[5] In addition to this and the typical aspect of pride between the residents of two important cities, Juventus had beaten Fiorentina 11–0 in their first league meeting in 1928, a humiliating result which had not been forgotten by either set of fans despite the passage of time.

In 1980, Fiorentina was bought by Flavio Pontello, a man from a rich house-building family who had aspirations to bring the Viola its third title and built the team around Italian star, Giancarlo Antognoni.

[2][3] In Calabria, Catanzaro were denied a penalty while Juventus were awarded one, from which they scored to win 1–0 and claim their 20th scudetto[1] In the aftermath, Fiorentina's playmaker Giancarlo Antognoni famously remarked, 'Ci hanno rubato il titolo', meaning 'They have stolen the title'.

Both sides had had close encounters with German teams in the semi-finals, Fiorentina beating Werder Bremen on away goals, and Juventus pipping 1.

The final was to be played over two legs, with the first leg to be held in Turin, while the second was held in Stadio Partenio in Avellino – Fiorentina's home stadium was under renovation for the 1990 FIFA World Cup, and the fixture was originally moved to the Stadio Renato Curi in Perugia, fairly close to Florence, but was then moved further away as punishment for supporters having staged a pitch invasion during the Werder Bremen tie.

However, worries turned to anger when, with the score tied 1–1 in Turin, officials missed an apparent push by Juventus' Pierluigi Casiraghi on Fiorentina's Celeste Pin, allowing Angelo Alessio's deflected shot to fire the home side in front.

[9] His transfer led to severe riots in the streets of Florence and fans laid siege to the club's headquarters;[6] reports described bricks, chains and Molotov cocktails being thrown.

On his return to his former home, he refused to take a penalty awarded to Juventus[3] and was seen embracing a Viola scarf thrown by the Florentine supporters while waving it in the direction of the Curva Fiesole, the stronghold of the club's ultras.

[3] In the end, the Bulgarian snubbed both clubs for Fulham, but this did not stop the Fiorentina owners from claiming their rivals 'knew nothing of the values of honesty, fair play and sporting ethics.

Many top players, including Matías Vecino, Gonzalo Rodríguez, Borja Valero, and Ciprian Tătărușanu were released or sold as the owners wanted to recoup funds rather than invest in the club.

However, in 2020, Chiesa followed Bernardeschi to Turin on loan (with an obligation to buy worth €50 million) and was met with banners calling him despicable and a traitor.