October 1999, 25 years ago. I couldn’t drink or eat before the game, I was too tense. We had a strong side; Tomáš Řepka and Jörg Heinrich at the back, Francesco Toldo in goal, Rui Costa and Gabriel Batistuta up front. But the chances of winning at Wembley were low, and to be honest, us fans didn’t have much belief ahead of the game. We were in the away end, of course, quite high up in the stand. It was the old Wembley, which was huge.
Fiorentina had a great game, but it was so draining. It was tough to watch, with the Viola mostly defending, in the style of our coach Giovanni Trapattoni. Then the main highlight – Batistuta’s goal. I remember it perfectly because he scored right beneath us. When he received the pass outside the area, he looked so still; I can even see him now standing there so vividly. He burst past the defender and shot powerfully into the top far corner, almost bending keeper David Seaman’s hands.
We all jumped up and surged forward. I suddenly found myself nine rows in front of where I had been. It was absolutely fantastic. My favourite players were Rui Costa and Batistuta. I would have done anything for Batistuta. Like another Viola legend Giancarlo Antognoni, Batistuta is a symbol, an idol. He is the best centre-forward I’ve ever seen at Fiorentina. He carried the club on his shoulders for almost a decade.
Towards the end of the game, at the other end, Toldo made a phenomenal save when Nwankwo Kanu was through on goal. The ball was going in then suddenly his hand appeared to stop it. When the game ended we realised Fiorentina had progressed to the next round, making the win all the more epic. I was so happy; it’s one of the best nights of my life. That game means a lot, because it’s one of the few happy moments Fiorentina has given me – especially at European level – in almost 40 years of being a supporter!
October 1999, 25 years ago. I couldn’t drink or eat before the game, I was too tense. We had a strong side; Tomáš Řepka and Jörg Heinrich at the back, Francesco Toldo in goal, Rui Costa and Gabriel Batistuta up front. But the chances of winning at Wembley were low, and to be honest, us fans didn’t have much belief ahead of the game. We were in the away end, of course, quite high up in the stand. It was the old Wembley, which was huge.
Fiorentina had a great game, but it was so draining. It was tough to watch, with the Viola mostly defending, in the style of our coach Giovanni Trapattoni. Then the main highlight – Batistuta’s goal. I remember it perfectly because he scored right beneath us. When he received the pass outside the area, he looked so still; I can even see him now standing there so vividly. He burst past the defender and shot powerfully into the top far corner, almost bending keeper David Seaman’s hands.
We all jumped up and surged forward. I suddenly found myself nine rows in front of where I had been. It was absolutely fantastic. My favourite players were Rui Costa and Batistuta. I would have done anything for Batistuta. Like another Viola legend Giancarlo Antognoni, Batistuta is a symbol, an idol. He is the best centre-forward I’ve ever seen at Fiorentina. He carried the club on his shoulders for almost a decade.
Towards the end of the game, at the other end, Toldo made a phenomenal save when Nwankwo Kanu was through on goal. The ball was going in then suddenly his hand appeared to stop it. When the game ended we realised Fiorentina had progressed to the next round, making the win all the more epic. I was so happy; it’s one of the best nights of my life. That game means a lot, because it’s one of the few happy moments Fiorentina has given me – especially at European level – in almost 40 years of being a supporter!
October 1999, 25 years ago. I couldn’t drink or eat before the game, I was too tense. We had a strong side; Tomáš Řepka and Jörg Heinrich at the back, Francesco Toldo in goal, Rui Costa and Gabriel Batistuta up front. But the chances of winning at Wembley were low, and to be honest, us fans didn’t have much belief ahead of the game. We were in the away end, of course, quite high up in the stand. It was the old Wembley, which was huge.
Fiorentina had a great game, but it was so draining. It was tough to watch, with the Viola mostly defending, in the style of our coach Giovanni Trapattoni. Then the main highlight – Batistuta’s goal. I remember it perfectly because he scored right beneath us. When he received the pass outside the area, he looked so still; I can even see him now standing there so vividly. He burst past the defender and shot powerfully into the top far corner, almost bending keeper David Seaman’s hands.
We all jumped up and surged forward. I suddenly found myself nine rows in front of where I had been. It was absolutely fantastic. My favourite players were Rui Costa and Batistuta. I would have done anything for Batistuta. Like another Viola legend Giancarlo Antognoni, Batistuta is a symbol, an idol. He is the best centre-forward I’ve ever seen at Fiorentina. He carried the club on his shoulders for almost a decade.
Towards the end of the game, at the other end, Toldo made a phenomenal save when Nwankwo Kanu was through on goal. The ball was going in then suddenly his hand appeared to stop it. When the game ended we realised Fiorentina had progressed to the next round, making the win all the more epic. I was so happy; it’s one of the best nights of my life. That game means a lot, because it’s one of the few happy moments Fiorentina has given me – especially at European level – in almost 40 years of being a supporter!
October 1999, 25 years ago. I couldn’t drink or eat before the game, I was too tense. We had a strong side; Tomáš Řepka and Jörg Heinrich at the back, Francesco Toldo in goal, Rui Costa and Gabriel Batistuta up front. But the chances of winning at Wembley were low, and to be honest, us fans didn’t have much belief ahead of the game. We were in the away end, of course, quite high up in the stand. It was the old Wembley, which was huge.
Fiorentina had a great game, but it was so draining. It was tough to watch, with the Viola mostly defending, in the style of our coach Giovanni Trapattoni. Then the main highlight – Batistuta’s goal. I remember it perfectly because he scored right beneath us. When he received the pass outside the area, he looked so still; I can even see him now standing there so vividly. He burst past the defender and shot powerfully into the top far corner, almost bending keeper David Seaman’s hands.
We all jumped up and surged forward. I suddenly found myself nine rows in front of where I had been. It was absolutely fantastic. My favourite players were Rui Costa and Batistuta. I would have done anything for Batistuta. Like another Viola legend Giancarlo Antognoni, Batistuta is a symbol, an idol. He is the best centre-forward I’ve ever seen at Fiorentina. He carried the club on his shoulders for almost a decade.
Towards the end of the game, at the other end, Toldo made a phenomenal save when Nwankwo Kanu was through on goal. The ball was going in then suddenly his hand appeared to stop it. When the game ended we realised Fiorentina had progressed to the next round, making the win all the more epic. I was so happy; it’s one of the best nights of my life. That game means a lot, because it’s one of the few happy moments Fiorentina has given me – especially at European level – in almost 40 years of being a supporter!
October 1999, 25 years ago. I couldn’t drink or eat before the game, I was too tense. We had a strong side; Tomáš Řepka and Jörg Heinrich at the back, Francesco Toldo in goal, Rui Costa and Gabriel Batistuta up front. But the chances of winning at Wembley were low, and to be honest, us fans didn’t have much belief ahead of the game. We were in the away end, of course, quite high up in the stand. It was the old Wembley, which was huge.
Fiorentina had a great game, but it was so draining. It was tough to watch, with the Viola mostly defending, in the style of our coach Giovanni Trapattoni. Then the main highlight – Batistuta’s goal. I remember it perfectly because he scored right beneath us. When he received the pass outside the area, he looked so still; I can even see him now standing there so vividly. He burst past the defender and shot powerfully into the top far corner, almost bending keeper David Seaman’s hands.
We all jumped up and surged forward. I suddenly found myself nine rows in front of where I had been. It was absolutely fantastic. My favourite players were Rui Costa and Batistuta. I would have done anything for Batistuta. Like another Viola legend Giancarlo Antognoni, Batistuta is a symbol, an idol. He is the best centre-forward I’ve ever seen at Fiorentina. He carried the club on his shoulders for almost a decade.
Towards the end of the game, at the other end, Toldo made a phenomenal save when Nwankwo Kanu was through on goal. The ball was going in then suddenly his hand appeared to stop it. When the game ended we realised Fiorentina had progressed to the next round, making the win all the more epic. I was so happy; it’s one of the best nights of my life. That game means a lot, because it’s one of the few happy moments Fiorentina has given me – especially at European level – in almost 40 years of being a supporter!
October 1999, 25 years ago. I couldn’t drink or eat before the game, I was too tense. We had a strong side; Tomáš Řepka and Jörg Heinrich at the back, Francesco Toldo in goal, Rui Costa and Gabriel Batistuta up front. But the chances of winning at Wembley were low, and to be honest, us fans didn’t have much belief ahead of the game. We were in the away end, of course, quite high up in the stand. It was the old Wembley, which was huge.
Fiorentina had a great game, but it was so draining. It was tough to watch, with the Viola mostly defending, in the style of our coach Giovanni Trapattoni. Then the main highlight – Batistuta’s goal. I remember it perfectly because he scored right beneath us. When he received the pass outside the area, he looked so still; I can even see him now standing there so vividly. He burst past the defender and shot powerfully into the top far corner, almost bending keeper David Seaman’s hands.
We all jumped up and surged forward. I suddenly found myself nine rows in front of where I had been. It was absolutely fantastic. My favourite players were Rui Costa and Batistuta. I would have done anything for Batistuta. Like another Viola legend Giancarlo Antognoni, Batistuta is a symbol, an idol. He is the best centre-forward I’ve ever seen at Fiorentina. He carried the club on his shoulders for almost a decade.
Towards the end of the game, at the other end, Toldo made a phenomenal save when Nwankwo Kanu was through on goal. The ball was going in then suddenly his hand appeared to stop it. When the game ended we realised Fiorentina had progressed to the next round, making the win all the more epic. I was so happy; it’s one of the best nights of my life. That game means a lot, because it’s one of the few happy moments Fiorentina has given me – especially at European level – in almost 40 years of being a supporter!
