Florence and the talent machine: Vlahovic and the players who left Fiorentina in big moves

By Sports Desk January 28, 2022

Every league seems to have those teams that just produce talent on an apparently non-stop basis, before those players inevitably get picked off by the bigger boys.

In Germany, you can't move for former Schalke or Stuttgart players. There's Lyon and Monaco in France, Athletic Bilbao and Valencia in Spain, Southampton and Aston Villa in England.

In Italy, that team is probably Fiorentina, who are in the same position once again after La Viola sold star striker Dusan Vlahovic to Juventus in a €70million deal.

Stats Perform takes a look at some of the biggest names in Italian football who made a name for themselves with the team from Tuscany, and what they went on to achieve in the game.

 

Roberto Baggio

Having begun his career at Vicenza, The Divine Ponytail's move to Fiorentina saw his star rise as he spent five impressive years in the purple shirt.

However, after he helped Fiorentina to the 1990 UEFA Cup final, only to be defeated over two ill-tempered legs by their great rivals Juventus, salt was very much rubbed into the fans' wounds as the Bianconeri paid a then world-record fee to take Baggio.

Reports claimed that fans hurled bricks, chains and Molotov cocktails at Fiorentina's headquarters, and for the two days after the transfer was announced, club president Flavio Pontello took shelter in the stadium, with 50 injuries and nine arrests recorded.

Baggio would only improve his reputation further at Juve, winning the UEFA Cup in 1993, before securing a league and cup double two years later, scoring 115 goals in 200 games across five seasons before moving to Milan, where he won another Scudetto in his first year.

After being dismissed by Fabio Capello at San Siro in 1997, Baggio had an impressive season at Bologna where he scored a personal best 22 league goals, before moving back to the city of Milan with Inter.

Things did not work out at the Nerazzurri but he still went on to enjoy four final seasons in Serie A with Brescia, where he reached double figures in each campaign before retiring in 2004.

Gabriel Batistuta

There is arguably no more iconic player in Fiorentina history. A striker who football fans of a certain vintage remember banging in goals on Sunday afternoons during the nineties.

Unlike most of the players on this list, Batistuta actually spent the majority of his career at Fiorentina, staying for nine years before his big-money move to Roma.

The man affectionately known as 'Batigol' remains the club's record goalscorer with 159 goals in 198 games, though it does help his record that people like Vlahovic are usually sold before they can get anywhere near that total.

Though he had won a Coppa Italia, Batistuta wanted a Scudetto and moved to Roma in 2000 in order to get it. It was the highest fee ever paid for a player over the age of 30, a record which stood until Leonardo Bonucci moved to Milan from Juventus in 2017.

It seemed like a justified move when Batistuta scored 20 goals, including netting against his former club, on the way to winning the title in his first season in the Italian capital, but was unable to reach those heights again, scoring just 11 over the following season and a half before a loan move to Inter.

Rui Costa

The Portuguese maestro had made a name for himself at Benfica before moving to Italy in 1994 and making 230 appearances in seven years with La Viola, winning two Coppa Italia titles.

However, like Batistuta, Rui Costa was moved on for big money to try and help the club's finances, ending up at Milan for a then club-record fee of around £35m.

Rui Costa spent five years at San Siro where he won six trophies, including the Champions League in 2003 and Scudetto a year later. He moved back to Benfica in 2006 after the emergence of Kaka saw his minutes reduced.

Federico Bernardeschi

Bernardeschi came through the youth ranks at Fiorentina, with big things expected of him as he burst onto the scene after an impressive loan at Crotone in Serie B in the 2013-14 season.

During three years in the first team, Bernardeschi scored 23 goals in 93 games and registered 11 assists, which unfortunately for Viola fans saw old enemies Juve come swooping in again.

He has claimed three Serie A titles and two Coppa Italia trophies in Turin, as well as being a part of the Italy squad that won the rescheduled Euro 2020 last year.

Bernardeschi, who has scored just 11 times in 170 games for Juve, largely remains a squad player under Massimiliano Allegri, in part because of this next man...

Federico Chiesa

Another Fiorentina youth product, Chiesa had all eyes on him as soon as he broke through due to being the son of former Viola and Italy striker Enrico Chiesa.

Chiesa Jr made his first-team debut, somewhat ironically, against Juve at the age of 18, and over the next couple of years began to establish himself as the potential future of the club.

More suited to playing out wide than his father, who was a traditional central striker, Chiesa's managed 34 goals and 19 assists in 153 games at Fiorentina but it his tenacity, pace and skill that sets him apart.

That was enough to tempt – yes, you guessed it – Juve to come along and take him on a two-year loan, with an obligation to make it permanent at the end of the current campaign.

Chiesa had an impressive first season at Juve, including scoring the winning goal in the Coppa Italia final against Atalanta, before starring for Italy in their successful Euro 2020 campaign, scoring twice in seven appearances and making the team of the tournament.

He started 2021-22 in sharp form, only for a serious knee injury to end his season early.

 

There also must be honourable mentions for the likes of Luca Toni, whose emergence at Fiorentina earned him a lucrative move to Bayern Munich, and Francesco Toldo - he was sold to Inter at the same time that Costa was packed off to Milan to ease club debts.

Juan Cuadrado (now at Juventus) and Marcos Alonso were both sold to Chelsea for decent money two years apart, while Felipe Melo (Juventus), Stevan Jovetic (Manchester City) and Matias Vecino (Inter) continued Fiorentina's philosophy of buying low and selling high.

The path well-trodden out of the Stadio Artemio Franchi has often led to bigger and better things, and that bodes well for Vlahovic now that it appears he will be the next in line.

He seems to have all the tools to be the star striker this current, rather dour, edition of the Bianconeri require. Indeed, Vlahovic's 33 goals in Serie A last season matched the record set by Cristiano Ronaldo at Juve in 2020.

It might be tough to take (again) for Viola fans, but if history is anything to go by, their next hero won't be far away.

Of course, he'll probably also sign for Juve eventually, but that will just be a case of crossing the Ponte Vecchio when they come to it.

Related items

  • 'One game at a time', says calm Slot after Leverkusen thrashing 'One game at a time', says calm Slot after Leverkusen thrashing

    Arne Slot insisted he will continue to look at "one game at a time" after leading Liverpool to a 4-1 victory over Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League on Tuesday.

    Luis Diaz's second-half hat-trick along with Cody Gakpo's 63rd-minute strike spoiled Xabi Alonso's Anfield return, moving the Reds top of the 36-team standings. 

    Liverpool have now won all four of their Champions League games under Slot. It’s only the second time that they have won all four opening games in a single season. 

    The Reds are now top of both the Premier League and Champions League, though Slot was keen to focus on the next task, which comes in the shape of Aston Villa on Saturday.

    "I don't know if it was that much to do with intensity, but we took more risk," Slot said. 

    "They overloaded the midfield a lot, and we adjusted at half-time and took the risk to play one v one all over. We had better chances in the first half and they weren't a goal threat.

    "As much as this time, how good they are in Europe, sometimes a strong target man is better than someone a bit faster.

    "Curtis Jones did an incredible pass, and then you have someone with the pace of Lucho to finish it off. The pass was as good as the goal, in my opinion.

    "You don't look ahead as a manager in the next three months. You're always one game at a time. We've got Aston Villa on Saturday, another tough game."

    Diaz's treble saw him become only the second Colombian player to score a hat-trick in the Champions League, after Faustino Asprilla for Newcastle against Barcelona in 1997. 

    And he insisted that things have started brightly for Slot at Anfield, but said his team-mates must continue to perform to have something to show for it at the end of the season.

    "The most important thing is the three points in this edition of the Champions League so we can keep progressing in the competition," Diaz said. 

    "Things have gone so well with the new manager, it wasn't easy for him to come in and fill Jurgen Klopp's shoes.

    "Hopefully, we'll have something to show for it at the end of the season.

    "We have top-quality players all over the pitch and I really enjoyed playing in that position today. I'm just happy to be on the pitch.

    "I need to go and find that ball now because I need to keep it somewhere special at home."

    For Alonso and Leverkusen, meanwhile, it marked a first Champions League defeat since 2022, while also conceding four or more goals in an away match in the competition since 2013 against Manchester United.

    "It's painful the result more than the performance, probably," Alonso told Amazon Prime.

    "But this is the Champions League, this is the highest level, and today it wasn't enough for us."

    "It's too early to tell, but I can see that Liverpool have a very good balance, a very complete team.

    "They work with 11 players, and they have the power to hold a clean sheet, which is important in the Champions League.

    "In the Premier League, let's see. It's early to tell but it's looking good."

    Alonso, who won the Champions League with Liverpool in 2005, was serenaded by the home supporters at Anfield during the contest. 

    "I tried to separate the game and the pain from the result from the nice feelings to come back. I'm really happy and thankful for that reception," he added. 

  • Bologna 0-1 Monaco: Kehrer maintains visitors' impressive Champions League start Bologna 0-1 Monaco: Kehrer maintains visitors' impressive Champions League start

    Monaco defender Thilo Kehrer scored a late goal to earn a 1-0 Champions League victory for his side at Bologna on Tuesday.

    Monaco captain Kehrer, left unmarked in front of goal four minutes from time, stretched out a leg to poke the ball home from a flicked-on corner to snatch the points.

    The visitors maintained their unbeaten start to this season’s Champions League while also dealing Bologna their first-ever home defeat in European competition.

    Both sides saw goals chalked off in the first half, Monaco's Wilfried Singo being penalised for a foul on Lukasz Skorupski before Santiago Castro saw a curling strike disallowed for a foul in the build-up.

    The two Polish goakeepers, Monaco's Radoslaw Majecki and Bologna's Skorupski, both made several fine saves to keep the game goalless until Kehrer got the all-important touch on an inswinging corner late on.

    The win puts Monaco in third place with 10 points, while Bologna are down in 30th spot with one point after four games.

    Data Debrief: Long-awaited shutout for Monaco 

    Monaco have now won consecutive games in the Champions League for the first time since a run of three in 2017, also ending a 23-game run without a clean sheet in the competition.

    Bologna, meanwhile, are the only side in this season's Champions League to play four matches and fail to score, despite registering 48 shots in total and an xG tally of 3.19. 

  • Sheffield United go second after late turnaround, Plymouth continue good home form Sheffield United go second after late turnaround, Plymouth continue good home form

    Sheffield United staged a late turnaround to win 2-1 away to Bristol City and go second in the Championship, one point behind leaders Sunderland who play on Wednesday.

    The game started slowly, with the hosts not opening the scoring until a 75th-minute Anis Mehmeti penalty after a foul on Sinclair Armstrong by goalkeeper Michael Cooper.

    The Blades showed great character to haul themselves back into the game, with 18-year-old Ryan One scoring the equaliser in the 86th minute.

    But things went up a notch in stoppage time when Robert Dickie was given a straight red card for a cynical foul on Callum O'Hare 35 yards out.

    The drama wasn't finished yet and with seconds to go, Harrison Burrows smashed home a left-foot rocket to win the game for the Blades.

    At the bottom of the table, Plymouth opened a four-point gap between themselves and the relegation zone with a 1-0 victory over bottom-of-the-table Portsmouth.

    The victory means that Wayne Rooney's side have dropped just two points in their last five games at Home Park, having lost six on the bounce in all competitions away.

    It is now four without a victory for Portsmouth, who have earned just nine points in their opening 14 matches back in the Championship.

    Elsewhere, Middlesbrough responded to their 3-0 defeat at home to Coventry City last weekend by beating second-bottom Queens Park Rangers 4-1 on the road.

    That was a first victory in three for Michael Carrick's side, who are one place below the play-off positions and trail only by goal difference.

    QPR are four points behind fourth-bottom Preston North End, having failed to win any of their last 10 league games.

© 2024 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.