Fiorentina versus Genoa, it’s not all about scoreless draws

If it’s goals you’re looking for, then judging by the last few seasons, Mondays Fiorentina v Genoa is possibly not the match for you. The last three games between the sides at the Artemio Franchi have finished 0-0.

Cesare Prandelli was in charge of Genoa when they came to Florence on the last day of the 2018/19 season, where the sides played out a draw which suited them both. With the two sides battling relegation, a point each was enough as Empoli went down 2-1 at the San Siro against Inter.

Genoa risked more than Fiorentina in playing out this almost farce of a game as they needed to wait until nine minutes from the end for Inter to grab the winner, and even then an equalizer for Empoli would have sent Genoa into Serie B.

This was to be the last game of the Della Valle era at Fiorentina, a disappointing but fitting way for their time in charge of the club to end. Vincenzo Montella was in the stands for this one, suspended, and would finish his spell in charge this season without a win. Having taken over from Stefano Pioli in April, he only managed 2 draws and 6 defeats overall. The only person to receive any applause from the home fans that rainy night in Florence was the away manager, Cesare Prandelli.

With Joe Barone in the stands, as the news had already broken of the impending takeover by Rocco Commisso, he will have seen first hand what they were getting themselves into. A team near the bottom of the table, putting in no effort to impress the 37,000 fans that were here, the Curva Fiesole still continuing with their insults to the Della Valle who weren’t even at the stadium.

Back in 1983/84 an end of season 0-0 draw was not quite what Genoa needed. This was the penultimate match of the league, and while a draw was enough for Fiorentina to seal 3^rd place and UEFA cup qualification, it left Genoa still in the relegation zone with one game left to play. Even a final day win away to champions Juventus wasn’t enough to save them, as Lazio drew with already relegated Pisa, and Genoa were relegated.

The teams were involved in yet another last day relegation battle in 1977/78, again a 0-0 draw. This would be enough for Fiorentina to keep their place in Serie A, but it meant Genoa were relegated due to an inferior goal difference. In the 1964/65 season, Genoa suffered another relegation and a 5-0 defeat in Florence at the half way point of the season certainly didn’t help their cause. Even though they won the return match in Genoa 4-1 on the last day of the season, it wasn’t enough to keep them up.

Fiorentina’s highest ever win over Genoa in Florence was back in 1958, with a 7-1 win. This 1958/59 season saw Fiorentina finish in 2^nd place for the third season in a row. This was a free scoring Viola that Genoa were humiliated by. It was the first game after Christmas, and they would follow it up with a 7-0 win over Udinese a week later before beating Torino 6-0 away the following week. Fiorentina would end the season as Serie A’s top scorers with 95 goals scored. This team included the great Kurt Hamrin who grabbed 26 league goals that season while Miguel Montuori wasn’t too far behind, ending with a total of 22 goals.

In 49 games played in Serie A between the clubs in Florence, Genoa have only ever managed three wins, the first two date back to the 1930’s. For two seasons in a row Genoa came away with a 2-1 win, the second of those came in Fiorentina’s relegation season of 1937/38. After that Genoa would need to wait almost 40 years for their next and only other win in Florence.

Another 2-1 score-line in 1976/77, with Roberto Pruzzo getting one of the Genoa goals, He had been with the club since the age of sixteen, and would spend five seasons with them as a senior player before moving to Roma. Here he would have a very successful ten year spell, winning a Scudetto and four Coppa Italia. He was top scorer in Serie A for 3 of those seasons and his record of 106 league goals with the club was only bettered by Francesco Totti in 2004/05.

Pruzzo would finish his career at Fiorentina, where he only played one season, making just 13 league appearances for the club without scoring. His final game for the club and in his career came in an end of season play-off against his old club Roma. He scored the only goal of the game in Perugia which gave Fiorentina a place in the following seasons UEFA Cup.

To finish up we’ll take a look at more recent games, but not those 0-0 draws we spoke about at the start. In the 2012/13 season Fiorentina recorded a 3-2 win over Genoa in March. Alberto Aquilani and Juan Cuadrado had put the Viola ahead twice only for Genoa to equalize each time. The winning goal came from Mattia Cassani, an own goal, as Cassani had gone on loan from Fiorentina to Genoa in January of that season.

The following season, 2013/14, was another high scoring game, a 3-3 draw. The opening goal came from Alberto Gilardino from the penalty spot, Gila was now wearing the Genoa colours. Alberto Aquilani equalized twice for Fiorentina and then completed his hat-trick to put the home side ahead. Genoa’s goal to make it 3-3 was scored by Sebastien De Maio, a player who would be in the Fiorentina side for another 3-3 draw.

In 2016/17 the sides met in January, Paulo Sousa’s last season in charge of Fiorentina. Josip Iličić put Fiorentina ahead when his cross into the box was missed by everybody. Five minutes after the break and Federico Chiesa made it 2-0 in his first season playing with the senior team. Just two minutes later and a future Viola player, Giovanni Simeone pulled one back for Genoa, and less than two minutes after that the away side were level.

Fiorentina took the lead again five minutes later, Nikola Kalinić scoring from a pass by Federco Bernardeschi who was only on the pitch two minutes, having replaced Milan Badelj. Bernardeschi would also play a part in the final goal of the game. With just four minutes left to play, he was judged to have blocked the ball on the line with his arm, and was shown the red card by referee Daniele Orsato. Up stepped Giovanni Simeone, and although Marco Sportiello went the right way, he couldn’t keep out Simeone’s second goal and Genoa’s third.

Since then all we’ve had are 0-0 draws, and with Genoa not having a win in Florence in over 40 years, Fiorentina will be hoping to get get back to winning ways. Taking those all important three points against a side who for now are our relegation rivals is a must when the sides face off for their 50^th Serie A clash in Florence.