It may come as a surprise to many, but there is another ‘football’ team in Florence besides Fiorentina: Guelfi Firenze, an American football team.
In the 15 years since the team was founded, the current season is among its best to date. So far, the Guelfi have won all five of their games in their second division fixtures.
Things are looking promising for the Florence club, coached by Filippo Paciaroni, as it seeks promotion to Serie A. As defensive stalwart Edoardo Cammi commented, ‘We have a lot of young and upcoming talent, which only means our future will be even better than our present.’ Defensive coordinator and senior management member Filippo Martelli noted, ‘Although we have endured a lot of unfortunate injuries, the boys are really stepping up to the task.’
Guelfi Firenze recently teamed up with the faith-based nonprofit Athletes in Action to hold a clinic for local football teams. The club invited eight coaches from America and Canada to run drills, give pointers and bring knowledge to the Italian football scene.
For more information, including the team’s schedule of games, visit guelfifirenze.it or the club’s Facebook page.