Fiorentina 2016/2017 Third Shirt

FIORENTINA - THIRD SHIRT 2016/2017

Fiorentina are the pride of Tuscany, founded in Florence in 1926 and cherished as la Viola (the Purple) for their unmistakable colour. They play at the Stadio Artemio Franchi, and legend has it the club's signature purple was born by accident, when a batch of red-and-white kits ran in the wash and emerged a deep violet that the city adored and kept forever.

This was Paulo Sousa's second and final season at the helm, a campaign of steady decline that saw the Portuguese coach leave at its end. During the season, in which this striking red third shirt was worn, Fiorentina finished 8th in Serie A on 60 points, a mid-table return that fell short of the European places.

The cups brought frustration. Fiorentina reached the Coppa Italia quarter-finals before going out, but the real heartbreak came in the Europa League. Having won 1-0 away at Borussia Monchengladbach and raced into a 2-0 lead at home in the return, they contrived to concede four unanswered goals and crash out 4-3 on aggregate in the round of 32.

Croatian striker Nikola Kalinic led the line superbly with 15 league goals (20 in all competitions), with Federico Bernardeschi and Khouma Babacar both reaching 14 in all. A teenage Federico Chiesa made his breakthrough that year, while the summer had seen Marcos Alonso sold to Chelsea for around £23m. A handsome collector's piece from the viola archive.

Follow the club on X: @ACFFiorentina