With the help of Fiorentina Museum, we’ve complied a handful of facts and figures on previous meetings between SPAL and Fiorentina.

1. SPAL and Fiorentina have played each other 21 times in Ferrara: 18 in Serie A (6 Viola victories, 7 draws, 5 defeats), one in Serie B (1-1 on 12 March 1939), one in Prima Divisione (3-1 to SPAL on 7 November 1926) and one in the Coppa Italia (3-0 to SPAL on 6 September 1964). The overall record is 7 SPAL wins, 8 draws and 6 Fiorentina wins, with SPAL scoring 27 to Fiorentina’s 24.

2. Fiorentina’s first win in Ferrara came on 4 May 1952: 2-1, with goals by Swedish striker Ekner and Beltrandi. Fiorentina ended that season in fourth place, taking 43 points from 38 games (two points for a win). SPAL meanwhile finished the campaign in ninth, six points below. The seeds of the Viola’s formidable Scudetto-winning side – three years later – had already been sown, with the likes of Ardico Magnini, Francesco Rosetta and Beppe Chiappella featuring that day.

3. SPAL have always been a tough nut for Fiorentina to crack. Even in the Viola’s 1955/56 title season, SPAL earned a 0-0 draw in Florence and in the reverse fixture only succumbed to the already crowned champions by a single Sergio Carpanesi goal on 13 May 1956,

4. Another example of SPAL’s stubbornness came in the 1958/59 season (21 December 1958) when a free-scoring Viola team – who ended the campaign in second place plundering 95 goals, still a record for an 18-team league – were held to a goalless draw in Ferrara. SPAL went one better in Florence later in the season as they triumphed 2-1, with goals by Oltramari and Morbello overturning Lojacono’s opening penalty.

5. On the other hand, Fiorentina waltzed to a 4-1 success the last time these sides met in Ferrara, with Edimilson, Veretout (penalty), Simeone and Gerson on the score sheet. That game saw a rare example of a goal being taken away from one team and awarded to the other. In the 71st minute Chiesa was brought down by Felipe in the box but the referee Pairetto let play continue; down the other end Fares crossed for Valoti to make it 2-1 to SPAL, but then the VAR Mazzoleni called Felipe’s foul on Chiesa to Pairetto’s attention. After six minutes of analysis and protests, Veretout stepped up to convert from 12 yards and make it 2-1 to Fiorentina.

Published: Fri, 31 Jul 2020 08:30:00 +0200

Source: Fiorentina Official website en.violachannel.tv