ACF Fiorentina returned to Serie A, following a two-year absence after the bankruptcy of the previous incarnation of the club, which Spanish retired footballer who played as a forward, were among the highly rated players to sign up for Fiorentina, either permanently or on loan?
2004–05 ACF Fiorentina season ACF Fiorentina returned to Serie A, following a two-year absence after the bankruptcy of the previous incarnation of the club. Fiorentina returned only due to the expansion in terms of the number of top-league teams, and therefore had to significantly strengthen the squad in pre-season. Dario Dainelli, Giorgio Chiellini, Hidetoshi Nakata, Fabrizio Miccoli, Martin Jørgensen, goalkeeper Cristiano Lupatelli, Enzo Maresca, Tomáš Ujfaluši and Javier Portillo were among the highly rated players to sign up for Fiorentina, either permanently or on loan. With this squad, Fiorentina was expected to challenge for a place on the top half of the table, but slipped into the relegation battle that affected more than half of the Serie A clubs during the dramatic season. In the end, a strong finish to the season under incoming coach Dino Zoff saved "La Viola" from relegation, with an emotional 3–0 victory against Brescia confirming their survival.
Andrea Fortunato Andrea Fortunato (26 July 1971 – 25 April 1995) was an Italian football player who played as a left-back. Fortunato was one of Italy’s most promising prospects in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and he enjoyed a successful yet very short spell in Italian football, before contracting leukemia; he died in April 1995. Throughout his club career, he played for Como, Pisa, Genoa, and Juventus, while at international level he represented the Italian national team on one occasion, in 1993.