Fiorentina Tops Juventus 1-0 in Toronto Friendly

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

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 Fiorentina celebrate Jovetic’s goal
After disappointing matches over the weekend against North American opponents, Juventus and ACF Fiorentina came out to please the 21,122 fans in attendance in an all Italian friendly Tuesday night at the Rogers Centre.
A powerful strike by Fiorentina’s Stevan Jovetic proved to be the difference as Juventus suffered another loss in what has been an unsuccessful campaign to say the least.
Jovetic, however, was very pleased with the result and enjoyed the brief tour of Canada.
 “We had a great game and it was very successful,” said Jovetic. “It’s a nice way to end the season against Juventus with a win in Toronto. This is my first time in Canada, my first time in Montreal and Toronto, it’s been very beautiful.”
Jovetic also admitted that it was difficult to play friendlies after a long year but his team had no problems with getting motivated against their Serie A rivals.
“Mentally, physically we’re tired and drained…but you can’t not be motivated against Juventus.”

Fiorentina Strikes Early
The first half was entertaining as both teams had scoring chances but unlike Juventus, Fiorentina was able to get shots on goal. Fiorentina’s Stevan Jovetic and Babacar Khouma were an effective tandem up front as they were continually creating scoring chances.
 
 Del Piero comes of the
field in the 2nd half
Fiorentina got on the scoresheet first when Stevan Jovetic rifled a shot from 30 yards that blew by Juventus goalkeeper Alexander Manninger in the 17th minute. The predominantly pro-Juventus crowd cheered in appreciation of the goal. The Montenegrin international unleashed the shot as the ball took off in a hurry and barreled through the air and into the net. 
Khouma had a great chance in the 19th minute when he bounced a Harris Seferovic cross on goal only to be denied by the tip of Manninger’s glove and the crossbar.
For Juventus, Del Piero demonstrated flashes of brilliance in the first half with his deft dribbling and dekes through the Fiorentina defence but nothing of significance would result after the ball left his feet. The closest Del Piero came to scoring was a spot kick from 30 yards in the 20th minute that was right on goal but easily stopped by Fiorentina keeper Sebastian Frey.
One of the concerns for both teams was playing on artificial turf and the playing surface did attribute to one injury in the first half. Juventus defender Goncalo Jardin Brandao seemed to get his cleat caught in the turf while chasing Khouma for the ball. He fell to the ground and was in obvious pain as he held his right leg and emphatically motioned for the medical staff to come over. Brandao was eventually put on a stretcher and taken off on a cart.
After the match, Juventus’ Alessandro Del Piero lamented the fact that the game took place on artificial turf.
“It’s not the best,” said Del Piero. “We’re used to all types of natural terrain, natural grass is a lot better than synthetic surfaces.”
The second half was an uneventful to say the least as Fiorentina played a more defensive game and seemed to lull the crowd to sleep. The only great chance went to Juventus as a shot from in close forced substitute Fiorentina keeper Vlada Avramov to make a save with his outstretched hand before being cleared out of harm’s way.
 
 Amauri scrambles past
Fiorentina defenders
In the 63rd minute, a chorus of boos went up around the stadium when an official held up the board signalling the substitution of Del Piero. But the crowd erupted and gave him a loud ovation as he came off the field.
“The stadium was beautiful, the atmosphere was great and the fans were great,” said Del Piero. “I was happy the fans were so enthusiastic. “

Uncertain Future
The friendly was the last game of the year for both teams until the next Serie A season. For many players this may have been their last appearance with their respective teams. Juventus placed 7th while Fiorentina was 11th in the final table, poor seasons for both clubs suggest changes are imminent.
The attention has centered around Juventus this past week as the rumours have already started swirling around the players and how many will return next season. The most recent rumours circled around forward Amauri De Oliveira, but he quickly addressed that issue after the game.
 
“I belong to Juventus and I expect to be here for the duration of my contract,” said Amauri, who is signed with Juve for two more years. “I didn’t have a great season but I’m really looking forward to next season.”

Click HERE to view more pics from Friendly match – Juventus vs Fiorentina in Toronto.
 
Contact Aman Dhanoa at  aman@oyetimes.com  

Photos courtesy of JP Dhanoa

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