Fiorentina wins against Bari
The Fiorentina welcomed Bari at Franchi stadium on October 23. In the first half, Marco Donadel scored his first goal of the season, and in the second half, Alberto Gilardino scored another goal to give the team a 2-0 lead. Bari scored a goal at the 91st minute, but was unable to get another ball past goalkeeper Sebastian Frey to tie the match. The Fiorentina won 2-1, thus moving them up a few notches in the Serie A rankings.
Antognoni celebrated
An hour before the match against Bari, fans cheered ex-Viola Giancarlo Antognoni as he walked around the stadium to celebrate receiving the Golden Foot award earlier this month. The award recognized him for his soccer career as the Fiorentina’s midfielder from 1972 to 1987.
More woes for Mutu
Only a week before his scheduled return to the pitch after being suspended from play since January, Adrian Mutu was involved in a late-night fight outside a Florence nightclub. Nonetheless, the Romanian striker made his season debut in Catania on October 31.
Gilardino changes agents
Gilardino declared hours before the TIM Cup match that he is no longer working with agent Marcello Bonetto, and had not yet signed with another one. To dispel any rumors that Gilardino might be leaving the team, he said, ‘I am completely concentrated on our next matches and our season. I have a contract with the Fiorentina until 2013 and I intend to respect it.’
Fiorentina advances in the TIM Cup
On October 26, the Fiorentina played against Empoli at the Franchi stadium for the third round of the TIM Cup. Polish goalkeeper Artur Boruc made his debut, and Khouma Babacar, Papa Waigo, Mario Bolatti and Nikola Gulan replaced the team’s usual starters Frey, Gilardino, Manuel Vargas and Riccardo Montolivo. The team played a grueling two hours before 17-year-old Babacar scored the winning goal only a couple of minutes before the end of the match, thus allowing the Fiorentina to continue on to the next round of the TIM Cup.
Another draw for the Fiorentina
As predicted, Mutu was one of the Fiorentina’s starting players in the October 31 match in Catania. The game started out fast, but hope dissipated quickly for both teams. With each team only having a few shots on goal and a limited number of opportunities to score, the match ended 0-0. The Fiorentina finished the ninth week of the season in 15th place.
Happy Birthday to Jovetic
Stevan Jovetic celebrated his 21st birthday on November 2. The Montenegrin striker, who has been with the Fiorentina for two years, made an important place for himself on the team after scoring two important goals against Liverpool last year during the Champions League group stage. Jovetic is currently benched until February for a knee injury.
