Founded by a merger in August 1926, and 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 seasons. Fiorentina has won two Italian Championships, in 1955–56 and again in 1968–69, as well as six Coppa Italia trophies and one Supercoppa Italiana.
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 member Luigi Ridolfi, who initiated the merger of two older Florentine clubs, CS Firenze and PG Libertas.
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)").
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 years kid Enzo Marcacci and musically arranged by maestro Marco Vinicio.
Also influential was the cultural revival and rediscovery of Calcio Fiorentino, an ancestor of modern football that was played by members of the Medici family. After a rough start and three seasons in lower leagues, Fiorentina reached the Serie A in 1931.
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.
In 1941, they won their first Coppa Italia, 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.
In 1941, they won their first Coppa Italia, 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.
In 1941, they won their first Coppa Italia, 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.
Founded by a merger in August 1926, and 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 seasons. Fiorentina has won two Italian Championships, in 1955–56 and again in 1968–69, as well as six Coppa Italia trophies and one Supercoppa Italiana.
This team won Fiorentina's first scudetto (Italian championship) in 1955–56, 12 points ahead of second-place Milan.
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.
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.
On the European stage, Fiorentina won the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1960–61 and lost the final one year later.
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.
Founded by a merger in August 1926, and 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 seasons. Fiorentina has won two Italian Championships, in 1955–56 and again in 1968–69, as well as six Coppa Italia trophies and one Supercoppa Italiana.
The 1968–69 season started with Milan as frontrunners, but on matchday 7, they lost to Bologna and were overtaken by Gigi Riva's Cagliari.
In the European Cup competition the following year, Fiorentina had some good results, including a win in the Soviet Union against Dynamo Kyiv, but they were eventually knocked out in the quarter-finals after a 3–0 defeat in Glasgow 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.
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 in 1974 and won the Coppa Italia again in 1975.
The Viola did win the Anglo-Italian League Cup in 1974 and won the Coppa Italia again in 1975.
After a fifth-place finish in 1971, they finished in mid-table almost every year, even flirting with relegation in 1972 and 1978.
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.
During the season they were Italian champions, the lozenge disappeared and the flower was overlapped with the scudetto. 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.
The team was built around Giancarlo Antognoni, and in 1982, Fiorentina were involved in an exciting duel with rivals Juventus.
Fiorentina also bought two interesting players, El Puntero Ramón Díaz and, most significantly, the young Roberto Baggio. In 1990, Fiorentina fought to avoid relegation right up until the final day of the season, but did reach the UEFA Cup final, where they again faced Juventus.
The club was then acquired by the famous filmmaker Mario Cecchi Gori. ===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, Stefan Effenberg, Francesco Baiano and, most importantly, Gabriel Batistuta, who became an iconic player for the team during the 1990s.
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.
In 1993, however, Cecchi Gori died and was succeeded as chairman by his son, Vittorio.
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 was brought in as coach for the 1993–94 season, and that year, Fiorentina dominated Serie B, Italy's second division.
In the summer, Fiorentina became the first non-national champions to win the Supercoppa Italiana, defeating Milan 2–1 at the San Siro. Fiorentina's 1995–96 season was disappointing in the league, but they did reach the Cup Winners' Cup semi-final by beating Gloria Bistrița, Sparta Prague and Benfica.
Fiorentina's third kit was first worn in the 1995–96 season and it was all-red with purple borders and two lilies on the shoulders.
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.
In 1999, Emiliano Bigica also swapped with Giuseppe Taglialatela, which the latter was valued for 10 billion lire.
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.
For example, Marco Rossi joined Fiorentina for 17 billion lire in 2000, but at the same time Lorenzo Collacchioni moved to Salernitana for 1 billion lire, meaning the club had a player profit of 997 million lire and extra 1 billion lire to be amortised in 5-years.
The operating income (excluding windfall profit from players trading) of 2000–01 season was minus 113,271,475,933 Italian lire (minus €58,499,835).
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.
Fiorentina were relegated at the end of the 2001–02 season and went into judicially-controlled administration in June 2002.
It was only boosted by the sales of Francesco Toldo and Rui Costa in June 2001 (a profit of 134.883 billion lire; €69.661 million).
Milan in 2001–02 financial year instead, for undisclosed fees.
Founded by a merger in August 1926, and 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 seasons. Fiorentina has won two Italian Championships, in 1955–56 and again in 1968–69, as well as six Coppa Italia trophies and one Supercoppa Italiana.
Fiorentina were relegated at the end of the 2001–02 season and went into judicially-controlled administration in June 2002.
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.
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.
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.
The club finished the 2003–04 season in sixth place and won the playoff against Perugia 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 and Parma.
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.
In the 2005 financial year, which cover the first Serie A season, the club made a net loss of €9,159,356, followed by a net loss of €19,519,789.
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.
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.
However the club suffered from the 2006 Italian football scandal, which meant the club did not qualify for Europe.
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 head coach Marcello Lippi, among others, as a surprise challenger for the Scudetto, and although this form tailed off towards the middle of the season, the Viola managed to qualify for the Champions League.
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.
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 and were eliminated by Ajax 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.
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.
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).
Their European campaign was also similar to that of the previous run, relegated to the 2008–09 UEFA Cup and were eliminated by Ajax 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 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, Arturo Lupoli and Davide Carcuro). 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.
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.
The 2008–09 season continued this success, a fourth-place finish assuring Fiorentina's spot in 2010's Champions League playoffs.
The club spent much of the early 2010–11 season in last place, but their form improved and Fiorentina ultimately finished ninth.
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.
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.
Following a 1–0 defeat to Chievo in November 2011, Mihajlović was sacked and replaced by Delio Rossi.
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.
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.
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.
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 season in fourth, enough for a position in the 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 for a €30 million transfer fee.
In 2012, the club benefited from the sales of Matija Nastasić and Valon Behrami, followed by Stevan Jovetić and Adem Ljajić in 2013.
(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).
The team began the season well, finishing the calendar year in joint third place and eventually finishing the 2012–13 season in fourth, enough for a position in the 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 for a €30 million transfer fee.
In 2012, the club benefited from the sales of Matija Nastasić and Valon Behrami, followed by Stevan Jovetić and Adem Ljajić in 2013.
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.
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).
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 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 Europa League campaign saw them progress to the semi-finals, where they were knocked-out by Spanish side Sevilla, the eventual champions.
In the 2014–15 domestic season, Fiorentina once again finished fourth, thus qualifying for the 2015–16 Europa League.
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.
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).
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 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.
In the 2014–15 domestic season, Fiorentina once again finished fourth, thus qualifying for the 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Club captain Davide Astori died suddenly at the age of 31 in March 2018.
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.
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