Who was one of the highly rated players to sign up for Fiorentina and is also the current assistant/co-coach Ascoli Picchio F.C. 1898.
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.
Alberigo Evani Alberigo Evani (born 1 January 1963 in Massa) is an Italian football manager and former player, who was deployed as a midfielder. He started his club career with Milan, where he spent the majority of his playing career, winning several trophies during his 13 seasons at the club, including, three Serie A titles and two European Cups; he later also played for Sampdoria, Reggiana, and Carrarese. At international level, he represented Italy at the 1994 FIFA World Cup, where they reached the final. He is the current head coach of the Italy Under-18 team.