. The club spent much of the early 2010–11 Serie A, 2010–11 season in last place, but their form improved and Fiorentina ultimately finished ninth. Following a 1–0 defeat to A.C. Chievo Verona, Chievo in November 2011, Mihajlović was sacked and replaced by Delio Rossi. After a brief period of improvements, the ''Viola'' were again fighting relegation, prompting the sacking of Sporting Director Pantaleo Corvino in early 2012 following a 0–5 home defeat to Juventus. Their bid for survival was kept alive by a number of upset victories away from home, notably at Roma and Milan. During a home game against Novara Calcio, Novara, trailing 0–2 within half an hour, manager Rossi decided to substitute midfielder Adem Ljajić early. Ljajić sarcastically applauded him in frustration, whereupon Rossi retaliated by physical assaulting his player, an action that ultimately prompted his termination by the club. His replacement, caretaker manager Vincenzo Guerini, then guided the team away from the relegation zone to a 13th-place finish to end the turbulent year. To engineer a resurrection of the club after the disappointing season, the Della Valle family invested heavily in the middle of 2012, buying 17 new players and appointing Vincenzo Montella as head coach. The team began the season well, finishing the calendar year in joint third place and eventually finishing the 2012–13 Serie A, 2012–13 season in fourth, enough for a position in the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League, 2013–14 Europa League. The club lost fan favourite Stevan Jovetić during the middle of 2013, selling him to English Premier League club Manchester City F.C., Manchester City for a €30 million transfer fee. They also sold Adem Ljajić to Roma and Alessio Cerci to Torino, using the funds to bring in Mario Gómez, Josip Iličić and Ante Rebić, among others. During the season, Fiorentina topped their Europa League group, moving on to the round of 32 to face Danish side Esbjerg fB, which Fiorentina defeated 4–2 on aggregate. In the following round of 16, however, they then lost to Italian rivals Juventus 2–1 on aggregate, ousting Fiorentina from the competition. At the end of the season, the team finished fourth again in the league, and also finishing the year as Coppa Italia runners-up after losing 3–1 to Napoli in the final. In 2014–15, during the 2015 winter transfer window, the team club sold star winger Juan Cuadrado to Chelsea F.C., Chelsea for €30 million but were able to secure the loan of Mohamed Salah in exchange, who was a revelation in the second half of the season. Their 2014–15 UEFA Europa League, 2014–15 Europa League campaign saw them progress to the semi-finals, where they were knocked-out by Spanish side
Sevilla Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsul ...
, the eventual champions. In the 2014–15 Serie A, 2014–15 domestic season, Fiorentina once again finished fourth, thus qualifying for the 2015–16 UEFA Europa League, 2015–16 Europa League. In June 2015, Vincenzo Montella was sacked as manager after the club grew impatient with the coaches inability to prove his commitment to the club, and was replaced by Paulo Sousa, who lasted until June 2017 and the appointment of Stefano Pioli. Club captain Davide Astori died suddenly at the age of 31 in March 2018. Astori had suffered a cardiac arrest while in a hotel room before an away game. The club subsequently retired Astori's kit number, 13. Fiorentina suffered during the 2018–19 Serie A campaign and ended the season on a 14 match winless streak, finishing in 16th place with only 41 points, 3 points from the relegation zone. On 9 April 2019, Pioli resigned as manager and was replaced by Montella.


Commisso era

On 6 June 2019, the club was sold to Italian-American billionaire Rocco Commisso for around 160 million euros. The sale marked the end of the Della Valle family's seventeen-year association with the club. Vincenzo Montella was confirmed as coach for the first season of the new era despite the team's poor end to the previous campaign, which saw them finish only three points clear of the relegation zone. Fiorentina continued their struggles from the previous year, spending the majority of the season in lower midtable. Montella was sacked on 21 December after a 7 match winless run which left the club in 15th place, and was replaced by Giuseppe Iachini. In November 2020 Cesare Prandelli returned to Fiorentina, replacing Giuseppe Iachini as coach.


Players


Current squad


Out on loan


Youth Sector


Notable players


Retired numbers

* 13 Davide Astori, Defender (association football), Defender (2015–18) – posthumous honour


Management staff


Managerial history

Fiorentina have had many managers and head coaches throughout their history. Below is a chronological list from the club's foundation in 1926 to the present day.


Colours and badge


Badge

The official emblem of the city of
Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico ...
, a red fleur-de-lis on a white field, has been pivotal in the all-round symbolism of the club. Over the course of the club's history, they have had several badge changes, all of which incorporated Florence's fleur-de-lis in some way. The first one was nothing more than the city's coat of arms, a white shield with the red fleur-de-lis inside. It was soon changed to a very stylised fleur-de-lis, always red, and sometimes even without the white field. The most common symbol, adopted for about 20 years, had been a white Lozenge (heraldry), lozenge with the flower inside. During the season they were Italian champions, the lozenge disappeared and the flower was overlapped with the ''
scudetto The ''scudetto'' ( Italian for: "little shield") is a decoration having the colors of the flag of Italy which is sewn onto the jersey of the Italian sports clubs that won the highest level championship of their respective sport in the previous se ...
''. The logo introduced by owner Flavio Pontello in 1980 was particularly distinct, consisting of one-half of the city of Florence's emblem and one-half of the letter "F", for Fiorentina. People disliked it when it was introduced, believing it was a commercial decision and, above all, because the symbol bore more of a resemblance to a halberd than a fleur-de-lis. Until the 2022–23 season, when the club unveiled a new, stylistically simplified badge, the logo was a kite shaped double Lozenge (heraldry), lozenge bordered in gold. The outer lozenge had a purple background with the letters "AC" in white and the letter "F" in red, standing for the club's name. The inner lozenge was white with a gold border and the red fleur-de-lis of Florence. This logo had been in use from 1992 to 2002, but after the financial crisis and resurrection of the club the new one couldn't use the same logo. Florence's ''comune'' instead granted Florentia Viola use of the stylised coat of arms used in other city documents. Diego Della Valle acquired the current logo the following year in a judicial auction for a fee of €2.5 million, making it the most expensive logo in Italian football.


Kit and colours

When Fiorentina was founded in 1926, the players wore red and white halved shirts derived from the colour of the city emblem. The more well-known and highly distinctive purple kit was adopted in 1928 and has been used ever since, giving rise to the nickname ''La Viola'' ("The Purple (team)"). Tradition has it that Fiorentina got their purple kit by mistake after an accident washing the old red and white coloured kits in the river. The away kit has always been predominantly white, sometimes with purple and red elements, sometimes all-white. The shorts had been purple when the home kit was with white shorts. Fiorentina's third kit was first worn in the 1995–96 season and it was all-red with purple borders and two lily, lilies on the shoulders. The red shirt has been the most worn 3rd shirt by Fiorentina, although they also wore rare yellow shirts ('97–'98, '99–'00 and '10–'11) and a sterling version, mostly in the
Coppa Italia The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since. History The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity ...
, in 2000–01. For the 2017–18 season and the first time in its history, the club used five kits during the season, composing of one home kit (all-purple) and four away kits, each one representing one historic quartiere of the city of
Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico ...
: all-blue (Santa Croce), all-white (Santo Spirito), all-green (San Giovanni) and all-red (Santa Maria Novella).


Anthem

"Canzone Viola" (Purple Song) is the title of the Fiorentina'a song, nowadays better known as "Oh Fiorentina". It is the oldest official football anthem in Italy and one of the oldest in the world. Dated 1930 and born only four years after the creation of the club, the song was written by a 12-year-old child, Enzo Marcacci, and musically arranged by maestro Marco Vinicio. It was published for the first time by the publisher Marcello Manni, who later became the owner of the rights. It soon achieved notoriety thanks to the printed media and the Ordine del Marzocco, a sort of original viola-club, which printed the lyrics of the song and distributed it to a home match on November 22, 1931. The song was recorded by Narciso Parigi in 1959 and again in 1965; the latter version replaced the original edition as the Fiorentina anthem. Subsequently, Narciso Parigi himself acquired the ownership of the rights, which he donated in 2002 to the supporter club Collettivo Autonomo Viola.


Kit suppliers and shirt sponsors


Kit manufacturer

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


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 (company), Vorwerk Folletto, Save The Children, Dream Loud * 2019–present: Mediacom


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


Honours


Leagues

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Copp ...
*Winners (2) : 1955–56, 1968–69
Serie B The Serie B (), currently named Serie BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 season. It had been ...
*Winners (3): 1930–31 Serie B, 1930–31, 1938–39 Serie B, 1938–39, 1993–94 Serie B, 1993–94
Serie C2 Lega Pro Seconda Divisione was the fourth highest football league in Italy, the lowest with a professional status. Usually it consisted of 36 teams, but in the 2011–12 season, there were 41 teams divided geographically into two divisions of ...
*Winners: 2002–03 Serie C2, 2002–03


Cups

Coppa Italia The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since. History The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity ...
*Winners (6): 1939–40 Coppa Italia, 1939–40, 1960–61 Coppa Italia, 1960–61, 1965–66 Coppa Italia, 1965–66, 1974–75 Coppa Italia, 1974–75, 1995–96 Coppa Italia, 1995–96, 2000–01 Coppa Italia, 2000–01 SuperCoppa Italiana *Winners: 1996 Supercoppa Italiana, 1996


International

UEFA Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tourn ...
*Winners: 1960–61
Anglo-Italian League Cup The Anglo-Italian League Cup ( it, Coppa di Lega Italo-Inglese, also known as the Anglo-Italian League Cup Winners' Cup) was a short-lived football competition between teams from England and Italy – an English cup-winning team (League Cup or FA ...
*Winners: 1975
Mitropa Cup The Mitropa Cup, officially called the La Coupe de l'Europe Centrale or Central European Cup, was one of the first international major European football cups for club sides. It was conducted among the successor states of the former Austria-Hunga ...
*Winners: 1966


Other

Coppa Grasshoppers *Winners: 1957


Divisional movements


Fiorentina as a company

A.C. Fiorentina S.p.A. was unable to register for 2002–03 Serie B due to financial difficulties, and then the sports title was transferred to a new company thanks to Article 52 of N.O.I.F., while the old company was liquidated. At that time the club was heavily relying on windfall profit from selling players, especially in pure player swap or cash plus player swap that potentially increased the cost by the increase in Amortization (accounting), amortisation of player contracts (an intangible assets). For example, Marco Rossi (footballer, born 1978), Marco Rossi joined Fiorentina for Lire 17 billion in 2000, but at the same time Lorenzo Collacchioni moved to U.S. Salernitana 1919, Salernitana for Lire 1 billion, meaning the club had a player profit of Lire 997 million and extra Lire 1 billion to be amortised in 5-years. In 1999, Emiliano Bigica also swapped with Giuseppe Taglialatela, which the latter was valued for Lire 10 billion. The operating income (excluding windfall profit from players trading) of 2000–01 season was minus Italian lira, Lire 113,271,475,933 (minus €58,499,835). It was only boosted by the sales of Francesco Toldo and
Rui Costa Rui Manuel César Costa (; born 29 March 1972) is a Portuguese former professional footballer who is the 34th president of sports club S.L. Benfica. He also succeeded Luís Filipe Vieira as president of the club's SAD board of directors. ...
in June 2001 (a profit of Lire 134.883 billion; €69.661 million).A.C. Fiorentina S.p.A. ''bilancio'' (financial report and accounts) on 30 June 2001 (in Italian)
PDF purchased from Italian C.C.I.A.A.
/ref> However, it was alleged they were to transfer to Parma for a reported Lire 140 million. The two players eventually joined Inter Milan and A.C. Milan in 2001–02 financial year instead, for undisclosed fees. Failing to have financial support from the owner Vittorio Cecchi Gori, the club was forced to windup due to its huge imbalance in operating income. Since re-established in 2002, ACF Fiorentina S.p.A. are yet to self-sustain to keep the team in top division as well as in European competitions. In the 2005 financial year, which cover the 2004–05 Serie A, first Serie A season, the club made a net loss of €9,159,356,ACF Fiorentina S.p.A. ''bilancio'' (financial report and accounts) on 31 December 2005 (in Italian)
PDF purchased from Italian C.C.I.A.A.
/ref> followed by a net loss of €19,519,789. In 2006 (2005–06 Serie A and 2006–07 Serie A), Fiorentina heavily invested on players, meaning the amortisation of intangible asset (the player contract) had increased from €17.7 million to €24 million.ACF Fiorentina S.p.A. ''bilancio'' (financial report and accounts) on 31 December 2006 (in Italian)
PDF purchased from Italian C.C.I.A.A.
/ref> However the club suffered from the 2006 Italian football scandal, which meant the club did not qualify for Europe. In 2007 Fiorentina almost broke-even, with a net loss of just €3,704,953. In the 2007 financial year the TV revenue increased after they qualified to the 2007–08 UEFA Cup.ACF Fiorentina S.p.A. ''bilancio'' (financial report and accounts) on 31 December 2007 (in Italian)
PDF purchased from Italian C.C.I.A.A.
/ref> Despite qualifying to the 2008–09 UEFA Champions League, Fiorentina made a net loss of €9,179,484 in 2008 financial year after the increase in TV revenue was outweighed by the increase in wage.ACF Fiorentina S.p.A. ''bilancio'' (financial report and accounts) on 31 December 2008 (in Italian)
PDF purchased from Italian C.C.I.A.A.
/ref> In the 2009 financial year, Fiorentina made a net profit of €4,442,803, largely due to the profit on selling players (€33,631,489 from players such as Felipe Melo, Giampaolo Pazzini and Zdravko Kuzmanović; increased from about €3.5 million in 2008). However it was also offset by the write-down of selling players (€6,062,545, from players such as Manuel da Costa (footballer, born 1986), Manuel da Costa, Arturo Lupoli and Davide Carcuro).ACF Fiorentina S.p.A. ''bilancio'' (financial report and accounts) on 31 December 2009 (in Italian)
PDF purchased from Italian C.C.I.A.A.
/ref> After the club failed to qualify to Europe at the end of 2009–10 Serie A, as well as lack of player profit, Fiorentina turnover was decreased from €140,040,713 in 2009 to just €79,854,928, despite the wage bill also falling, ''la Viola'' still made a net loss of €9,604,353.ACF Fiorentina S.p.A. ''bilancio'' (financial report and accounts) on 31 December 2010 (in Italian)
PDF purchased from Italian C.C.I.A.A.
/ref> In the 2011 financial year, the turnover slipped to €67,076,953, as the club's lack of capital gains from selling players and 2010 financial year still included the instalments from UEFA for participating 2009–10 UEFA Europa League. Furthermore, the gate income had dropped from €11,070,385 to €7,541,260. The wage bill did not fall much and in reverse the amortisation of transfer fee had sightly increased due to new signings. ''La Viola'' had savings in other costs but counter-weighted by huge €11,747,668 write-down for departed players, due to D'Agostino, Frey and Mutu, but the former would counter-weight by co-ownership financial income, which all made the operating cost remained high as worse as last year. Moreover, in 2010 the result was boosted by acquiring the asset from subsidiary (related to AC Fiorentina) and the re-valuation of its value in separate balance sheet. If deducting that income (€14,737,855), 2010 financial year was net loss 24,342,208 and 2011 result was worse with €8,131,876 only in separate balance sheet.ACF Fiorentina S.p.A. ''bilancio'' (financial report and accounts) on 31 December 2011 (in Italian)
PDF purchased from Italian C.C.I.A.A.
/ref> In 2012, the club benefited from the sales of Matija Nastasić and Valon Behrami,ACF Fiorentina S.p.A. ''bilancio'' (financial report and accounts) on 31 December 2012 (in Italian)
PDF purchased from Italian C.C.I.A.A.
/ref> followed by Stevan Jovetić and Adem Ljajić in 2013.ACF Fiorentina S.p.A. ''bilancio'' (financial report and accounts) on 31 December 2013 (in Italian)
PDF purchased from Italian C.C.I.A.A.
/ref> In 2014, due to €28.4 million drop from the windfall profit of selling players, the club recorded their worst financial results since re-foundation, despite the fact the club maintained the same level of windfall profit, the result was still worse than in 2013.ACF Fiorentina S.p.A. ''bilancio'' (financial report and accounts) on 31 December 2014 (in Italian)
PDF purchased from Italian C.C.I.A.A.
/ref> Moreover, Fiorentina also revealed that the club had a relevant football net income of minus €19.5 million in the first assessment period of UEFA Financial Fair Play Regulations in the 2013–14 season (in May 2014). (aggregate of 2012 and 2013 results), which within the limit of minus €45 million, as well as minus €25.5 million in assessment period 2014–15 (aggregate of 2012, 2013 and 2014 results). However, as the limit was reduced to minus €30 million in assessment period 2015–16, 2016–17 and 2017–18 season, the club had to achieve a relevant net income of positive €5.6 million in 2015 financial year. ''La Viola'' sold Juan Cuadrado to Chelsea in January 2015 for €30 million fee, to make the club eligible to 2016–17 edition of UEFA competitions.


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 liga 1 (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)


References


External links

* (Italian and English)
Team page
at Goal.com
Team page
at ESPN Soccernet
Team Page
at Football-Lineups.com
Artemio Franchi Stadium
at Stadium Journey
Fiorentina Supporters
I poeti della curva {{DEFAULTSORT:Fiorentina ACF Fiorentina, Football clubs in Italy Football clubs in Tuscany Association football clubs established in 1926 Serie A clubs Serie B clubs Serie C clubs UEFA Cup Winners' Cup winning clubs Serie A winning clubs Coppa Italia winning clubs 1926 establishments in Italy Della Valle family Phoenix clubs (association football) 2002 establishments in Italy