Fiorentina’s manager has been savaged by his own fans for his Juventus links and ill-conceived words but beating his old club may prove a turning point for him
They remember the wins over Juventus, down in Florence. They remember them for the goals: for Gabriel Batistuta’s header beyond Angelo Peruzzi and the Giuseppe Rossi hat-trick that helped convert a 2-0 deficit into a glorious 4-2 victory in 2013. They remember them because they hate Juventus, those entitled ‘thieves’ and ‘hunchbacks’ from Turin. Most of all, though, they remember the wins over Juventus for the simple reason that they don’t come along very often.
Heading into Sunday’s showdown at the Stadio Artemio Franchi, Fiorentina had beaten the Bianconeri just once in their previous 17 league meetings. There’s a reason why this rivalry never generates the same heat up in Piedmont. As Leonardo Bonucci put it in the runup to kick-off: “For them it’s the match of the year. For us it’s just another match like all the others.”
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