Derby Arno

90

There are lots of large derbies in Italian soccer, together with the Derby della Madonnina, Derby della Capitale, Derby d’Italia, and Derby della Lanterna. Nonetheless, one derby that always goes beneath the radar is the Derby Arno.

That is the fixture between Fiorentina and Empoli. The Arno is a river within the Tuscany area of Italy, the place you will see each Florence, the house of Fiorentina, and Empoli. The river flows by each cities and that’s the place the identify of the derby originates.

Curiously, Fiorentina have been in existence since 1926 whereas Empoli have already celebrated their one centesimal anniversary however the first aggressive match between them was not till 1986. On the time of writing, the groups have met a complete of simply 31 instances forward of their fixture in Serie A on the nineteenth of February 2023.

The primary ever assembly between the groups got here in within the quarter closing of the Coppa Italia in Could 1986. Empoli had been in Serie B and within the first leg of the tie, it was Empoli who got here out on high, successful 3-2 at residence.

The second leg was vastly entertaining in Florence and regardless of Empoli taking a 2-1 lead within the sport, it was Fiorentina who went on to win and progress to the semi-final.

Empoli received promotion to Serie A in the identical season and the next marketing campaign, within the 1986/87 season, noticed the primary Derby Arno in Serie A. Empoli had been compelled to play their opening fixtures in Florence as a consequence of ongoing work at their very own stadium however they had been again at their very own stadium to host Fiorentina for the primary time in Serie A historical past.

Empoli received the match 1-0 to say their first win over Fiorentina in Serie A. The reverse fixture in Florence ended 1-1, that means Empoli had the higher of Fiorentina of their first season collectively within the Italian top-flight.

The groups by no means met in Serie B, regardless of the very fact Fiorentina had been relegated and performed within the second tier throughout the 1993/94 season. Throughout that season, Empoli had been enjoying in Serie C1 and had been struggling close to the foot of the desk.

Empoli returned to Serie A for the 1997/98 marketing campaign and beat Fiorentina in Florence earlier than sharing the spoils within the return fixture on the Stadio Carlo Castellani.

It was not till the 1998/99 season that Fiorentina claimed their first win over Empoli in Serie A as they beat Empoli 2-0 on the Stadio Artemio Franchi. Fiorentina adopted that with a 3-0 win within the reverse assembly to file their first double over Empoli in Italy’s high division.

With Empoli transferring repeatedly between divisions, the Derby Arno has been performed sporadically in Serie A. Of the final 13 fixtures between the groups, 11 have taken place in Serie A, with Fiorentina successful 4 instances and Empoli successful 4 instances.

There have been two conferences within the Coppa Italia in current instances, with Fiorentina successful each events in 2010 and 2011. Curiously, the final 4 Derby Arno video games in Serie A have seen no objectives scored at half time and beneath 2.5 objectives have been scored in 5 of the final 6 matches between Fiorentina and Empoli in Serie A.