THE fall and rebirth of Fiorentina has been one of Italian football’s most dramatic tales of the last few decades.
From the opulent highs of the 90s, when Roberto Baggio, Gabriel Batistuta, Steffen Effenberg, Rui Costa and Tomas Repka threatened to dislodge the established elite the club found themselves emersed in scandal, bankrupted and relegated to the fourth tier.
Not two years after beating Manchester United in the Champions League, the club suffered a meltdown comparable with Leeds United, Portsmouth or, indeed, Wanderers as they fell completely from grace and were forced to rename.
The club which has now racked up 21 consecutive seasons in Serie A has never quite glittered in the same was as Giovanni Trappatoni’s team did back in the 90s but three fourth-placed finishes saw European football return a decade ago, and they have been runners-up in the UEFA Conference League for the past two seasons, missing out to West Ham United in 2023.
Fiorentina sparked riots at the turn of the 90s by selling their star man Roberto Baggio and their recent history has been a cycle of identifying and buying talent with a view to selling them for top dollar. Last season’s top scorer, another Argentine, Nico Gonzalez, is said to be in talks with Newcastle United.
He was not named in the 28-man squad which arrived at Manchester Airport on Monday and travelled to their training base at Preston North End’s academy to start their preparations for a three-game tour.
New coach Raffaele Palladino stepped into the job vacated by Vicenzo Italiano when he moved to Bologna, and he has already put a stamp on the squad, bringing in Moise Kean from Juventus and Croat Marin Pongracic to replace Nikola Milenkovic, who moved to Nottingham Forest.
Argentine defender Nicolas Valentini is another highly rated addition but ex-Manchester United loanee Sofyan Amrabat has not been named in the travelling group.
Wanderers will provide their first opposition of pre-season, with another game at Deepdale 24 hours later. Finally, the squad will go to Hull City on Tuesday night for the final leg.
La Viola also have friendlies against Montpellier and SC Freiburg before they start their Serie A campaign at Parma on August 17.
Here are some of the players who have travelled with Fiorentina, who could feature at the Toughsheet.
ANTONIN BARAK.
Czech playmaker who supplied many of the bullets fired for Nicolas Gonzalez last season and turned down a move to Napoli to remain in Florence in January.
Though he is likely to be used sparingly because of his involvement at the Euros, he is one of Fiorentina’s most potent and direct players with bags of experience.
Barak has 44 international caps and 11 goals to his name and at this summer’s Euros he became the fastest player ever to be sent off in a game, lasting just 20 minutes of a stormy game against Turkey.
MOISE KEAN.
Once billed as Everton’s great attacking hope after a £27.5million move to Merseyside, Kean struggled to adapt to Premier League football and was quickly loaned out to Paris St Germain.
He hasn’t done badly in the few years since, establishing himself at international level with Italy and heading back to Juventus before completing a move to Fiorentina in the summer.
Strong, direct and quick, he is a handful for anyone on his day.
CRISTIANO BRIAGHI.
Long-serving left-back who has 16 caps for his country, moulded in the classic uncompromising Italian defensive style.
There are more technically gifted players in the Fiorentina squad, for sure, but Briaghi is somewhat of a cult figure as well as being the club captain.
ROLANDO MANDRAGORA.
Usually grabs a few headlines each season with his ability to score long-range goals, and boasts a rocket of a shot.
Not one of Fiorentina’s most consistent players but one who might catch the eye from set pieces.
MARIN PONGRACIC.
Croatian international signed to replace Nottingham Forest-bound Nikola Milenkovic in the centre of defence.
Had an excellent season with Leece last season and is a strong, powerful centre-back who won’t mind getting his knees dirty.
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