“Devi sapere che, noi non ti lasceremo mai da sola…”
These are the words of an often-sung chant on Fiorentina’s Curva Fiesole, meaning “you must understand that, we will never leave you on your own.” Those supporters had made good on those promises made during countless Serie A games that had gone before, and plans to take things one step further were made for before the Viola’s second home match of the season versus Udinese.
No less than 700 fans turned up to the Hotel AC Firenze that day, situated next to the Porta al Prato station where the team had been staying all together the night before. Anyone who didn’t understand Italian would’ve thought that the lead Ultras speaking to team Captain German Pezzella and other members of the squad gathered behind him were angry with them, but in fact it was quite the opposite.
“You need to understand something,” shouted the intense and passionate man allowed to stand at the front next to Pezzella and Coach Stefano Pioli. “Strength to this squad who has such balls, the youngest squad in the league.” He then applauded the way they had dealt with the death of their teammate Davide Astori, letting them know they were fully backed by the supporters.
The banner that was lifted alongside flags and flares by the fans standing further back echoed the words of the song, and the assembled group proceeded to accompany the team to the stadium. Horns beeped and flares lit the sky purple as the spectacle of 700 scooters alongside the team bus was something to behold, and the young squad have must have been affected by a tangible backing from supporters who were true to their word.
Such a physical manifestation of love for a team away from the stadium on matchday propped up a squad who didn’t need any extra encouragement to demonstrate togetherness. Following the shared experience of the sudden death of a team-mate, the Viola have shown genuine team spirit above and beyond what anyone could’ve expected, and started the new campaign as they meant to go on.
A 6-1 demolition of Chievo was a statement of intent, and with the fans’ chants ringing in their ears, they set about their second match of the campaign versus Udinese. Together they battled and struggled against a resolute side that was determined to avoid the same fate as the previous week’s visitors, and finally the breakthrough came in the 73rd minute.
As Marco Benassi broke the deadlock, Coach Stefano Pioli ran from the dugout all the way to the corner flag to celebrate with him, the whole group then jumping into the delirious supporters next to them on the sidelines.
“Our fans supported us and helped us,” admitted Pioli after the match. “When we return we will wait for a difficult fixture, [versus Napoli] and we will lose many players who will go in the national team. I hope that they will play and come back well, then we will work to put a very strong opponent in trouble.”
Such unity across the board will be the Viola’s biggest strength as the season progresses, the players, Coach and fans all determined to see this ambitious project with young players come to its conclusion. Win, lose, or draw, Fiorentina fans will never leave this team’s sidealtogether and know the current squad have experienced this first hand thanks to the incredible show of passion before the match with Udinese.
