Fiorentina’s story over the past few years is one that proves fairy tales do still happen, albeit with more ups and downs than a yo-yo. Their resurrection has been nothing less than astonishing as they have flown from the fringes of Italian league football to within touching distance of the greatest prize in the country – the scudetto.
This campaign sees the completion of that revival as once again they take their first faltering steps into the UEFA Champions League – having beaten Serie A giants AC Milan to fourth spot and the final qualifying position last season. While coach Cesare Prandelli insists his team are a way off from being crowned top dogs at the moment, he knows they have come a long way.
“The two favourites for the title are Inter and Juve,” Prandelli stated. “Juve are close to Inter. Behind them are Roma and Milan. We are not in the race for the scudetto, but we are in the group for the Champions League. My challenge, however, goes beyond the standings. I have a dream that Fiorentina become the team for the neutrals. I have met so many Milan fans who have told me : ‘ Mister, you knocked us out of the Champions League this year but in Europe we will support you.’ It would be nice if we became the second team of everyone.”
The future seems bright for La Viola, who are going through a patch as purple as their famous strip. But it wasn’t always so. Fiorentina fans remember the nightmare that was the summer of 2002 with a shudder. Had you asked them then whether their team would be playing UEFA Champions League football just six years later they would have answered with an emphatic ‘no’. Their team had effectively ceased to exist. Associazione Calcio Fiorentina was no more.
Following relegation from Serie A at the end of the 2001/02 season, the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) refused them entry into the lower division as they were saddled with debts of reportedly over €22million. But like the mythical phoenix, the club rose from the ashes. A new name and a new owner, Fiorentina – or FlorentiaViola as the club was to be officially renamed – was reborn. The club didn’t stay in the fourth division for long. Captain Angelo Di Livio showed his loyalty as he remained, the only player to do so. He was joined by new signing Christian Rigano, whose 30 goals in 32 games helped them immediately win promotion.
There was good news shortly after when owner Diego Della Valle managed to change their name to almost what it was before – ACF Fiorentina – and Fiorentina must have thought all their Christmases had come at once when they were bumped up to Serie B without even kicking a ball thanks to Catania’s protests. The Caso Catania, as it became known, saw Serie B temporarily enlarged to 24 teams after the Sicilians claimed that they would not have been relegated had they not drawn with Siena, who had fielded an ineligible player. Decisions were made, then changed and changed again before finally it was ruled that Catania were to remain in the division, as were Genoa and Salernitana, and they were to be joined by Fiorentina.
Unfazed by a double-promotion, Rigano continued banging in goals and La Viola finished their first season in Serie B in sixth place, ensuring play-off against Perugia. A 2-1 aggregate win completed the fairytale and the beautiful Tuscan city started gearing up for Serie A all over again.
The 2004/05 season was one of consolidation, taking a breather and gathering thoughts that must have been spying after such a meteoric rise. But if Viola fans were hoping for a period of calm after an emotional rollercoaster of the past few years, then they were to be disappointed as their club only secured survival on the final day of the season, avoiding a relegation play-off thanks to a better head-to-head record against Bologna and Parma. Prandelli came on board in 2005 and had a spectacular impact, bringing in great players such as Luca Toni and goalkeeper Sebastian Frey.
Suddenly, Fiorentina were shooting to the top of the table with the kind of football that had their fans rubbing their eyes in disbelief. Toni’s amazing record of 31 goals in 34 games saw them finish fourth in the table, earning a UEFA Champions league berth as they won a staggering 13 games more under Prandelli than they had the previous season. It all seemed too good to be true. And unfortunately, it was. Several weeks later, Fiorentina were found guilty for their part in the 2006 match-fixing scandal which rocked Italian football and they were relegated to Serie B.
The punishment was later reduced to starting the Serie A season with a 19-points deduction, then reduced still further to minus 15 points, but there was still a palpable air of disappointment around the city. However, Prandelli shrugged off the setbacks, rallied his troops and upset the odds to steer his side to UEFA Cup qualification – earning him his second successive coach of the year award in the process. The prolific partnership of Toni and Adrian Mutu up front yielded 32 league goals between them, while they also boasted the best defensive record in the division after conceding just 31 goals in 38 games. Toni left in the summer of 2007, and there were question marks over how that would affect the team, but Prandelli’s side started last season as they had left off the previous one and went on a stunning 11-game unbeaten run. They didn’t manage to sustain that form all season, but continued to frustrate the Italian heavyweights on their way to finishing fourth and ensuring their UEFA Champions League qualification.
And in their first foray into Europe for six years, the club also stormed into the UEGA Cup semi-finals, before eventually suffering heartbreak against a resilient Glasgow Rangers side. Fiorentina have prepared for this year’s double-pronged attack with a host of new signings, with Alberto Gilardino, Juan Vargas, Felipe Melo, Stevan Jovetic, Gianluca Comotto and Luciano Zauri all adding strength in depth. The signs are that they are starting to click after a 1-0 win over Bologna last weekend gave them their first win of the campaign. There is, of course, still a long way to go. But while Prandelli may not feel his side are realistic scudetto contenders, there are a significant number of people in Italian football who do.