The word ‘competitively’, however, is open to interpretation here – with our apologies to those fans attending the 1930 Kettering Hospital Cup, and also those who witnessed our last meeting with Fiorentina in 1990.
On that occasion, it was the Memorial Pier Cesare Baretti tournament which saw the Eagles face La Viola – a three-club competition held in St. Vincent, in Northern Italy, just days before the Division One season began in August 1990.
The other clubs involved were Fiorentina and Sampdoria, and it was the former we faced first – a 1-2 defeat. Palace’s team included new signings Glyn Hodges and Eric Young, with Gary O’Reilly opening the scoring with a header in the 19th minute – only for La Viola to equalise with a penalty and eventually turn the game around.
Counting that as a pre-season competition, then, it is to 1973 we cast our gaze – a 2-2 draw between Fiorentina and Palace in the fourth edition of the Anglo-Italian Cup.
