IT WAS AN acrimonious deal.
Fiorentina and Juventus despised each other.
It was a long-running hatred, taking in a bitter 1982 race for the Serie A title and a controversial Uefa Cup final.
To make matters worse, just days after being beaten by the Old Lady in the European decider, it was announced on May 18 1990 that La Viola’s prized asset – Roberto Baggio – would be transferring to the Turin giants.
There were riots on the streets of Florence, fans attacked the club’s HQ and set fire to the city. The anger and bitterness and frustration continued to rage even after the three-day siege.
Even a world record fee of £8 million was irrelevant.
It was two million more than what AC Milan had paid PSV Eindhoven for Ruud Gullit in 1987 but Baggio’s record would only last for two years. In 1992, Milan forked out £10m to sign Jean-Pierre Papin from Marseille.
To put the Baggio fee in a modern-day context, Newcastle signed Andros Townsend for £12m in January.
Memorably, when Baggio returned to Florence the following season, he won a penalty but refused to take it. Luigi De Agostini promptly missed it.
The hosts won the game 1-0 and when he was substituted, a home fan threw a Fiorentina scarf to Baggio as he made his way down the touchline. He picked it up and walked to the dressing-rooms, waving as he went.
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