Fiorentina Fun Facts
The Fiorentina was founded by Marquis Luigi Ridolfi in 1926 by uniting two existing soccer teams in Florence: PGF Libertas Firenze and Club Sportivo Firenze.
Fiorentina has won two Italian Championships, once in 1955–56 and again in 1968–69, the Coppa Italia six times, the Supercoppa Italiana, and the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, which was an annual competition between European cup winners from 1960-1999.
The first Viola coach was Hungarian ex-soccer player Karl Csapkay.
The Artemio Franchi stadium was built in 1931 in the shape of a ‘D' in honor of ‘Il Duce,' Benito Mussolini.
The Stadio Artemio Franchi has a capacity of 47,282
Fiorentina's head coach is Siniša Mihajlović
The Fiorentina are widely known by their nickname Viola, which is a reference to their distinctive purple colors.
Midfielder Giancarlo Antognoni played almost his entire career (1972-1987) for the Fiorentina, and was the team captain for most of that time. He also played for the Italian national team from 1974 to 1983. Antognoni is a local hero and Florence has even given him his own day on the Florentine calendar, March 4th is Antognoni's Day.
Cesare Prandelli was the longest-serving coach for the Fiorentina and left the team to coach the Italian national team in 2010.
The official emblem of the city of Florence is the red fleur-de-lis. Over the course of the club's history they have had several badge changes, but the fleur-de-lis has always been a symbol of the club.
Fiorentina Team Anthem:
Oh Fiorentina, di ogni squadra ti vogliam regina. Oh Fiorentina, combatti ovunque ardita e con valor! Nell'ora di sconforto e di vittoria, ricorda che del calcio è tua la storia.
Maglia viola lotta con vigore, per esser di Firenze vanto e gloria. Sul tuo vessillo scrivi: forza e cuore, e nostra sarà sempre la vittoria!
Oh Fiorentina, di ogni squadra ti vogliam regina. Oh Fiorentina, combatti ovunque ardita e con valor! Nell'ora di sconforto e di vittoria, ricorda che del calcio è tua la storia.
Forza Fiorentina!
Alé Viola
When Fiorentina was founded in 1926, the players wore red and white halved shirts derived from the color of the city’s fleur-de-lis emblem. The more well-known and highly distinctive purple kit was adopted in 1928 and has been used ever since.
Tradition has it that Fiorentina got their infamous purple color by mistake after an accident washing the old red and white colored uniforms in the river.
Uniform Evolution:
