ACF Fiorentina

Italian football team.

ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as Fiorentina, is a professional football club based in Florence, Italy. The club competes in Serie A, the top division of Italian football. Fiorentina is nicknamed "La Viola" (The Purple One) due to their distinctive purple shirts. They play their home games at the Stadio Artemio Franchi, which has a capacity of 43,147 and has been their home since 1931.

Fiorentina was founded in 1926 by a merger of two Florence-based clubs. The club's history has been marked by periods of success interspersed with financial difficulties and relegations. Fiorentina first achieved major success in the 1950s, winning their first Scudetto (Serie A title) in 1955-56 under the management of Fulvio Bernardini. They repeated this feat in 1968-69 with Bruno Pesaola at the helm.

In addition to their two Serie A titles, Fiorentina has won six Coppa Italia trophies and one Supercoppa Italiana. Their most recent Coppa Italia victory came in 2001. In European competitions, Fiorentina won the Cup Winners' Cup in 1961 and reached the final of the UEFA Cup (now Europa League) in 1990, losing to Juventus.

The club has a passionate fan base and is known for its attractive, attacking style of play. Fiorentina has been home to many world-class players throughout its history, including Gabriel Batistuta, Roberto Baggio, Giancarlo Antognoni, and more recently, Federico Chiesa.

One of the darkest periods in Fiorentina's history came in 2002 when the club faced bankruptcy and was relegated to Serie C2, the fourth tier of Italian football. However, the club was reborn as Florentia Viola and quickly climbed back up the divisions, returning to Serie A in 2004 under new ownership.

Fiorentina's biggest rivalry is with Juventus, a rivalry that intensified after a controversial Serie A title race in 1981-82 where Juventus pipped Fiorentina to the title on the final day of the season. They also have strong rivalries with fellow Tuscan clubs Empoli and Siena.