ACF FIORENTINA

ACF FIORENTINA

Full Name: ACF Fiorentina
City: Florence
Founded: 2002 (1926)
Stadium: Stadio Artemio Franchi (47,232)
Colors: Purple, White
Previous: AC Fiorentina (1926-2002), Florentia Viola (2002-03)
Nicknames: Viola (The Purple), Fiore
Rival: Juventus
Official Website: it.violachannel.tv


Description:

Fiorentina were formed on August 26, 1926 by the merger of Club Sportivo Firenze and Polisportiva Giovanile Libertas. Many Italian clubs in the center and

south have similar merger stories as the Fascists encouraged a number of mergers to create a single club from each city to better compete with the powerful

northern clubs. Fiorentina went bankrupt in 2002, reformed as Florentia Viola, and started again in the 4th division. The name changed back to Fiorentina the

following season. Fiorentina translates as "Florentine". The club's emblem incorporates the lily of the coat of arms of Florence. The club are occasionally

known as Gigliati (The Lilies) as a result. The club’s colors were initially red and white, those of the two founding clubs. A few years later the jerseys turned

purple due to a washing error (seriously) and the club decided to keep the new color. Fiorentina are one of the few clubs to have reached the final of all three

European tournaments. The Stadio Artemio Franchi is named for a former president of FIGC, the Italian soccer association. Until 1991 it was known as the

Stadio Communale. It was designed by Pier Luigi Nervi and is widely regarded as one of Italy's most architecturally significant stadiums. Previous Stadiums:

Bellini (1926-31).


Fiorentina History

ACF Fiorentina, formerly Associazione Calcio Fiorentina, is an Italian football club based in Florence (Firenze). The club traditional colors were originally red

and white but were changed to purple and white in 1928; since then, the club has been generally known as "la Viola" (the purple ones).
The club was founded on August 26, 1926 by the merger of Libertas and Club Sportivo Firenze. The club won its first trophy in 1939-40 with the Coppa Italia

and its first scudetto (Italian championship) in 1955-1956, the club were runners-up in the four following seasons. In the 1960-1961 season the club won the

Coppa Italia again and was also successful in Europe, winning the first Cup Winners' Cup against Rangers.
In the 1960s the club won the Coppa Italia and the Mitropa Cup in 1966 and were league champions again in 1968-1969. In 1974 Viola won the

Anglo-Italian Cup. Success in the Coppa Italia was repeated in 1975, but from then until the late 1990s the club was in the doldrums, culminating in a season

in Serie B (second division) in 1993-1994. Upon return to Serie A the club again proved able in the cup competitions, winning the Coppa Italia again in 1996

and 2000 and the Italian SuperCoppa.

The club's financial situation was revealed to be poor in mid 2001, the club was unable to pay wages and had debts of around USD 50 million. The club

owner, Vittorio Cecchi Gori, came in with more money but soon proved to have insufficient resources to sustain the club. The club was then relegated at the end

of the 2001-2002 season and went into judicially controlled administration in June 2002. Due to a sort of bankruptcy (sport companies don't precisely fail in

Italy, but can suffer a similar procedure), the club was refused a place in Serie B for the 2002-2003 season. The club was then re-established in August as

Florentia Viola with a new owner, Diego Della Valle, and admitted to Serie C2. In the club's year in Serie C2, it easily won its regional section, which would

normally have led to a promotion to Serie C1. In the 2003 off-season, the club bought back the right to use the Fiorentina name, reincorporated as ACF

Fiorentina, and was kicked up to Serie B, skipping Serie C1, after the Italian Football Federation decided to increase the number of teams in Serie B from 20 to

24 because of Caso Catania. The unusual double promotion caused some controversy; however, Fiorentina ended the 2003-2004 season in sixth, placing the Viola in a two-legged test match against Perugia (the 15th-place finisher in Serie A) for a position in Serie A.

The Viola completed a remarkable return to Serie A by winning the test match 2-1 on aggregate.

HONORS

* Serie A (1956, 69)
* Coppa Italia (1940, 61, 66, 75, 96, 2001)
* Supercoppa Italiana (1996)
* European Cup Winner's Cup (1961)