Fiorentina take on Cagliari in Week 31 of Serie A 2019/20 at the Stadio Artemio Franchi on Wednesday evening – and we’ve prepared this collection of five key stats and facts you need to know before kick-off…
1) Fiorentina and Cagliari have faced off in Florence 40 times in total. Thirty-eight of those games have come in Serie (26 wins, seven draws and five defeats for the Viola), one took place in Serie B (a 2-1 win for Fiorentina on 18 January 2004) and one was a Coppa Italia matches (a 0-1 defeat for the Gigliati on 12 September 1971). Fiorentina have scored 69 goals to Cagliari’s 29 at home against the Sardinian outfit.
2) The first meeting between Fiorentina and Cagliari in Florence took place at the “Stadio Comunale di Firenze” on 29 November 1964 and ended in a 2-0 win for the Viola, courtesy of goals from Alberto Orlando and Kurt Hamrin. Orlando ended the 1963/64 as joint top scored in Serie A on 17 goals, level with Inter’s Sandro Mazzola. Coincidentally, Orlando also scored in the return fixture in Cagliari, which took place on 11 April 1965 and ended in a 1-1 draw. Meanwhile, Hamrin went on to score the decisive goals in two subsequent Fiorentina v Cagliari matches: he bagged a brace in the Viola’s 2-0 win on 6 February 1966 and scored the only goal of the 1-0 win on 5 March 1967.
3) Fiorentina’s 3-0 home win over Cagliari on 18 March 1973, part of Week 22 of the 1972/73 Serie A season, was special in that it witnessed Giancarlo Antognoni’s first goal in Serie A. With the Viola already 2-0 to the good after goals from Nevio Scala and Nello Saltutti, on 89 minutes Sergio Clerici burst forward through the midfield and slipped in the young No.7, who promptly dispatched a fine right-footed effort on the half volley in front of the Curva Fiesole. Antognoni actually made his debut away at Verona on 15 October 1972 wearing the No.8 jersey, but the presence of Claudio Merlo and Giancarlo De Sisti in the regular starting line-up meant Antognoni made the majority of his 20 appearances that season with the No.7 on his back. The future Fiorentina captain followed up his goal against Cagliari with another strike, against Parma, in Week 26. This time, it was a free-kick in front of the Ferrovia.
4) Fiorentina’s 4-2 home win over Cagliari on 17 January 1999 (Gabriel Omar Batistuta hat-trick and a goal from Edmundo) coincides with the last time the Viola were top of Serie A at the halfway point. Sadly, the Viola were unable to sustain their title challenge as the season wore on. It was the same story on 17 January 1982, when Fiorentina and Cagliari drew 1-1 (Luigi Sacchetti and Luigi Piras with the goals) in the final match of the first round of fixtures. The result meant Fiorentina were top at the halfway point, one point ahead of Juventus, but – alas – there was no Scudetto title for Florence come the end of the campaign.
5) The most recent Fiorentina v Cagliari match took place on 21 October 2018 as part of Week 9 of the 2018/19 season of Serie A and finished in a 1-1 draw courtesy of a Jordan Veretout penalty and a goal from Leonardo Pavoletti. Fiorentina’s last home win over Cagliari took place on 12 March 2017 in Week 28 of Serie A 2016/17, when Nikola Kalinic scored a late winner. Cagliari’s last win at Fiorentina was on 13 May 2018 (in Week 37 of Serie A 2017/18), with Pavoletti again the man on the scoresheet. Finally, the last meeting between Cagliari and Fiorentina, including both home and away games, took place on 10 November 2019 and ended in a 5-2 defeat for the Viola: Marko Rog, Fabio Pisacane, Giovanni Simeone, Joao Pedro and Radja Nainggolan, while Dusan Vlahovic scored his first Serie A goals with a late consolation brace for Fiorentina.
Published: Tue, 07 Jul 2020 17:25:00 +0200
Source: Fiorentina Official website en.violachannel.tv
By Anna Italia
