This is the second part of my Championship Manager Italia mini-series. I’ve taken charge of Fiorentina in the 1993/1994 season, and the aim is to lead them back into Serie A at the first time of asking. A strong run in either the Coppa Italia or the Anglo-Italian Cup would also be quite nice.

However, difficult times could be just around the corner. Mario Cecchi Gori has stepped down as club president due to ill health, with his son Vittorio taking over the reins. Let’s hope that the growing uncertainty around the club’s financial future doesn’t affect us on the pitch.

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OCTOBER 1993

Just to recap, Fiorentina have started the season like a house on fire, winning five league matches on the trot. We’re also still going strong in the Coppa Italia, which is where we kick off this chapter.

FIORENTINA 2-0 REGGIANA (Coppa Italia, Round 3 – Leg 1)

Gabriel Batistuta returned to the Viola line-up for this cup match, having sat out the battle against Palermo because of a downturn in form. There would be no Batigols here either, as Gabriel’s audacious chip over the Reggiana goalkeeper was disallowed for a foul. Clinical strikes from Stefan Effenberg and right-back Fabio Di Sole were allowed to stand, and the Granata couldn’t find a way to breach Francesco Toldo‘s goal after the interval.

A quick glance at the Serie A table showed me that Reggiana were second-from-bottom, having taken just three points from five matches since promotion. This result wasn’t such a shock in that case, though it did make Fiorentina’s relegation last season look even more preposterous.

FIORENTINA 2-0 VERONA (Serie B, Match 6)

Six league wins in a row. We quickly set about roughing Verona up, with Pasquele Bruno and Giacomo Banchelli each being booked within the first four minutes – the latter for breaking visiting left-back Walter Bianchi’s arm. Anselmo Robbiati then broke their resolve with an early opening goal, which Effenberg added to right at the death. Despite having a young Filippo Inzaghi up front, Verona hadn’t even come remotely to equalising before then.

PISA 0-2 FIORENTINA (Anglo-Italian Cup, Group C, Match 2)

I know this match was played at the Arena Garibaldi, but another win there was just taking the biscuit! Nick Barmby won us a penalty in the 19th minute, and Daniele Beltrammi converted it to give us the advantage. Though Pisa did put up a bit of a fight, they crumbled under the weight of a second Viola goal – from Ray Wilkins – at the stroke of full-time.

After safely winning Group C, we progressed to Round 1… and qualified for Round 3, which wasn’t confusing at all. We were now through to another group phase, consisting of two groups of eight teams apiece.

We were in Group A – the same group as Monza, Fidelis Andria and Venezia… but we wouldn’t play any of them. Instead, we could now look forward to matches against Portsmouth, Sunderland, Swindon and Tranmere – the four English teams in the pool.

Once each team had played all their foreign group rivals, the top teams from each country in each group would progress to the Semi Finals. The Italian qualifiers would play each other over two legs, and the English qualifiers would do likewise. Yeah, I can see why this tournament didn’t really catch on…

COSENZA 0-0 FIORENTINA (Serie B, Match 7)

It finally happened. By it, I mean we failed to score, despite creating seven chances to Cosenza’s zero. The hosts were defensively outstanding and richly deserved a draw. We went home with just a point, along with a yellow card in Robbiati’s name for kicking the ball away in disgust. I know how you feel, Anselmo.

That appalling, disgusting, absolutely TERRIBLE result meant our lead at the top of Serie B was cut from four points to a mere three. Fidelis Andria and Pisa won their matches to narrow the gap and put us under some pressure.

A few days later, our attacking options were significantly weakened when Beltrammi broke his leg. That meant he was out for 38 weeks – in other words, we wouldn’t see him again this season. I was so shocked that I accidentally clicked off the message before I had the time to take a screenshot. In other news, this happened…

Excuse me? Italy have some of the best midfielders in the world at their disposal. What on Earth compelled Arrigo Sacchi to call up a fringe player from Serie B? Fair play to Massimo Orlando, of course, but the midfielder hadn’t exactly pulled up many trees during his eight appearances for us thus far.

Toldo and defenders Fabio Di Sole and Alberto Malusci all received call-ups to Italy’s Under-21s side. At least that made a bit more sense.

FIORENTINA 2-0 VENEZIA (Serie B, Match 8)

Venezia’s manager was none other than Giampiero Ventura, who in an alternate universe 25 years later said that my Fiorentina team were favourites to be relegated! We certainly weren’t anything like relegation candidates if this return to winning ways suggested anything.

This was a surprisingly close affair until the 19th minute, when two quick bookings saw Venezia lose their midfielder Marco Pecoraro Scanio to a red card. Despite that, the Arancioneroverdi shut us out until just before half-time, when captain Pietro Mariani unfortunately deflected a shot into his own goal. Ventura’s men never recovered, and when they shipped a second goal to Francesco Baiano after the break, the game was up.

Fiorentina had now kept eight consecutive clean sheets from the start of the league season. Sound familiar?

Before our next match, defender Mario Faccenda – one of our oldest players at 33 – requested a transfer over a lack of first-team football. To be fair, he’d only played in six matches this season, and he’d been outshone by other players. In addition, he had a lot of average attributes, so I was happy to let him leave as soon as the transfer window re-opened.

REGGIANA 1-2 FIORENTINA – Fiorentina win 4-1 on aggregate (Coppa Italia, Round 3 – Leg 2)

Our English stars were on target in the first half, with a Wilkins header and a Barmby header further strengthening a comfortable aggregate lead. From then on, we were always going to make it through to the Quarter Finals.

While our cup run continued, though, Toldo’s streak of clean sheets was eventually ended by Reggiana left-back Stefano Torrisi. Funnily enough, Torrisi was the scorer of the only other goal Toldo had conceded this term – in a pre-season friendly.

There would now be a lengthy break before the Coppa Italia resumed in the new year. Awaiting us in the last eight would be none other than Sampdoria – David Platt, Ruud Gullit, et al. Now that would be a genuine test of our qualities.

PESCARA 0-1 FIORENTINA (Serie B, Match 9)

Not even Pescara’s killer dolphins could stop our killer Yorkshireman, as Barmby found the net again only a few minutes into proceedings at the Adriatico. Nicky was having a much better time than one of the Delfini’s strikers, as Edi Bivi received a very early red card for… kicking the ball away.

Despite another dominant performance, we would not add another goal to our tally. Two additional efforts that beat goalkeeper Marco Savorani were disallowed, and so we only had to make do with a 1-0 victory. Even so, that extended our lead to four points, as nearest rivals Pisa and Fidelis Andria had drawn 2-2 with each other.

Another month was over, and we claimed a second clean sweep of Serie B awards. This time around, it was defender Gianluca Luppi and striker Banchelli who claimed the Player and Young Player accolades respectively.

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NOVEMBER 1993

We went into our 10th match of the league season having taken 17 points from a potential 18. Awaiting us next at the Mario Rigamonti were Brescia, who were just outside the promotion places. What could possibly go wrong?

BRESCIA 3-2 FIORENTINA (Serie B, Match 10)

Be honest. You never expected that scoreline to pop up, did you? I certainly wasn’t at half-time, as an in-form Barmby and a resurgent Batistuta had fired us into a 2-0 lead.

Then Brescia roared into life, scoring from all three of their chances in the first half. Firstly, Dorin Mateut – the Romanian midfield ace who wasn’t Gheorghe Hagi – ruined our impeccable defensive record with a cool finish. Then his 19-year-old colleague Marco Piovanelli proceeded to pour petrol all over it with an equaliser, before igniting it with a match-winning chip over Toldo.

Effenberg tried to snatch a point for Fiorentina in stoppage time, but an atypically woeful miss from the German playmaker did for us. We had lost our first match of the season. Fortunately, Fidelis Andria and Pisa could not take full advantage, only drawing their matches to narrow the gap to three points.

FIORENTINA 7-0 PORTSMOUTH (Anglo-Italian Cup, Round 3 – Group A, Match 1)

Now that’s what I call a return to form. Baiano scored twice from the penalty spot against a very clumsy Portsmouth side. He then completed his hat-trick right at the end of a seven-goal shellacking for Jim Smith’s men.

Prior to that, Barmby and Wilkins had each scored against their compatriots, and attacking midfielder Massimo Orlando netted his first two goals of the season. We quite simply couldn’t have wished for a better start to the latest phase of our Anglo-Italian Cup adventure.

The new Fiorentina president – whose father sadly passed away earlier in the month – called that victory “a good result”. Quite the understatement, there, Signor Cecchi Gori.

Next up was a home game against Acireale, whose manager Giuseppe Papadopulo was the only Serie B coach on a lower salary than me. The division’s most renumerated bosses were Attilio Perotti and Angelo Orazi, though they each had the dubious benefit of coaching TWO clubs at the same time. Fidelis Andria vs Cosenza and Ancona vs Ascoli could be interesting matches to watch…

FIORENTINA 1-0 ACIREALE (Serie B, Match 11)

Surprisingly, Acireale turned out to be rather better than Portsmouth’s lower-league misfits. The mid-tablers could even have snatched the lead against the run of play early in the second half, but Fabio Lucidi missed a great chance. He was swiftly punished by a rather more clinical strike from Fiorentina right-back Daniele Carnasciali, who gave us a ninth win from 11 league games.

After the match, Acireale midfielder Walter Mazzarri was seen storming out of the away dressing room in disgust. Someone probably asked him what he thought about the Granata’s signing of future Chelsea goalkeeper Marco Ambrosio from Pisa. (If you haven’t read “Shades of Deep Purple” yet, then you are really missing out.)

Yes, the transfer window had indeed re-opened – for one week only. Nothing happened with regards to ins and outs at Fiorentina, which meant Faccenda would be staying put.

MODENA 0-1 FIORENTINA (Serie B, Match 12)

We might have comfortably beaten Modena in the Coppa Italia earlier this season, but this was more of a struggle. The hosts did everything they could to rough our attackers up. Eugenio Briosche was booked early in the second half for injuring Batistuta, whose replacement Baiano later saw left-back Dario Rossi’s elbow in full view, leading to the latter’s dismissal. In between those fouls, though, Effenberg charged through to earn us another narrow victory.

SUNDERLAND 0-4 FIORENTINA (Anglo-Italian Cup, Round 3 – Group A, Match 2)

Poor old Sunderland. In a one-sided contest at Roker Park, Terry Butcher’s men got… well, butchered.

When Antonio Dell Oglio scored in just the second minute, I thought this would be another rout… and so it proved. Baiano continued the scoring with a 65th minute, with Barmby and substitute Daniele Giraldi later getting in on the act. However, things didn’t go so well for our other sub, as Banchelli was banned from our next game following a red card.

FIORENTINA 2-0 VICENZA (Serie B, Match 13)

It finished 11-0 on chances here, but we only had a couple of goals to show for our efforts. The first was an early Batistuta penalty which had been won by Barmby, who joined him on the scoresheet after the break. We now had 23 points out of a possible 26, and we were six points clear of 2nd-placed Fidelis Andria.

BARI 0-1 FIORENTINA (Serie B, Match 14)

Actually… make that 25 points out of 28. Our winning streak continued despite Luppi coming off after just five minutes, following a poor tackle from Bari striker Sandro Tovalieri. The Galletti’s defence – spearheaded by future Sheffield Wednesday star Klas Ingesson – then withstood several Viola attacks before another member of our backline finally broke through. Stefano Pioli was the unlikely goalscoring hero.

Holding midfielder Giuseppe Iachini was later named Serie B’s Player of the Month for November, with new Viola hero Barmby winning the Young Player accolade. I missed out on Manager of the Month, as that went to Ventura of Venezia instead.

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DECEMBER 1993

It may be hard to believe now, but Swindon were once in the Premiership. You can thank Glenn Hoddle, who was right at the start of a promising managerial career that fell apart once his views on reincarnation came to light. Hoddle went to Chelsea after taking Swindon up, and the Robins have never really settled in the top flight without him. With that in mind, I was expecting us to pile on the pain when they visited Florence for the Anglo-Italian Cup.

FIORENTINA 3-1 SWINDON (Anglo-Italian Cup, Round 3 – Group A, Match 3)

Was there ever any doubt? Banchelli and Orlando put us in control early on before Malusci got in on the act, because why not? Unfortunately, Baiano gashed his leg in a truly [EXPLETIVE] challenge from Swindon’s Number 2, who was sent off. The Robins did fly home with one consolation goal, thanks to their Number 8 [belch].

That was victory Number 3 for Fiorentina in the confusingly-named Round 3 of this competition, moving us on to 6 points. Victory in group match Number 4 at Tranmere would therefore secure us a place in the last 4. Before that, we looked for a lucky 13th Serie B win…

FIORENTINA 5-0 CESENA (Serie B, Match 15)

I’d barely clicked my left mouse button to start the match when the screen read, “Goal for Fiorentina!” Batistuta had opened the scoring in the very first minute, and he followed that up with a couple more superb strikes in the 15th and 27th. Baiano also got in on the act, making it 4-0 at half-time.

Gabriel got a well-earned rest for the second half, but Francesco completed his brace after the restart to complete Cesena’s misery. No wonder their tough-tackling midfielder David Batty was feeling very glum at full-time. Try not to worry about that, Dave. Things will get better for you soon, I’m sure.

I swear Vittorio Tosto‘s bones are made of glass. That’s not the first lengthy injury the versatile teenage defender has suffered this season. Frankly, it’s not helping his chances of breaking into the team.

TRANMERE 0-3 FIORENTINA (Anglo-Italian Cup, Round 3 – Group A, Match 4)

I decided to rest most of our star players from this final group match, which meant reserve goalkeeper Cristiano Scalabrelli made his first appearance this season. He had very little to do against Tranmere, who never recovered from conceding to Banchelli early in the first half. Banchelli would later score again from the penalty spot after Barmby had found the net.

We’d comfortably qualified for the Semi Finals, winning our group with four straight wins and a goal difference of +16. A two-legged Semi against Vicenza awaited us later in the year, with the winners set to face either Swindon or Middlesbrough in the Final.

The latest Italy squads were announced after that match. Luppi and Baiano both joined Orlando in being called up to the senior set-up, which meant we had greater representation in that than Serie A leaders Milan, amongst other giants. Juventus had five players in the side, because obviously. They’re Juventus, for crying out loud.

Toldo and Malusci kept their places in the Under-21s squad alongside Torino defender – and future Fiorentina signing – Andrea Sottil. Viola fans of today might remember Andrea better as the father of current attacking prospect Riccardo Sottil, who made a few first-team appearances in my FM19 career. He wasn’t very good.

PISA 0-1 FIORENTINA (Serie B, Match 16)

The Leaning Tower of Pisa didn’t quite come down on Batistuta, but he was flattened by Fabrizio Baldini in the opening minutes. Looking like a Garibaldi biscuit that somebody had sat on, the Argentine was swiftly replaced with Barmby. The English teenager certainly looked in better Nick when he fired home a 45th-minute winner, which sent us into the new year with an EIGHT-point Serie B lead.

We dominated the Serie B awards again in December. It was a double for our strikers, as Baiano claimed the Senior Player of the Month accolade, while Banchelli made off with the Young Player prize. Poor old Batistuta and poor young Barmby were feeling left out, though a still-injured Beltrammi consoled himself with a new two-year contract.

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JANUARY 1994

And so we entered 1994 – the year in which the United States would stage its first World Cup (it will host another in 2026, in spite of a certain you-know-who). Italy would be there, because obviously, but England wouldn’t. Did I not like that.

What I would like, though, would be a continuation of our winning run. Since the Brescia defeat, we’d taken 10 consecutive victories, with the potential to extend it to a starting line-up’s worth when we visited Ascoli.

ASCOLI 0-1 FIORENTINA (Serie B, Match 17)

Ascoli perhaps had the better of the first 30 minutes, but their inability to create any chances would eventually be punished. Baiano’s 13th goal in all competitions this season came just before half-time, and it would be the only one of this match. Toldo enjoyed a 16th clean sheet in 17 league matches and was perhaps still wondering how he’d conceded thrice to Brescia back in November.

FIORENTINA 0-0 FIDELIS ANDRIA (Serie B, Match 18)

Fidelis Andria weren’t in 2nd place for nothing. Goalkeeper Luca Mondini made a couple of fantastic saves in the opening stages. His clean sheet was threatened when defender Matteo Rossi was sent off for a tackle on Batistuta that hurt the Argentine’s calf. Despite that, the remaining 10 men somehow kept their composure under growing pressure.

No matter what we tried, we weren’t finding a way past Mondini. Fidelis Andria became the first team to take a point off us at the Stadio Communale this season, and they could even have taken two had a late counter-attack produced the goods. Even so, our lead remained at a comfortable eight points.

FIORENTINA 0-0 ANCONA (Serie B, Match 19)

Hmm. We’re not having it all our own way anymore, it seems.

Batistuta was not fit enough to start this match againsst lowly Ancona, while injury kept Wilkins out altogether. Another Viola player was out of contention in the early stage, as Pioli was badly hurt after being pushed by visiting striker Massimo Agostini, who was booked.

That was about as much aggression as the Dorici’s attackers showed in what proved to be a dour match. At the other end, the fact that Di Sole and Luppi had our best chances of the second half demonstrated just how poorly we were playing. Another home point was dropped, but Fidelis Andria again couldn’t take advantage, only managing a 1-1 draw with Verona.

FIORENTINA 1-0 SAMPDORIA (Coppa Italia, Quarter Final – Leg 1)

We might not have been at our very best, but we still managed to grind out a fantastic result against one of Serie A’s better teams. It could have been very different had Toldo not saved a first-half penalty from Samp striker Johnny Bosman. The Dutchman was not to be confused with Jean-Marc Bosman, who would have the Bosman rule named after him after a European court ruling in 1995.

Batistuta missed a great chance to put us ahead after about an hour, but his miss wouldn’t matter too much. When Di Sole chipped goalkeeper Gianluca Pagliuca moments later, we finally had ourselves the lead. We were lucky to still have it at the break, as Sampdoria’s captain Roberto Mancini had a late equaliser controversially disallowed. It was at that moment that Mancini decided he would henceforth criticise me in the press at any given opportunity.

RAVENNA 0-1 FIORENTINA (Serie B, Match 20)

Another game, another unlikely scorer. This time, it was Bruno who got us past a dogged Ravenna with a goal in the early stages of the first half. Our strikers appeared to be taking the month off; indeed, Barmby was sent off for a clumsy tackle on Ravenna centre-half Renato Marchesi. Substitute Banchelli was fortunate not to join him in the early bath, escaping with only a yellow card after headbutting left-back Ivano Cardarelli.

Though we held on to retain an eight-point lead at the top of the standings (and go a whopping 13 clear of 5th-placed Verona), our attack would be significantly weakened for the next few games. Barmby received a three-match suspension, and Banchelli had to serve a two-game ban.

Banchelli remained out for the season (it’s 1994; broken legs still take a very long time to heal), so we now had only Batistuta and Baiano who could play up front. For the next couple of fixtures, I would have to abandon the 4-4-2 diamond and go with this 4-1-4-1 formation.

FIORENTINA 0-0 VICENZA (Anglo-Italian Cup, Semi Final – Leg 1)

Well, this was… something. For the first time since I can remember, Fiorentina failed to register a single shot on target! Vicenza themselves only managed one, which they missed spectacularly. Frankly, I’ve seen more entertainment in a John Major speech outside Number 10.

FIORENTINA 2-1 MONZA (Serie B, Match 21)

Yeah… the 4-1-4-1 just wasn’t working. Edoardo Artistico scored a beautiful first-half goal for Monza midway through the first half, thus ending Toldo’s run of 10 consecutive league clean sheets. In contrast, our football was about as attractive as a five-year-old’s crayon drawing on an old newspaper.

Anyway, we switched back to the 4-4-2 diamond after the break, and it immediately worked wonders. Batistuta got us back level after 59 minutes, and then Orlando – now playing in attacking midfield rather than on the left wing – rounded keeper Maurizio Monguzzi for the winner.

Something weird happened at the end of January. Serie B’s Player of the Month did not go to a Fiorentina man, but to Acireale winger Donato Cancelli. We still took home a couple of awards, as Banchelli retained the Young Player prize, and I was named Manager of the Month for a third time.

So, here’s how things stand going into the final chapter of this story…

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There are many questions that will be answered next time. Can anybody stop Fiorentina from storming to promotion? Will we win the Anglo-Italian Cup? Could we lift the Coppa Italia as well? Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego?