Coach Cesare Prandelli is doing a fantastic job at Fiorentina who are lying third in the standings and so far looking the best bet to break the domain of Juventus and Milan in the Serie A.

But the period leading up to the current situation was really bleak and uneventful to say the least. It was an era when players were expensively signed and cheaply dispatched and coaches who seldom lasted a season.

Above all that, in summer 2002 the dire financial state of ex-president Vittorio Cecchi Gori led to the demise of the club. From then onwards, it took new club owner Diego Della Valle three years to put Fiorentina back on their feet.

But who really turned around Fiorentina's fortunes in recent years?

One need not be a soccer pundit to deduce that the Della Valle family spent a fortune to transform the team from mere Fourth Division strugglers into genuine challengers in Serie A.

Errors were committed before but in some way or in another, Della Valle has always found a remedy. For instance, it was a mistake to appoint Pietro Vierchowod as coach in 2002. He was a great defender but lacked experience on the bench. And so was reconfirming Emiliano Mondonico at the start of last season only to sack him a few weeks into the campaign.

However, both in 2002 and last season, Della Valle took the right decisions and luckily for Fiorentina these proved to be of fundamental importance to the club's future.

Avoiding the drop on the very last day was of paramount importance for the Viola last May. It was the start of a new bright dawn.

Della Valle acted swiftly to prise Prandelli away from a more quoted club like Roma. Prandelli cannot boast of having lifted silverware in the past but his sterling work at Parma convinced Della Valle that he was the ideal man to lead Fiorentina into a new era.

The first three seasons of Della Valle were a testing period.

Fiorentina needed one coaching change to win promotion to the Third Division in 2003 and replaced Alberto Cavasin with Mondonico the following term to get into Serie A.

Mondonico was then replaced by Sergio Buso, who, in return, bowed out to Dino Zoff in due course.

But, the real revival started when Fiorentina made sure of their Serie A status. The club could then unveil Prandelli and a host of top quality signings including Stefano Fiore, Sebastien Frey, Christian Brocchi, Giuseppe Pancaro and above all, ex-Palermo and Italy forward Luca Toni.

Fiorentina's football is based not on physical power but on pace and distribution, on a system where Toni can play alone in attack or supported by either Valeri Bojinov or Gianpaolo Pazzini.

Prandelli's preference is the tried and tested 4-4-2 system but lately, he has also deployed the team by way of a more prudent 4-5-1 formation.

Irrespective of the tactical ploy he adopts, ex-Lecce and Roma coach Prandelli is fully aware of the fact that what counts most is the quality of the players who apply it.

Fiorentina may be looking for two or three more players when the transfer market resumes in January, a wider cover for injuries and suspensions which might hinder them from making a stronger challenge for the top places.

In particular, Fiorentina seem to be short in central defence.

So far, they have scored in abundance but, at the same time, they have let in a number of soft goals. For them to keep up the pressure on Juventus and Milan, they have to improve at the back and, at the same time, they have to pursue with their goalscoring spree.

Tough calendar

Fiorentina's upcoming matches against Milan, Roma and Juventus come at the right time. These three fixtures will shed more light on the Viola's real credentials this season. If they want to hold on to their third place, then they will have to avoid defeat at all cost.

It will not be easy for them. Far from it. But Fiorentina have enough quality to compete this season. Their biggest shortcoming could be in defence but if they play an attacking game, then they stand a better chance to keep their opponents away from their goal.

Meanwhile, Fiorentina's journey towards glory continues. Their fans are delighted that after years in the doldrums the team is now on the right track and playing good enough to battle for the honours.