Fiorentina
out of Champions
After making Viola
history by finishing first in their group, winning against other top European
teams, like Liverpool and Lyon, the Fiorentina
were matched up against Bayern Munich on February 24 for the playoff round in
the Champions League. The Fiorentina lost 1-2 through a linesman’s misjudgment
of an offside goal by Klose, Bayern Munich’s striker. During the return match
at Florence’s
Franchi stadium on March 9, Peruvian Juan Manuel Vargas scored the first goal
in the first half and Stevan Jovetìc scored two goals in the second half, just
10 minutes apart. The three goals were not enough to advance the Fiorentina,
and the team has been eliminated from the quarterfinals.
Prandelli to
stay
After weeks of
rumors that the Fiorentina’s head coach, Cesare Prandelli, would be leaving the
team for archrival Juventus, Prandelli held a press conference on March 12 and
stated that he was willing to sign another contract for five years as head
coach of the Fiorentina.
Climbing
back up the Serie A standings
On March 14, the Fiorentina won 3-1 at Naples’ San Paolo stadium, where Fiorentina
fans were denied entrance. The Fiorentina hadn’t won an away game since January
6 against Siena,
but they earned three precious points, putting them back in the top 10 of the
Serie A standings. Viola striker Alberto Gilardino came back strong by scoring
two points (a doppietta), and Stevan Jovetìc scored the final goal just
seconds before the end of the game.
A night of
firsts
The Fiorentina moved up in the Serie A classification and getting closer
to joining next season’s European Cups after beating Genoa 3-0 at Artemio Franchi Stadium on March
20. Viola midfielder Mario Santana scored the first goal (with his heel) only
four minutes into the game. Gilardino scored his first penalty kick goal even
though Jovetìc is the team’s penalty kicker. The penalty was the team’s first
awarded at home this season. Another first occurred four minutes before the end
of the match: just days after his 17th birthday, striker Babacar scored his
first Serie A goal. In 90 minutes, the Viola defenders held Genoa at bay, not once allowing them to shoot
a goal.
Happy
birthday to Pasqual, Babacar and Frey!
The Viola defender Manuel Pasqual celebrated his 28th birthday on March 13. A native of Piave,
Pasqual has been playing with the Fiorentina since 2005 and participated on the
Italian national team in 2006. Babacar, who is one of the Fiorentina’s youngest
strikers, celebrated his 17th birthday on March 16. Originally from Senegal, he has
played with the Fiorentina’s ‘Primavera’ under-21 team since 2007 and has been
playing with the club since 2009. Sebastien Frey, the Fiorentina’s goalkeeper,
referred to by fans as Super Frey, celebrated his 30th birthday on March 18.
Frey, born in Thonon-les-Bains, has played in Italy for the last 12 years; he has
been with the Fiorentina since 2005.
Fun facts on the Fiorentina
The Fiorentina was founded by Marquis Luigi Ridolfi in
1926 by uniting two existing soccer teams in Florence: PGF Libertas Firenze and Club Sportivo
Firenze.
It may be true that the team’s
original red and white jerseys turned purple when washed in the river, but
Marquis Luigi Ridolfi made the final decision that the team’s color be purple.
All other professional sports teams in Florence,
such as water polo, rugby, basketball and volleyball all use red and white, the
city’s traditional colors.
The first Viola trainer was Hungarian ex-soccer player
Karl Csapkay.
The Artemio Franchi stadium was built in 1931 in the shape of a ‘D’
in honor of ‘Il Duce,’ Benito Mussolini. It was first named after Giovanni
Berta, a Florentine fascist martyr, but after World War II, the named was
changed to Stadio Comunale. A few years after the death of Artemio Franchi, the
team’s ex-managing director who later became the president of the UEFA, the
stadium was renamed after him.
The Fiorentina was the first Italian team to be in the
finals of the Champions League, known as the Coppa dei Campioni d’Europa, in
1956-1957, but lost to Real Madrid 2-0.
The section for visiting fans in Franchi stadium is
referred to as il formaggino by locals because it looks like a wedge of
cheese.
The Fiorentina has a gemellaggio (sibling team)
relationship with only three other Italian teams: Torino, Verona
and Catanzaro.
A gemellaggio was formed with the ‘Reds’ from Liverpool, England
last year.
