History of ACF Fiorentina facts for kids
ACF Fiorentina is a famous Italian football club from the city of Florence. This article tells the story of how the club started and its journey through the years.
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Early Football Clubs in Florence
Before Fiorentina was created, many small football clubs existed in Florence. The very first one was called "Florence Football Club," founded in 1898. Football was still quite new then, and many clubs had English names.
Later, in 1902, some young people started "Itala F.C." A year after that, "Club Sportivo Firenze" appeared. It first focused on cycling but soon added football. Another club, "Firenze Football Club," began in 1908.
Finally, in 1910, "Palestra Ginnastica Fiorentina Libertas" was formed. This club came from a split within "Firenze Football Club." These two clubs became big rivals, even sharing a football field! The players from Libertas were sometimes called "ghiozzi rossi" because they often had to jump into a ditch to get the ball. "Ghiozzi" is a type of fish, and "rossi" means red, referring to their scarlet shirts.
How Fiorentina Was Founded
Even with many clubs, only "Club Sportivo Firenze" and "Palestra Ginnastica Libertas" were strong. But neither was strong enough to compete with the biggest Italian teams. They realized they needed to join forces. This was a big decision, as it meant giving up their old club identities.
This idea of merging clubs was also supported by the government at the time. They wanted cities to have strong, united teams. Many famous Italian clubs like Napoli, Roma, and Fiorentina were formed this way.
On 26 August 1926, Fiorentina was officially founded! The first president was Marquis Luigi Ridolfi Vay da Verrazzano. The team's first coach was Károly Csapkay.
Fiorentina's very first match was against a small team called Signa, and they lost 2–1. A local newspaper, La Nazione, said the team started training a bit late.
      First kit
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At first, Fiorentina's colors were white and red, which are the traditional colors of Florence. Their home shirts were half red and half white, with black shorts and socks. But in 1929, something interesting happened. During washing, the red dye from some jerseys bled into the white parts, making them purple! Fans loved this new color, and purple quickly became the official team color.
A few days after their first loss, Fiorentina played another friendly game against Sampierdarenese, which ended in a 2–2 draw.
Fiorentina's First Seasons
Season 1926-27: The Beginning
Fiorentina played its first official game on 3 October 1926. It was a home match against their rivals, Pisa, and Fiorentina won 3–1!
The team finished 6th out of 10 teams that season. It was an important year for the team to get organized and find its footing. One player, Bolteni, stood out, scoring 12 goals. His real name was Rodolfo Volk, and he later became a fan favorite for another club, Roma.
Season 1927-28: Almost First Place
The next year, Fiorentina played in an easier group and almost finished in first place! They ended up second, just behind Bari. Fiorentina won many games, including big victories like 8–0 against Tivoli.
However, there was a problem with one match against Savoia. The Italian Football Federation (FIGC) investigated it. It seemed that Savoia had tried to offer money to Fiorentina. Fiorentina didn't report this right away. Both teams faced penalties, and some club officials were suspended.
The final match against Bari was very important. Fiorentina lost 5–3, and there were many problems during the game, with Fiorentina players being treated badly by Bari fans. Fiorentina complained, but their appeal was denied, and they had to accept second place.
1928–29: A Tough Season
For the 1928 season, the Italian Football Association changed how the top league worked. Fiorentina had a very tough year, finishing last in their group. They only won 5 matches and had a very low score difference. Luckily, the FIGC decided to let them stay in the second division (Serie B) for the next season, saving them from being sent down to a lower league.
During this time, Fiorentina's goalkeeper, Pieri, was replaced after some very bad games, including an 0–11 loss against Juventus.
However, Fiorentina later played a remarkable match against Genoa CFC, one of Italy's biggest teams. Fiorentina scored first, but Genoa won with two late goals. Fiorentina fans were very angry at the referee, accusing him of being unfair. The situation became so tense that club officials had to drive the referee to the train station to protect him! Because of this, Fiorentina's home stadium was banned for one match.
Fiorentina's Trophies and Challenges
Fiorentina won its first major trophy, the Coppa Italia, in 1940. Their first Italian championship, called the scudetto, came in 1956. After that, they were runners-up for four seasons in a row!
In the 1960s, the club won the Coppa Italia again in 1961. They also had European success, winning the first-ever Cup Winners' Cup against Rangers. They continued to win trophies, including the Coppa Italia and the Mitropa Cup in 1966, and another league championship in 1969. In 1974, they won the Anglo-Italian League Cup.
After 1975, the club went through a difficult period. They even spent a season in Serie B (the second division) in 1993–1994. But when they returned to Serie A, they started winning cups again, taking home the Coppa Italia in 1996 and 2001, and the Italian SuperCoppa.
In 2001, Fiorentina faced big problems. The club had huge debts and couldn't pay its players. The owner tried to raise money, but it wasn't enough. Fiorentina was sent down to Serie B at the end of the 2001–02 season. Then, in June 2002, the club went into a special kind of financial trouble, which meant it couldn't play in Serie B and basically stopped existing.
To save football in Florence, the city council created a new club called Fiorentina 1926 Florentia. A new owner, Diego Della Valle, took over, and the club was allowed to start again in Serie C2, which is the fourth level of Italian football. Only one player, Angelo Di Livio, stayed with the club, showing great loyalty to the fans.
With Di Livio's help, the club easily won their league in Serie C2 in 2003. Normally, this would mean promotion to Serie C1. However, because of a strange situation with another club (the Caso Catania), the Italian Football Federation decided to increase the number of teams in Serie B. This meant Fiorentina skipped Serie C1 and went straight to Serie B!
In 2003, the club also bought back the right to use the famous Fiorentina name and purple shirt design. They officially became ACF Fiorentina again. They continued to play at their home stadium, Artemio Franchi.
This quick rise was a bit controversial, but Fiorentina stayed in Serie B. In the 2003–04 season, they finished sixth. This led to a special playoff against Perugia (who finished 15th in Serie A) to see who would play in Serie A. Fiorentina won 2–1 and made an amazing comeback, returning to Serie A!
In their first season back in the top league, the club struggled but managed to avoid being sent down again on the very last day.
In the 2005–06 season, Fiorentina played much better. They finished 4th in Serie A, which meant they qualified for the UEFA Champions League! Players like captain Dario Dainelli, Tomáš Ujfaluši, Cristian Brocchi, Martin Jorgensen, Stefano Fiore, and especially Luca Toni (who scored an incredible 31 goals!) made the team very strong. Toni even won the European Golden Boot for being the top scorer in Europe.
However, in July 2006, Fiorentina faced another challenge. They were involved in a big scandal called Calciopoli. Because of this, they were initially sent down to Serie B and given a 12-point penalty. After an appeal, they were allowed to stay in Serie A but started the 2006–07 season with a 15-point penalty. They also lost their Champions League spot.
Despite starting with a 15-point penalty, Fiorentina still managed to qualify for the UEFA Cup in the 2007–08 season! The partnership of Luca Toni and Adrian Mutu was very strong, scoring 31 goals together.
Even after Luca Toni left, many people wondered how Fiorentina would do in the 2007–08 season. But they had a fantastic start! Some experts even thought they could challenge for the league title. Their form dipped a bit later in the season, partly due to a sad personal loss for their respected manager Cesare Prandelli. Still, Fiorentina managed to secure the fourth spot, qualifying for the UEFA Champions League again!
