Fiorentina Crashes Out of Champions League with Head Held High

Fiorentina exceeded all expectations as they cruised their way through the group stages facing Lyon, Liverpool and Debreceni. Coming into the first knock out round where they were drawn alongside Bayern Munich, Cesare Prandelli’s men were—despite their previous impressive performances—once again labeled underdogs.

The first fixture with the Bavarians couldn’t have come at a worse time considering the poor form the Viola were showcasing, having collected only a single point from their five latest league outings. On top of that they were dealing with both injuries and Adrian Mutu’s suspension due to a failed drug test.

Arjen Robben broke the deadlock from the penalty spot at the Allianz Arena after Franck Ribery had fallen under pressure from Per Kroldrup right before the interval. The Dane made amends five minutes into the second half as he slotted home from five yards following a Marco Marchionni corner kick—getting Viola back into the game.

Controversy struck on 72 minutes as Massimo Gobbi was flashed a straight red card after his arm accidentally caught Robben in the chest.

Things were to get worse in the dying minutes of the game as referee Tom Henning Ovrebro allowed Miroslav Klose to make it 2-1 despite standing close to six yards offside—and all but crushing the Viola’s dream of making club history by progressing into the quarter finals of the tournament.

Fiorentina was furious with the refereeing but instead of moaning about it despite clearly deserving better after their inspiring performance, both coach and players quickly accepted the defeat. Instead, the club vowed to turn their anger and frustration into focus and determination in the return leg.

Ahead of the decisive return fixture, Alberto Gilardino encouraged the Viola-supporters to unleash all hell at the Artemio Franchi. The home supporters heeded their top scorer’s advice as a deafening whistle storm followed every time a Bayern player touched the ball.

Prandelli lined up with the same 4-2-3-1 formation from the first leg at the Allianz Arena with Cristiano Zanetti replacing Mario Balotti and Felipe instead of the suspended Gobbi.

Just as in the first fixture, Bayern controlled the game early on with Fiorentina concentrating mostly on closing down the spaces.

Both teams were struggling due to the strong winds and were having troubles entering the final third. But at 27 minutes, Juan Manuel Vargas opened the scoring after goalkeeper Hans-Jörg Butt spilled the ball directly into the path of the Peruvian.

Just as Bayern were hitting their stride, Marchionni’s cross found Alberto Gilardino who passed the ball onto Stevan Jovetic’s path with a stunning backheel, allowing the young Montenegrin to slot the ball into the net from close range, making it 2-0.

Having fallen two goals behind the Bavarians finally reacted. On the hour mark, Ribery waltzed his way past three Viola players and passed the ball to Mark van Bommel who fired off a low drive just inside Sebastian Frey’s right post.

Four minutes later Jovetic scored his second goal of the evening after catching the Bayern defense off guard, making the scoreboard read 3-1.

However, 72 seconds later, a frustrated Robben took matters into his own hands as the Dutchman’s impressively accurate long range effort curled into the upper-left corner of the net, making it 3-2, thus turning the score into the favor of the visiting side.

Fiorentina reacted well after Robben’s goal, however, Louis van Gaal’s men played deep in order to avoid making any more defensive errors. With the game ending 4-4 on aggregate, the Bavarians advanced to the quarterfinals with the smallest of margins, going through on the rule of away goals.

It was a pulsating night at the Artemio Franchi that will long in the memory of the Fiorentina faithful. Although the 3-2 victory wasn’t enough to book a place in the quarterfinals, the Viola players can leave the competition with their heads held high after the incredible fight they put up over the course of the two-legged encounter.