Club Profile: ACF Fiorentina
AFC Fiorentina, known to the world just as Fiorentina, are a professional football club that originates from Florence, Tuscany. The club was founded in 1926 through a merger and have played at their current stadium, Stadio Artemio Franchi, since 1931. The stadium currently seats just over 47,000 spectators. Over the years the stadium has been renovated and renamed several times in order to help the club with finances.
The club had a slow start, struggling in the lower leagues to begin with but in 1931 they managed to reach the Serie A. It took them ten more years to win their first trophy, which arrived in the shape of the Copa Italia in 1941. Due to the World War breaking out though, Fiorentina could not manage to use their cup success to build further and win more titles.
During the 50's the club started to achieve some consistency as top five finishes became a fixture every season. It was not until 1956 that they won their first Serie A title. The victory in the domestic league was resounding as Fiorentina finished 12 points clear of nearest rivals A.C. Milan. The following season it was Milan who would take the title in what would become one of many second place finishes for Fiorentina.
1961 was a very successful year for the club as they lifted the Copa Italia again but more importantly won their first ever European trophy, The European Cup Winner's Cup, after defeating the Scottish club Rangers.
Fiorentina won their second and last Serie A title in the 1968-69 season after over-taking Cagliari near the end of the title race. Despite success in the 50's and 60's, Fiorentina were never really considered capable of winning a second scudetto but they surprised everyone in Italy with a perfect run to the end of the season, defeating fierce rivals Juventus on the way to glory.
After their second Serie A victory, Fiorentina were one of the most inconsistent sides in Italy. All of it is put in perspective perhaps by the fact that after surviving relegation on the last day of the season, the club still had a UEFA Cup final to look forward to. It was against their biggest rivals, Juventus, and unfortunately for Fiorentina, they could not pull off an upset as Juventus took the cup.
Gabriel Batistuta became an iconic figure at the club during the 90's. Batistuta became the top scorer at the club but his contribution to the team led to a legendary status among the fans who fell in love with the Argentinean. In 1996-97, Fiorentina won another Copa Italia and finished 3rd in the league, one of their best performances in recent seasons.
2001 was to be an important year in the club's history. Although they won the Copa Italia for the sixth time, financial trouble marred the club for what should have been a decent season. The club were sent into administration and in effect ceased to exist in 2002. Under Diego Della Valle the club was re-established and began a long journey to reach the Serie A, starting from Serie C2.
After reaching the Serie A, the club managed to retain their status in the first year, to the immense relief of the fans. The following year, Fiorentina signed a number of good players, most notably the Italian striker Luca Toni, and went on to finish 4th in the Serie A. Toni's signing would prove to be inspirational as he scored 31 goals in 30 appearances for the club, a feat unrivalled in the last 5 decades.
Last season started off with a lot of promise for Fiorentina but eventually faded as neither their Copa Italia run nor the League form resulted in anything. An 11th placed finish meant no qualification for Europe for Fiorentina. Next season the club will be looking to the likes of Adrian Mutu and Alberto Gilardino to help the club qualify for Europe at least and a victory in the Copa Italia for the seventh time.
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