Editing ACF Fiorentina (section)

===Della Valle era: from fourth tier to Europe (2000s and 2010s)===
The club was promptly re-established in August 2002 as '''Associazione Calcio Fiorentina e Florentia Viola''' with shoe and leather entrepreneur Diego Della Valle as new owner and the club was admitted into [[Serie C2]], the fourth tier of Italian football. The only player to remain at the club in its new incarnation was [[Angelo Di Livio]], whose commitment to the club's cause further endeared him to the fans. Helped by Di Livio and 30-goal striker [[Christian Riganò]], the club won its Serie C2 group with considerable ease, which would normally have led to a promotion to [[Serie C1]]. Due to the bizarre ''[[Calcio Catania#Decline and revival|Caso Catania]]'' (Catania Case), the club skipped Serie C1 and was admitted into Serie B, something that was only made possible by the [[Italian Football Federation]] (FIGC)'s decision to resolve the [[Calcio Catania|Catania]] situation by increasing the number of teams in Serie B from 20 to 24 and promoting Fiorentina for "sports merits".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.repubblica.it/2003/h/sezioni/sport/calcio/calciomercato/ventiquattro/ventiquattro/ventiquattro.html |newspaper=La Repubblica |language=it |title=Serie B a 24 squadre. C'è anche la Fiorentina |date=20 August 2003|access-date=4 April 2008| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080501051624/http://www.repubblica.it/2003/h/sezioni/sport/calcio/calciomercato/ventiquattro/ventiquattro/ventiquattro.html| archive-date= 1 May 2008|url-status = live}}</ref> In the 2003 off-season, the club also bought back the right to use the Fiorentina name and the famous shirt design, and re-incorporated itself as '''ACF Fiorentina'''. The club finished the [[2003–04 Serie B|2003–04 season]] in sixth place and won the [[Playoffs#Association football|playoff]] against [[Perugia Calcio|Perugia]] to return to top-flight football.

[[File:Cesare Prandelli.JPG|thumb|[[Cesare Prandelli]], the club's longest-serving manager (2005–2010, 2020–2021)]]
In their first season back in Serie A, the club struggled to avoid relegation, only securing survival on the last day of the season on head-to-head record against [[Bologna F.C. 1909|Bologna]] and [[Parma F.C.|Parma]]. In 2005, Della Valle decided to appoint [[Pantaleo Corvino]] as new sports director, followed by the appointment of [[Cesare Prandelli]] as head coach in [[2005–06 Serie A|the following season]]. The club made several signings during the summer transfer market, most notably [[Luca Toni]] and [[Sébastien Frey]]. This drastic move earned them a fourth-place finish with 74 points and a Champions League qualifying round ticket. Toni scored 31 goals in 38 appearances, the first player to pass the 30-goal mark since [[Antonio Valentin Angelillo]] in the [[1958–59 Serie A|1958–59 season]], for which he was awarded the [[European Golden Boot]]. On 14 July 2006, Fiorentina were relegated to Serie B due to their involvement in the ''[[Calciopoli]]'' scandal and given a 12-point penalty. The team was reinstated to the Serie A on appeal, but with a 19-point penalty for the [[2006–07 Serie A|2006–07 season]]. The team's [[2006–07 UEFA Champions League|2006–07 Champions League]] place was also revoked.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/europe/5164194.stm |work=BBC News |title=Italian trio relegated to Serie B |date=14 July 2006 |access-date=1 January 2010 |archive-date=14 July 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060714201624/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/europe/5164194.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> After the start of the season, Fiorentina's penalisation was reduced from 19 points to 15 on appeal to the Italian courts. In spite of this penalty, they managed to secure a place in the UEFA Cup.

Despite Toni's departure to [[FC Bayern Munich|Bayern Munich]], Fiorentina had a strong start to the [[2007–08 Serie A|2007–08 season]] and were tipped by [[Italy national football team|Italy national team]] head coach [[Marcello Lippi]], among others, as a surprise challenger for the ''[[Serie A|scudetto]]'',<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.goal.com/en/Articolo.aspx?ContenutoId=472919|publisher=Goal.com|title=Lippi Tips Fiorentina For Surprise Scudetto Challenge|date=11 November 2007|access-date=7 November 2007|archive-date=10 November 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071110094637/http://www.goal.com/en/Articolo.aspx?ContenutoId=472919|url-status=live}}</ref> and although this form tailed off towards the middle of the season, the ''Viola'' managed to qualify for the Champions League. In Europe, the club reached the semi-final of the [[2007–08 UEFA Cup|UEFA Cup]], where they were ultimately defeated by Rangers on penalties. The [[2008–09 Serie A|2008–09 season]] continued this success, a fourth-place finish assuring Fiorentina's spot in [[2009–10 UEFA Champions League|2010's Champions League playoffs]]. Their European campaign was also similar to that of the previous run, relegated to the [[2008–09 UEFA Cup]] and were eliminated by [[AFC Ajax|Ajax]] in the end.

In the [[2009–10 Serie A|2009–10 season]], Fiorentina started their domestic campaign strongly before steadily losing momentum and slipped to mid-table positions at the latter half of the season. In Europe, the team proved to be a surprise dark horse: after losing their first away fixture against [[Olympique Lyonnais|Lyon]], they staged a comeback with a five-match streak by winning all their remaining matches (including defeating [[Liverpool F.C.|Liverpool]] home and away). The ''Viola'' qualified as group champions, but eventually succumbed to Bayern Munich due to the [[away goals rule]]. This was controversial due to a mistaken refereeing decision by [[Tom Henning Øvrebø]], who allowed a clearly offside goal for Bayern in the first leg. Bayern eventually finished the tournament as runners-up, making a deep run all the way to the [[2010 UEFA Champions League Final|final]]. The incident called into attention the possible implementation of video replays in football. Despite a good European run and reaching the semi-finals in the Coppa Italia, Fiorentina failed to qualify for Europe.

During this period, on 24 September 2009, Andrea Della Valle resigned from his position as chairman of Fiorentina, and announced all duties would be temporarily transferred to Mario Cognini, Fiorentina's vice-president until a permanent position could be filled.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.gazzetta.it/Calcio/SerieA/Fiorentina/24-09-2009/della-valle-si-dimesso--501388850534.shtml|newspaper=La Gazzetta dello Sport|title=Fiorentina senza presidente Della Valle si è dimesso|date=24 September 2009|language=it|access-date=24 September 2009|archive-date=15 March 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100315053657/http://www.gazzetta.it/Calcio/SerieA/Fiorentina/24-09-2009/della-valle-si-dimesso--501388850534.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Vincenzo montella (1).JPG|thumb|upright|left|Former manager [[Vincenzo Montella]] (2012–2015, 2019)]]

In June 2010, the ''Viola'' bid farewell to long-time manager Cesare Prandelli, by then the longest-serving coach in the team's history, who was departing to coach the Italy national team. Catania manager [[Siniša Mihajlović]] was appointed to replace him. The club spent much of the early [[2010–11 Serie A|2010–11 season]] in last place, but their form improved and Fiorentina ultimately finished ninth. Following a 1–0 defeat to [[A.C. Chievo Verona|Chievo]] in November 2011, Mihajlović was sacked and replaced by [[Delio Rossi]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2011/11/07/sport/football/football-fiorentina-mihajlovic/index.html|publisher=CNN|title=Mihajlovic sacked as Fiorentina coach|date=7 November 2011|access-date=7 August 2012|archive-date=12 November 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111112232438/http://edition.cnn.com/2011/11/07/sport/football/football-fiorentina-mihajlovic/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref> After a brief period of improvements, the ''Viola'' were again fighting relegation, prompting the sacking of Sporting Director Pantaleo Corvino in early 2012 following a 0–5 home defeat to Juventus. Their bid for survival was kept alive by a number of upset victories away from home, notably at Roma and Milan. During a home game against [[Novara Calcio|Novara]], trailing 0–2 within half an hour, manager Rossi decided to substitute midfielder [[Adem Ljajić]] early. Ljajić sarcastically applauded him in frustration, whereupon Rossi retaliated by physical assaulting his player, an action that ultimately prompted his termination by the club.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/17933945|work=BBC Sport|title=Fiorentina boss Delio Rossi sacked for attacking player|date=3 May 2012|access-date=11 February 2018|archive-date=14 May 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140514231745/http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/17933945|url-status=live}}</ref> His replacement, caretaker manager [[Vincenzo Guerini (footballer)|Vincenzo Guerini]], then guided the team away from the relegation zone to a 13th-place finish to end the turbulent year.

To engineer a resurrection of the club after the disappointing season, the Della Valle family invested heavily in the middle of 2012, buying 17 new players and appointing [[Vincenzo Montella]] as head coach. The team began the season well, finishing the calendar year in joint third place and eventually finishing the [[2012–13 Serie A|2012–13 season]] in fourth, enough for a position in the [[2013–14 UEFA Europa League|2013–14 Europa League]].

The club lost fan favourite [[Stevan Jovetić]] during the middle of 2013, selling him to English Premier League club [[Manchester City F.C.|Manchester City]] for a €30&nbsp;million transfer fee. They also sold Adem Ljajić to Roma and [[Alessio Cerci]] to Torino, using the funds to bring in [[Mario Gómez]], [[Josip Iličić]] and [[Ante Rebić]], among others. During the season, Fiorentina topped their Europa League group, moving on to the round of 32 to face Danish side [[Esbjerg fB]], which Fiorentina defeated 4–2 on aggregate. In the following round of 16, however, they then lost to Italian rivals Juventus 2–1 on aggregate, ousting Fiorentina from the competition. At the end of the season, the team finished fourth again in the league, and also finishing the year as Coppa Italia runners-up after losing 3–1 to Napoli in the final.

In 2014–15, during the 2015 winter transfer window, the team club sold star winger [[Juan Cuadrado]] to [[Chelsea F.C.|Chelsea]] for €30&nbsp;million but were able to secure the loan of [[Mohamed Salah]] in exchange, who was a revelation in the second half of the season. Their [[2014–15 UEFA Europa League|2014–15 Europa League campaign]] saw them progress to the semi-finals, where they were knocked-out by Spanish side [[Sevilla FC|Sevilla]], the eventual champions. In the [[2014–15 Serie A|2014–15 domestic season]], Fiorentina once again finished fourth, thus qualifying for the [[2015–16 UEFA Europa League|2015–16 Europa League]]. In June 2015, Vincenzo Montella was sacked as manager after the club grew impatient with the coaches inability to prove his commitment to the club,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.football-italia.net/67539/official-fiorentina-sack-montella|title=Official: Fiorentina sack Montella – Football Italia|date=8 June 2015 |access-date=8 June 2015|archive-date=9 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150609071811/http://www.football-italia.net/67539/official-fiorentina-sack-montella|url-status=live}}</ref> and was replaced by [[Paulo Sousa]], who lasted until June 2017 and the appointment of [[Stefano Pioli]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Stefano Pioli: Fiorentina hire former Inter Milan and Lazio boss|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/40176919|access-date=6 March 2018|work=BBC Sport|date=7 June 2017|archive-date=18 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171018183624/http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/40176919|url-status=live}}</ref> Club captain [[Davide Astori]] died suddenly at the age of 31 in March 2018.<ref>{{cite news|last1=McLaughlin|first1=Elliot C.|title=Fiorentina captain Davide Astori dies of 'sudden illness' at 31, team says|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2018/03/04/football/italian-footballer-fiorentina-davide-astori-dies/index.html|access-date=6 March 2018|publisher=CNN|date=4 March 2018|archive-date=6 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180306042906/https://edition.cnn.com/2018/03/04/football/italian-footballer-fiorentina-davide-astori-dies/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Astori had suffered a [[cardiac arrest]] while in a hotel room before an away game. The club subsequently retired Astori's kit number, 13.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://twitter.com/acffiorentina/status/970939765641154560|title=Per onorarne la memoria e rendere indelebile il ricordo di Davide Astori, @CagliariCalcio e Fiorentina hanno deciso di ritirare congiuntamente la maglia con il numero 13. #DA13pic.twitter.com/KXP6s8WFlG|last=Fiorentina|first=A. C. F.|date=<!--12:30 AM - -->6 March 2018|website=@acffiorentina|language=it|access-date=6 March 2018|archive-date=9 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109041238/https://twitter.com/acffiorentina/status/970939765641154560|url-status=live}}</ref> Fiorentina suffered during the [[2018–19 Serie A]] campaign and ended the season on a 14 match winless streak, finishing in 16th place with only 41 points, 3 points from the relegation zone. On 9 April 2019, Pioli resigned as manager and was replaced by Montella.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://m.tuttomercatoweb.com/serie-a/ufficiale-fiorentina-pioli-s-e-dimesso-oggi-seduta-affidata-al-suo-vice-1234246|access-date=9 April 2019|title=UFFICIALE: Fiorentina, Pioli s'è dimesso. Oggi seduta affidata al suo vice|language=it|archive-date=21 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210121213236/https://m.tuttomercatoweb.com/serie-a/ufficiale-fiorentina-pioli-s-e-dimesso-oggi-seduta-affidata-al-suo-vice-1234246|url-status=live}}</ref>