The Associazione Fiorentina del Calcio was the fruit of his passion: he wanted a football club, established it, grew it, nurtured it and governed it using his personal heritage. From 29 August 1926 to 21 August 1942 – when he was called to become head of the FIGC – he made all the decisions that entered the Viola into Italy’s football elite and was the guarantor in all economic difficulties. Thirty years after the team’s foundation, Fiorentina won their first Scudetto, and Ridolfi was hailed by fans, staff, and by the championship winning team as the “Father” of Fiorentina.

Always Ridolfi’s right-hand-man, Picchi had previously assumed important roles in the organisation. On 18 September 1942, he was authorized by CONI to take over from the Marquis at Fiorentina. His presidency lasted just over a year; the war and the German invasion forced Fiorentina to suspend all activities.

The very next day after 11 August 1944, the Tuscan Committee of National Liberation and the Municipality of Florence set to work, appointing Paganelli to chair a commission for the reorganisation of sporting activities. A few months later, Fiorentina was reborn thanks to its commitment on this new basis, that of a democratic association governed and organised by its members: the Associazione Calcio Fiorentina.

Cassi joined the A.C. Fiorentina Council with Paganelli, becoming president in June 1946. He put his experience as a businessman at the club’s disposal to equip it with the necessary means to compete in Serie A, starting from the 1946-47 season. He considered his work to be done when he managed to bring wealthier members to Fiorentina.

In March 1947, this young industrialist from Prato was appointed as President, filling the fans at the time with enthusiasm. Yet Allori, despite his commitment and generosity, found many difficulties in the world of football and in Fiorentina’s Council itself, leaving office after just over a year of presidency.

Antonini became president in April 1948 and was the right man to consolidate Fiorentina between the end of the 1940s and the 1950s. He was able to mediate between the different opinions of the members and brought the club back into calm waters. He achieved this through a lot of organisational work (he appointed Artemio Franchi as club secretary) and appointed Luigi Ferrero as Coach, with whom Fiorentina opened a cycle that led to significant progress.

The President of the Scudetto and Champions Cup final winning team as well as four consecutive second places. This success was born of the strategic vision of the Prato industrialist and his Board of Directors. Befani built a state-of-the-art company, both on a technical level – by entrusting the team to Fulvio Bernardini – and from a backroom point of view. With him, Fiorentina were taken to the top of Italian football.

The second Scudetto that never arrived eroded the relationship between Befani and a large part of the partners, who bet on “Enrico II” – the iron industrialist. Between the two presidencies came the successes of 1961: the Cup Winners’ Cup and the Coppa Italia. It seemed like a good omen, but Longinotti’s Fiorentina failed to emulate what had been achieved during the previous cycle and, with a large debt to the bank, the president passed the club on to someone else.

A big Fiorentina fan since the Ridolfi era, Baglini took over the reins of the club in February 1965 expressing two aims; to restore the budget and win the Scudetto. “Fiorentina ye-ye” was born, capable of creating on pitches all over Italy and winning the 1968-69 championship, also thanks to Nello Baglini’s foresight and diplomatic skills.

It fell to Ugolini, who had the advantage of experience from being on the two previous councils, to lead Fiorentina when Baglini left in June 1971, due to a number of problems. Ugolini managed to defend the team in the most difficult moments and to build a second Fiorentina team for young players that was only scuppered by bad luck, starting with the accidents of Vincenzo Guerini and Moreno Roggi.

“In my life I have family, work and Fiorentina,” Melloni replied to those who asked him why he spent so many hours in the club’s premises and never missed a trip. It was up to him – a long-time partner – to manage from December, the dramatic 1977-78 season. Fiorentina stayed up on the last day and rejected offers for Giancarlo Antognoni. President Melloni died on September 29, 1979 of a heart attack.

Council member and Fiorentina official Enrico Martellini suddenly became President following the death of Melloni. He was able to manage the months that led to the purchase of the club by the Pontello family.

The man chosen by the Pontello family for the difficult role of President at the beginning of May 1980 was Ranieri, the son of Count Flavio Pontello. He took his job seriously, both in terms of ambition and enthusiasm that culminated in the 1981-82 season when a disengagement followed, as the family left the leadership of the club to external managers.

Journalist and director of the Lega Calcio, Baretti was called by the Pontello family to lead the club without taking money out of the company. He had a great passion and a very advanced vision of football that he explained to everyone, starting with the fans. His idea was that of a sustainable football club in which organisation and knowledge could lead to success, even without huge financial investments. He had laid the foundations for a team built on young talents but did not have time to complete the project: he died in a plane crash on 5 December 1987.

A careful and scrupulous man, he was chosen by the Pontello family in December 1987 for his great experience as former referee and chief of referees, as well as a former President of the Lega Calcio from 1978 to 1981. He had to manage the difficult situation linked to the disengagement of the owners, which culminated in the sale of Baggio and the subsequent sale of the club, and did so with great ability in a difficult context and environment.

“Marione”, one of the greatest protagonists of Italian cinema, crowned his dream by buying Fiorentina and, with him at the helm, the fans were able to dream once again. President from June 23, 1990, his enthusiasm clashed with the harsh reality of Italian football and was severely tested by the excesses of his son Vittorio. He reacted to the relegation by keeping the team’s strength intact. He died on November 5, 1993. His funeral, in Piazza Santa Croce, was a great demonstration of affection as well as a tribute from both the city and the fans to the person he was and his love for Fiorentina.

A passionate and optimistic President, Vittorio Cecchi Gori used the public sphere to directly communicate his will and his intentions. His intensity proved fatal, and resulted in relegation in 1992-93. He relaunched and managed to bring Fiorentina back to become among the “Seven Sisters” of Italian football. Fiorentina paid for the crumbling of the great financial empire that it had inherited with the winding up order from the authorities on 1 August 2002.

The Cecchi Gori family’s trusted man in film production was entrusted with an important position at Fiorentina. In an attempt to avoid bankruptcy, he was handed the position of sole director from July 31, 2001 to January 31, 2002. He tried to sell the club, but his mission failed.

A Florentine, cinema manager linked to Mario Cecchi Gori had previously been Vice President and resigned in May 2000 after a fallout with Luna. In February 2002 he accepted the request of Valeria, the wife of “Marione,” and became President. He made a promise to the fans: “I will never tell lies about the state of Fiorentina” and consequently resigned after two months.

Hired as a Technical Consultant, he would finish the 2001-02 season having covered all the roles from Coach to President. His reign from 9 April to 5 June 2002 was the last of A.C. Fiorentina.

The Court of Florence revoked the administrators and on June 6, 2002 appointed Enrico Fazzini as judicial administrator. He was President of the Order of Accountants of Florence and Professor of tax law at the Faculty of Economics and Commerce. Yet the Fiorentina rescue operation proved impossible.

On 1 August 2002, the day of the Fiorentina’s winding up, the Mayor of Florence – together with the Councilor for Sport Eugenio Giani – set up the company “Fiorentina 1926 Florentia srl” to save Fiorentina’s sporting title and allow for the arrival of a new ownership.

Diego Della Valle, an important entrepreneur in the fashion sector, took over Fiorentina on 10 August 2002. The team had to restart from the C2 League, and the presidency was entrusted to a manager of the group Gino Salica. He proved to be the right President to bring Fiorentina back to the highest levels of Italian football with balance and diplomacy.

Fiorentina returned to Serie A and the Della Valle family directly took over the Presidency with Andrea, Diego’s younger brother, in December 2004. The new President showed the enthusiasm of a fan, and Fiorentina prospered, until the ownership denounced the lack of support from the city. Andrea resigned the position on 24 September 2009, keeping only the position of Honorary President.

Former director and Vice President of the company, Mario Cognigni was a lawyer from the Marche region and one of the top executives of the Della Valle group. He became Executive President when Andrea Della Valle left his position. The key points of his management were the self-financing of the club and the achievement of a balanced budget, preparing the long farewell of the Della Valle family from La Viola and the Italian football sphere itself.

On 6 June 2019 Rocco Commisso became the owner and President of Fiorentina. Rocco, from his first moments in Florence, managed to bring the enthusiasm back to the Viola supporters and gave an important change of pace in that Fiorentina must have its own stadium, a training centre and its own home. For the first time after 93 years of history the land in Bagno a Ripoli was acquired and the project for the construction of both was prepared. Fiorentina now looks to the future with renewed optimism …