Fiorentina’s 100th birthday party had been going for four days, starting with a fan procession through the historic centre of Florence on Wednesday night and extending to their home game against Frosinone on Saturday afternoon. The club was founded on 29 August 1926, but a decades-old discrepancy in the reporting of that date has led supporters to celebrate traditionally on the 26th. This time they started a few hours earlier, gathering in their thousands beneath the marble façade of the Basilica of Santa Maria Novella on the evening of 25 August and building to a firework show beside the river Arno at midnight.
The club’s president, Giuseppe Commisso, stopped by to give a speech. At least one former player, Borja Valero, was among the crowd. In the days that followed, historic monuments across the city were lit up in purple to match Fiorentina’s home strip.
They have worn that colour since 1929, having played their first three years in shirts half red and half white. A limited-edition replica of those original tops, priced at €180, sold out in less than two hours. Fiorentina’s players would wear them against Frosinone.
Before kick-off, the club hosted some of their greatest former players and coaches for a lunch at their headquarters in Viola Park. The likes of Gabriel Batistuta, Rui Costa, Adrien Mutu and Cesare Prandelli gathered to eat and then head to the stadium, where they were greeted with a party atmosphere. Not every preparation had gone to plan.
Fiorentina had intended for renovations to their Stadio Artemio Franchi to be completed in time for this occasion, but delays meant the Curva Fiesole – the stand traditionally occupied by ultras – remains closed. Still, those same groups arranged a striking choreography at the opposite end instead, recreating the original club badge against a sea of purple flags. Despite an opening 4-0 drubbing by Roma, Fiorentina’s supporters had reasons to believe their team was on a good track.
They had spent more than €120m on refreshing their squad with exciting young talent, including the Ivory Coast midfielder Christ Inao Oulaï and highly-rated teenage defender Víctor Valdepeñas from Real Madrid Castilla, as well as Arthur Atta and Mateo Pellegrino, coming off breakout seasons with Udinese and Parma. And that’s not to mention the players they landed on loan. Real Madrid paid €45m to sign the Argentinian winger Franco Mastantuono from River Plate last August and now the 19-year-old would be lining up in Fiorentina’s attack.
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