The city of Florence is a bad place to be a Juventus fan. Unlike many Italian hubs, the Tuscan capital has few Bianconeri enclaves and, as a one-team city, Fiorentina kick against the Turinese rivals – and hard.
While the animosity is not exclusively one way, it would be misleading to think that Sunday’s visitors to the Stadio Artemio Franchi will be as pumped up as the home side. Juventus’ primary antipathy is directed towards Inter, with current pretenders to their crown Roma and Napoli also in the crosshairs.
Yet for the Viola, it is a rivalry that has all the marks of some of the great literature that their city has inspired. Written as long ago as 1353 by Giovanni Boccaccio, the Decameron is a work of Medieval literature in the style of the Canterbury Tales, with a number of smaller stories illustrating a larger, more potent one.
That is, of course, how long-standing rivalries such as this are constructed. The lengthening narrative arc of Fiorentina and Juventus contains many smaller tales, of love, joy, heartache and betrayal. These have combined to a heady brew in Florence, who seem (as many Italian sides do, such is their perpetual proximity to success) to face Juventus at most of the important crossroads of their history.
These meetings have not always brought disappointment, and it is worth noting that the Gigliati have been able to kick sand in their nemeses’ eyes on more than one occasion, even if they have been equally stung in return.
The two met in the Coppa Italia Final of 1960, Fiorentina looking to establish themselves amongst the elite. It was a tight and fractious affair, which saw Omar Sivori dismissed for dissent. The Viola more than held their own, a 2-2 draw seeing the tie into extra time whereupon a disastrous own goal from Alberto Orzan gifted the cup to Juventus.
When Bruno Pasaola’s Fiorentina won the Scudetto in 1969, they did so by completing a 2-0 victory at Juventus. Reduced to bit-part players by a run of three straight defeats in December, the Bianconeri had the better of the first half against the title-chasing Viola only for Roberto Anzolin to spill the ball straight into the path of Luciano Chiarugi three minutes after the restart. Mario Maraschi rolled home a second later but the damage was done.
The layers continued to grow with every story that could be told, though the next one was the trigger for a good deal of the animosity that persists to this day in Florence.
Going into the climax of the 1981/82 season, the two sides were once again vying for the top spot and entered the last game of the season level on points. Fiorentina’s visit to Cagliari ended in a 0-0 draw, made all the more bitter by referee disallowing a Francesco Graziani goal that would likely have been the winner.
The Bianconeri’s trip to Calabria to face Catanzaro was no less controversial; they were very lucky to avoid a penalty claim before winning a spot kick of their own. Liam Brady converted and Juventus were champions.
In Florence, this victory became known as ‘the Stolen Scudetto’ and with Viola captain Giancarlo Antognoni certainly viewing it as such, the Gigliati faithful had the bit between their teeth. They have not let it slip yet.
It next appeared in the 1990 UEFA Cup Final when Graziani had progressed to coaching the side. He led them to a two-legged affair that started with a bang; it was 1-1 before ten minutes had passed. Pierluigi Casiraghi and Luigi De Agostini clinched the tie at the Stadio Comunale as Juventus were able to shut up shop for a 0-0 draw in Avellino, the game having been moved from Florence because of crowd trouble.
Unable to prevent his side falling to their rivals, it was well-known that Fiorentina starlet Roberto Baggio was on his way across the divide that summer. The fact that he did so caused riots across the city, cementing a hatred that simmers and boils.
Baggio was able to achieve redemption. Refusing to take a penalty at the Stadio Artemio Franchi, he was substituted and after being so, picked up a Fiorentina scarf that had been hurled from the stands. He remains a hero to the Viola.
In 2013, Juventus had gone seven games unbeaten to start the year, and stormed into a 2-0 lead in Florence. With defeat all but assured, the Viola stormed back, a Giuseppe Rossi hat-trick and Joaquin producing a memorable and unlikely 4-2 victory. Juventus were to lose just once more all season and betting on them to win the league was many people’s reason to start an account with bwin.
Sunday’s game, however it ends, will provide another tale to add to the story of this rivalry. It remains to be seen if it will be comedy or tragedy.
