Fiorentina's centenary celebrations were spoiled by a 3-0 home defeat to Frosinone on Saturday, leaving the club with their worst-ever start to a Serie A season after two consecutive losses without scoring.
A Four-Day Celebration Ends in Disappointment
The club's 100th birthday party had been running for four days, beginning with a fan procession through Florence's historic centre on Wednesday night and extending to the home game against Frosinone. Founded on 29 August 1926, supporters traditionally celebrate on the 26th due to a decades-old discrepancy in reporting the date.
Thousands gathered beneath the marble façade of the Basilica of Santa Maria Novella on 25 August, building to a firework show beside the river Arno at midnight. Club president Giuseppe Commisso gave a speech, and former player Borja Valero was among the crowd. Historic monuments across the city were lit in purple, the colour Fiorentina have worn since 1929 after their first three years in half red and half white shirts. A limited-edition replica of those original tops, priced at €180, sold out in under two hours.
Preparations and High Hopes
Before kick-off, the club hosted former players and coaches including Gabriel Batistuta, Rui Costa, Adrien Mutu and Cesare Prandelli for lunch at Viola Park. Renovations to the Stadio Artemio Franchi were not completed in time, leaving the Curva Fiesole closed, but fans staged a choreography at the opposite end recreating the original club badge.
Despite an opening 4-0 defeat by Roma, supporters had reasons for optimism. The club spent over €120m on new talent, including Christ Inao Oulaï, Víctor Valdepeñas, Arthur Atta and Mateo Pellegrino. Loan signings included Franco Mastantuono from Real Madrid, Radu Dragusin from Tottenham and Álex Jiménez from Bournemouth. New manager Fabio Grosso would need time to blend the group.
Match Highlights and Turning Points
Fiorentina started well, with Mastantuono and Albert Gudmundsson getting behind the defence. But Frosinone's Antonio Raimondo opened the scoring in the 26th minute after a counter-attack. Fiorentina hit the post twice through Mastantuono and Valdepeñas, but fell further behind in the 38th minute when Gabriele Bracaglia headed home from a corner. Raimondo made it 3-0 in the 68th minute with a chest-down and outside-of-the-boot finish.
Frosinone narrowly avoided relegation to Italy's third tier in 2025, when a points deduction for Brescia bumped them up the Serie B standings. La Gazzetta dello Sport predicted them to struggle, but manager Massimiliano Alvini used the paper as motivation, leading an unexpected promotion run.
Commisso's Promise and Fans' Reaction
Fiorentina have lost their first two games by a combined seven goals, the first time they have begun a top-flight campaign with back-to-back shutout defeats. Giuseppe Commisso, who took over after his father Rocco's death in January, spoke from the pitch during a post-game show. "Our family's total financial commitment to Fiorentina is €1.1bn," he said. "This summer Fiorentina made the largest single transfer window investment in new players in the history of the club."
Many fans stayed to applaud the legends, but the current team were drowned in whistles. "Today, on Fiorentina's 100th anniversary, I am not declaring that we have arrived, I am declaring that we have begun again," said Commisso. "From this fresh start, Fiorentina's Renaissance will commence."
