1.       Fiorentina’s first win over Juventus in Florence came on 8 January 1933 and was decided thanks to a goal from Uruguayan striker Pedro Petrone. Known as “L’Artillero”, Petrone was the first Fiorentina player to finish as the top scorer in Serie A, achieving the feat in the 1931/32 season.

2.       Fiorentina recorded their biggest win over Juventus in the 1940/41 season, a 5-0 victory secured courtesy of a Romeo Menti penalty, a goal from Pasquale Morisco and a hat-trick from centre-forward Dante Di Benedetti. Born in Genzano in 1916, Di Benedetti is still going strong and will mark his 103rd birthday on 28 October.

3.       Fiorentina have the better of the record between the two teams in Florence. In 79 matches, the Viola have won 27, drawn 30 and lost 22. Fiorentina have also scored more goals: 103 to the 91 scored by Juventus.

4.       Fiorentina have always beaten Juventus, both home and away, both times the Viola have won the Scudetto title. In the 1955/56 season, Fiorentina – led by Fulvio Bernardini – beat the Bianconeri 4-0 in Turin and 2-0 in Florence. Thirteen years later, in the 1968/69 season, the Viola beat Juventus 2-1 at home and then 2-0 away on the penultimate day of the campaign, a result that secured the title for Bruno Pesaola’s men.

5.       Giuliano Sarti – the Fiorentina goalkeeper for the Viola’s first title win – went on to end his career at Juventus. He was actually on the bench for the Bianconeri when Fiorentina got the crucial 2-0 win in Turin on 11 May 1969 to wrap up their second Scudetto. He even revealed that he celebrated when Mario Maraschi made it 2-0 and was told off by the rest of the Juventus bench. He defended himself saying: “Sorry, but the match is meaningless for us [Juventus finished fifth], so it’s better that Fiorentina win.”

6.       On 11 May 1975, the penultimate day of the 1974/75 season, Fiorentina beat Juventus 4-1 – when the Bianconeri needed just a point to win their 16th Scudetto title. The legend goes that Juventus were so sure that they were going to get the result they needed that they had brought cases of champagne with them ready to celebrate. Fiorentina ensured the celebrations had to wait.

7.       Massimo Mattolini and Gianmatteo Mareggini both went down in Fiorentina folklore after saving penalties against Juventus. On 19 January 1975, Mattolini saved one from Oscar Damiani to ensure Fiorentina left Turin with a point after a 0-0 draw, while Mareggini kept out Luigi De Agostini’s effort in the famous 1-0 home win over Juventus on 6 April 1991.

8.       In a 15-year playing career with Fiorentina, just three of Giancarlo Antognoni’s 72 goals for the club were headers. One of these – perhaps the best – came against Juventus on 27 November 1983, Antognoni getting on the end of a Pasquale Iachini cross from the left. Both of Antognoni’s other headed goals were scored against Udinese – so black and white must be a good-luck charm for him!

9.       A memorable moment occurred in Fiorentina’s 1-0 Coppa Italia victory over Juventus on 4 September 1985. Daniel Passarella scored the winner from the spot in the 75th minute, but there were confusing scenes as the ball shot straight through a hole in the net and out the other side. After a few moments’ bewilderment, the referee awarded the goal.

10.   Claudio Desolati is the youngest player to have scored in a Fiorentina v Juventus fixture. His goal came at the age of 18, the winner in a 2-1 defeat of the Bianconeri on 7 April 1973. The second-youngest is Nicola Berti, who – shortly before his 19th birthday – scored a last-minute second in a 2-0 win over Juventus on 6 April 1986, after Passarella had bagged the opener on 57 minutes.

Museo Fiorentina for Violachannel

Published: Wed, 11 Sep 2019 10:16:00 +0200

Source: Fiorentina Official website en.violachannel.tv