Match Trivia: Inter vs. FIorentina
Fiorentina v Inter, sixty years on...
Fiorentina and Inter have met on the opening day of a Serie A season on one previous occasion. On 22 September 1946 the two sides drew 3-3 in Florence. In order, the goals were scored by Azzarini (I), Caccia (I), Gritti (F), Badiali (F), Muci (I) and Marchetti (F). It went on to be a disappointing season for both teams, with Inter never above tenth place and Fiorentina escaping relegation by a point.
Fiorentina prolific at home
The last time Fiorentina failed to score at home was a 0-0 league draw with Atalanta on 15 May 2005. Since then the Viola have netted in 23 consecutive home matches, scoring a total of 54 goals.
Season openers since 2000
Inter have won four of their Serie A openers in the past five seasons, with victories against Perugia (4-1) at the San Siro in 2001/02, Torino (1-0) away in 2002/03, Modena (2-0) at home in 2003/04 and Treviso at the Meazza last year. The Nerazzurri drew 2-2 with Chievo in Verona in 2004/05. Inter's last defeat on the opening day of a top-flight season was on 1 October 2000, when a 2-1 loss to Reggina at the Granillo resulted in the sacking of Marcello Lippi.
Inter: ten-match conceding streak on the road
The Nerazzurri's last clean sheet in away matches was the goalless league draw at Livorno on 18 February 2006. Since then Inter have conceded goals in their last ten competitive away matches (Serie A, Coppa Italia & Champions League fixtures in 2005/06), letting in a total of thirteen.
Prandelli, Mancini and the Venezia exit
Cesare Prandelli has been replaced three times in his coaching career: at Lecce in 1997/98, Venezia in 2001/02, and Roma in 2004/05 when he left for personal reasons. At Venezia he was replaced just five matches into the domestic season when Fiorentina, then coached by Roberto Mancini, beat Prandelli's team 3-1 at the Franchi to keep the Arancioneroverdi bottom without a point.
Toldo set for 200th Inter appearance
Francesco Toldo returns to familiar territory for his 200th competitive match with Inter. The 34-year-old goalkeeper, who spent eight seasons in Florence, made his debut for Inter in a 4-1 home win against Perugia on 26 August 2001. Since joining the Nerazzurri, Toldo has collected 135 appearances in Serie A, 10 in Coppa Italia, 52 in European cups and 2 in other tournaments.
Jorgensen & goals against Toldo
Scorer of 42 goals in competitive games, Fiorentina's Danish forward Martin Jorgensen has beaten Toldo, Pagliuca and Sicignano more than anyone else, with three goals against each of the three keepers.
Materazzi, Stankovic, Samuel: a trio of September scorers
According to the statistics World Cup winner Marco Materazzi could be among the protagonists of Inter's opening match of the season in Florence. Scorer of 38 goals in professional leagues, the Azzurri defender counts September and October as his most prolific time of the year with six goals in either month. Also, Materazzi has put more goals past Fiorentina goalkeeper Frey (3, along with Turci) than any other custodian. If the form book is anything to go by, two other Inter players are among the likely scorers at the Artemio Franchi. Walter Samuel has a total of 13 goals in competitive matches for Italian clubs and has scored twice against Frey and Chimenti, while Dejan Stankovic, scorer of 50 goals in competitive games for Italian teams, has scored more in September and November (five goals in each month) than any other time of the year