The Gentleman Ultra is back with a new Series. This time it’s the nostalgic Serie A teams of Calcio. Giancarlo Rinaldi takes us back to Tuscany with his pick for Fiorentina.
“Imagine the scene at your local gym when these guys rocked up in their trainers to play. All of them at the peak of their powers, what a joy it would be to watch them waltz around you. Even with their goalie outfield, they would still give you a hammering.
Fiorentina have been blessed with some great individuals despite winning very few trophies. This side is, for me, a mix of nostalgia, adoration and entertainment. If they were playing on the wooden floors of your old high school, everyone would be pressing their noses to the glass to get a glimpse.”
Francesco TOLDO
His greatest game was arguably in the blue of Italy rather than in his purple club kit when he single-handedly fended off a string of penalty kicks from the Netherlands at their home Euros in 2000. That game is best remembered for Francesco Totti’s impudent Panenka penalty, but his namesake was no less heroic between the posts foiling two spot-kicks during the match and three in the shootout in a game his country played the majority of with 10 men.
Surplus to requirements at Milan, the big man from Padua was a hit from the off in Florence helping them win promotion from Serie B and, later, two Italian Cups and a domestic Supercup over the best part of decade. Despite his size – standing about 6ft 5in – he was remarkably agile which has become something of a hallmark of modern goalkeepers. He also had an unflappable temperament which allowed him to keep his cool while others were losing theirs. It was only the club’s financial collapse that saw him leave and hoover up a string of honours with Inter in another glorious spell.
Daniel PASSARELLA
Somebody would have to do a lot of defensive duties in this team and who better than one of the greatest centre backs of all time?
They love an Argentinian in the Tuscan capital and perhaps only one is more revered than the tough-tackling team leader from Chacabuco. Having helped steer his country to the World Cup in 1978, he was snapped up four years later as Serie A – with a ban on foreign imports lifted in 1980 – started to bring in the best players from around the planet. Passarella fitted that bill perfectly with his reading of the game, ferocious competitive spirit and remarkable eye for goal.
He was with the Viola for four seasons in total where he marshalled the defence expertly and was also a regular threat at the other end of the pitch. Alongside his penalties and scorching free-kicks, he was dangerous in the air despite being of only average height. Although that wouldn’t be so useful on the five-a-side pitch, there is little doubt his dead-ball ability, vision and rugged tackling would help him to mop up any danger and fire his team forward without a moment’s hesitation.
Giancarlo ANTOGNONI
Giancarlo Antognoni, one of the great number 10s of the Italian game
Pulling the strings would be one of the great number 10s of the Italian game, one of the most elegant and stylish playmakers ever to grace Serie A. In an era before mass televising of football, he did not enjoy the global reputation his skills deserved but if any man was a symbol of Florence, it was the one they said could play while looking at the stars.
Signed as a teenager, he stayed 15 years on the banks of the River Arno despite repeated overtures from other clubs. It meant that he never won the trophies his qualities merited – although he was a key member of Italy’s 1982 World Cup win – but he always said that he gained more by staying put than any silverware could provide.
Still idolised to this day, he finished his career in Lausanne but gave by far the best of himself in Tuscany – once even risking his life in a horrific clash with visiting Genoa goalkeeper Silvano Martina. His loyalty – and quality – won the hearts of the Curva Fiesole and they remain besotted by the man they call the Unico 10 – the only number 10.
Roberto BAGGIO
If Antognoni never moved on, the same could not be said for another number 10 a few years later. Crippled by a horrendous knee injury after agreeing a deal to move to Fiorentina from Vicenza, the Viola honoured the transfer and stood by him until he was back to fitness. It proved to be more than worthwhile for one of the greatest talents ever to grace the world of Calcio. He burst onto the scene in the late 1980s with a string of audacious goals – perhaps the most famous a dribble-the-team strike against Diego Maradona’s Napoli.
It catapulted him into the national team where he caught the eyes of the world at Italia 90 and he also almost single-handedly dragged his club side to victory in the UEFA Cup on the eve of the tournament – only to be denied by bitter enemies Juventus. His transfer deal to the Turin giants that summer – one which he maintains he never wanted – prompted rioting in the streets and on his return to Florence, he famously did not take a penalty awarded to the Bianconeri. It ensured he is still thought of with affection, but also a heavy dose of wondering what might have been.
Gabriel BATISTUTA
Be honest, you would hand over the winners’ money in advance if you saw Batigol lining up against you. A force of nature with power, skill and a thunderous shot – who would want to get in the way of one of his strikes in the enclosed environs of a five-a-side pitch?
Fiorentina signed him after an impressive Copa America in 1991 along with countryman Diego Latorre who they also had possibly even higher hopes for. It would be the hitman from Reconquista who would win hearts and minds for the best part of a decade.
He stayed with the club when relegated to Serie B and helped them become a major force in Italy and beyond. It only brought him the Coppa Italia and Supercoppa with the Viola but he cemented his place in legend and only left as financial issues struck.
His goal with Roma against Fiorentina which helped them win the Scudetto was accompanied by tears streaming down his face. To see him in his pomp was a terrifying sight – he battered down defences before unleashing a thumping shot that few goalkeepers would dare to try to intercept. He concluded his Serie A career with Inter but by then he was a shadow of his old self.