With the help of Fiorentina Museum, we’ve put together a selection of facts and figures on previous Roma v Fiorentina clashes.
NUMBERS
Roma and Fiorentina have faced off in the Italian capital 94 times before: 80 in Serie A (15 Viola wins, 28 draws, 37 defeats), 11 in the Coppa Italia (3 Fiorentina wins, 3 draws, 5 defeats), one in the post-war ‘mixed’ league of 1945/46 (Roma 1-0 Fiorentina), one in the Italian Super Cup (3-0 to Roma, 19 August 2001) and one in the Europa League (quarter-final return leg, 3-0 to Fiorentina, 19 March 2015). In total there have been 19 Fiorentina victories, 31 draws, and 44 Roma wins, with the Giallorossi scoring 150 to the Viola’s 99.
FIRST TIME
The first-ever Roma v Fiorentina encounter in Serie A was played at Campo Testaccio on 17 April 1932. It finished 1-1 with Pedro Petrone scoring from the spot for the Viola.
AWAY SUCCESS
Fiorentina’s first away league win against Roma came on 10 November 1935 courtesy of a solitary goal by the Uruguayan Carlos Gringa.
SCUDETTO YEARS
The Viola picked up good results in Rome in both of their Scudetto-winning seasons.
Fulvio Bernardini’s side obtained a 1-1 draw in the capital on 29 April 1956 a week before they were crowned champions in Trieste with five games to spare. Giuseppe Virgili scored for the Viola while Dino Da Costa (who later joined Fiorentina) netted for the hosts.
Bruno Pesaola’s team went one better when they came from behind to win 2-1 on the opening day of the 1968/69 campaign (29 September 1968). Amarildo and Maraschi scored for Fiorentina after Taccola had netted the opener just 30 seconds into the match. Funny that a season that started so badly should end with the Viola winning the title…
CURTAIN-RAISERS
In fact, Roma and Fiorentina have often found themselves facing off on the opening day of the Serie A season: nine times in total, with seven being played at the Olimpico.
The most recent was on 20 August 2014, when goals by Nainggolan and Gervinho secured a 2-0 win for the Giallorossi. It turned out to be a good season for both sides, though: Rudi Garcia’s Roma finished second while Vincenzo Montella’s Fiorentina ended the campaign in fourth place and reached the Europa League semi-finals.
BATI BOTH
One player that both sets of fans remember fondly is Gabriel Batistuta. The Argentine spent nine seasons in Florence, from 1991 to 2000, then two and half in the capital, from summer 2000 to January 2003.
He scored seven times in a Viola shirt against the Giallorossi in Rome, with two particularly memorable braces: the first in a 3-1 win on 23 November 1992 and the second in a thrilling 3-3 draw on 1 December 1996 (including a 90th minute equaliser).
Batistuta also scored a famous (and decisive) long-range goal against Fiorentina while playing for Roma, on 26 November 2000.
EXES
Of course, Batistuta is not the only player to have plied his trade for both clubs. Among others, there was Carpanesi, Lojacono, Alberto Orlando and Pandolfini in the ’50s and ’60s, Amarildo, De Sisti, Sormani and Superchi in the ’60s and ’70s, Di Chiara, Di Livio, Graziani, Maldera, Paolo Conti, Pruzzo and Vierchowod in the ’80s and ’90s, then Balbo, Massaro and Piacentini before the likes of Aquilani, Astori, Osvaldo, Pizarro, Salah and Toni from 2000 to the present day.
COACHING CROSSOVERS
Curiously, both Fiorentina’s Scudetto-winning coaches Fulvio Bernardini and Bruno Pesaola played for Roma but not Fiorentina.
Carniglia, Liedholm, Valcareggi, Eriksson, Radice, Bianchi, Mazzone, Prandelli and Montella are among the coaches who have worked at both clubs.
LAST SEASON
The 2018/19 Roma v Fiorentina fixture was played on 3 April 2019 and finished 2-2, with Pezzella and Gerson on target for Fiorentina and Zaniolo and Perotti scoring for Roma.
REVERSE FIXTURE
Roma were the better side when these two teams met at the Stadio Franchi earlier this season (22 December 2019): Dzeko, Kolarov, Pellegrini and Zaniolo found the net in a 4-1 win for the Giallorossi while Badelj got the Viola’s only goal.
Published: Fri, 24 Jul 2020 13:03:00 +0200
Source: Fiorentina Official website en.violachannel.tv