As AC Fiorentina limped out of Serie A last Sunday, headed for the club's third ever relegation following a 1-0 home defeat against S.S. Lazio, the club's fans might have been forgiven for feeling that, at least, the worst was behind them now. In reality, it could be that the Fiorentina crisis is only beginning.
Breathing space
In theory, a year in Serie B could offer the club vital breathing space. It could represent a chance to radically reconstruct a new, low-cost side built around younger players, good enough to win immediate promotion back to Serie A.
Heartwarming precedent
Certainly things worked out well when Fiorentina last went down, at the end of the 1992/93 season. That side strolled through the subsequent Serie B season, thanks to experienced, international players like Argentina's Gabriel Batistuta, Germany's Stefan Effenberg, and Italy's own Francesco Baiano and goalkeeper Francesco Toldo.
Economic realities
The Fiorentina side that will compete in Serie B next season will be very different. As the club tries to ride out a financial crisis that, at the moment, even threatens its place in the Italian second division, they will be forced to make major economies in the playing staff.
Criminal investigations
Fiorentina's problems, of course, are linked to those of its owner, the volatile cinema tycoon Vittorio Cecchi Gori who has been caught up in an ongoing investigation into allegations of money laundering and fraud since last summer.
Angry supporters
His problems and the resultant economic uncertainty highlighted by long delays in the payment of players' wages, have not only undermined the club's season but have also totally alienated the majority of Fiorentina's fans who for almost a year now have been calling on him to sell his majority shareholding in the club.
Intricate financial web
The problem is that, even if Cecchi Gori were willing to sell - and there has been no definite indication of this - the financial transaction could prove very difficult since his package of shares have already been posted as collateral for debts incurred by Fin.Ma.Vi., Cecchi Gori's cinema production company.
Guarantees demanded
All of which means that when COVISOC, the Italian Football Federation (FIGC)'s economic regulatory board, come to consider Fiorentina's application for a place in Serie B next season, it will look long and hard for guarantees of economic stability. Even if, as seems likely, Fiorentina manage to emerge unscathed from forthcoming bankruptcy proceedings called by a Florence-based public prosecutor, the club's future remains uncertain.
Candlelit procession
Fiorentina fans, of course, believe that Cecchi Gori should sell and sell soon to almost any individual or business concern which is financially stable. Just to underline the point, the fans staged a highly successful protest at the Lazio game and staged a late-night candlelit procession through central Florence, calling on Cecchi Gori to go.
Unhappy events
Not all of Fiorentina's problems, of course, have not all been of Cecchi Gori's making. Throughout the season, Dame Fortune has not smiled on the club. The early omens augured ill when star striker Enrico Chiesa was ruled out for the rest of the season on only the fifth round of Serie A action last September with a damaged cruciate ligament in his left knee.
Injury problems
Subsequent injuries to Moreno Torricelli, Yugoslavia's Pedrag Mijatovic, Portugal's Nuno Gomes, Roberto Baronio and Sandro Cois hardly helped matters. The dismissal of coach Roberto Mancini in January and his subsequent replacement by the experienced Ottavio Bianchi did not manage to right the listing ship.
Bankruptcy claims
For a while it seemed that the arrival of talented 20-year-old Brazilian striker Adriano, loaned last January from Internazionale FC, might provide the necessary fillip to avoid the drop. Yet, even his valuable contribution proved unable to lift a team whose morale had clearly hit rock-bottom in February when more than ten first-team players, frustrated by non-payment of wages, called on the FIGC to declare the club bankrupt.
Uncertain future
With Serie B now on the horizon, Fiorentina are looking for younger (and cheaper) players, a new coach and, probably most important of all, a new owner. Without these, their troubles may be far from over.
Breathing Space Heartwarming precedent Economic Realities Economic Realities Criminal investigations
Breathing space
In theory, a year in Serie B could offer the club vital breathing space. It could represent a chance to radically reconstruct a new, low-cost side built around younger players, good enough to win immediate promotion back to Serie A.
Heartwarming precedent
Certainly things worked out well when Fiorentina last went down, at the end of the 1992/93 season. That side strolled through the subsequent Serie B season, thanks to experienced, international players like Argentina's Gabriel Batistuta, Germany's Stefan Effenberg, and Italy's own Francesco Baiano and goalkeeper Francesco Toldo.
Economic realities
The Fiorentina side that will compete in Serie B next season will be very different. As the club tries to ride out a financial crisis that, at the moment, even threatens its place in the Italian second division, they will be forced to make major economies in the playing staff.
Criminal investigations
Fiorentina's problems, of course, are linked to those of its owner, the volatile cinema tycoon Vittorio Cecchi Gori who has been caught up in an ongoing investigation into allegations of money laundering and fraud since last summer.
Angry supporters
His problems and the resultant economic uncertainty highlighted by long delays in the payment of players' wages, have not only undermined the club's season but have also totally alienated the majority of Fiorentina's fans who for almost a year now have been calling on him to sell his majority shareholding in the club.
Intricate financial web
The problem is that, even if Cecchi Gori were willing to sell - and there has been no definite indication of this - the financial transaction could prove very difficult since his package of shares have already been posted as collateral for debts incurred by Fin.Ma.Vi., Cecchi Gori's cinema production company.
Guarantees demanded
All of which means that when COVISOC, the Italian Football Federation (FIGC)'s economic regulatory board, come to consider Fiorentina's application for a place in Serie B next season, it will look long and hard for guarantees of economic stability. Even if, as seems likely, Fiorentina manage to emerge unscathed from forthcoming bankruptcy proceedings called by a Florence-based public prosecutor, the club's future remains uncertain.
Candlelit procession
Fiorentina fans, of course, believe that Cecchi Gori should sell and sell soon to almost any individual or business concern which is financially stable. Just to underline the point, the fans staged a highly successful protest at the Lazio game and staged a late-night candlelit procession through central Florence, calling on Cecchi Gori to go.
Unhappy events
Not all of Fiorentina's problems, of course, have not all been of Cecchi Gori's making. Throughout the season, Dame Fortune has not smiled on the club. The early omens augured ill when star striker Enrico Chiesa was ruled out for the rest of the season on only the fifth round of Serie A action last September with a damaged cruciate ligament in his left knee.
Injury problems
Subsequent injuries to Moreno Torricelli, Yugoslavia's Pedrag Mijatovic, Portugal's Nuno Gomes, Roberto Baronio and Sandro Cois hardly helped matters. The dismissal of coach Roberto Mancini in January and his subsequent replacement by the experienced Ottavio Bianchi did not manage to right the listing ship.
Bankruptcy claims
For a while it seemed that the arrival of talented 20-year-old Brazilian striker Adriano, loaned last January from Internazionale FC, might provide the necessary fillip to avoid the drop. Yet, even his valuable contribution proved unable to lift a team whose morale had clearly hit rock-bottom in February when more than ten first-team players, frustrated by non-payment of wages, called on the FIGC to declare the club bankrupt.
Uncertain future
With Serie B now on the horizon, Fiorentina are looking for younger (and cheaper) players, a new coach and, probably most important of all, a new owner. Without these, their troubles may be far from over.
Breathing Space Heartwarming precedent Economic Realities Economic Realities Criminal investigations
