Joe Barone was the driving force behind the new Fiorentina training facilities, the state-of-the-art Viola Park, so it feels fitting people will be able to pay their tributes to him there.
Barone died today, just one day shy of his 58th birthday, and it has been confirmed his coffin will be held at the Viola Park before the funeral.
When President Rocco Commisso took charge of Fiorentina in 2019, he was immediately accompanied by right-hand man Barone, who had already worked with him at the New York Cosmos.
There were plans to build a new stadium, which ran into the usual problems with Italian red tape, but what they were able to get constructed was a new state-of-the-art training facility called Viola Park.
It is the biggest training centre in Italy, representing a base for the club, the men’s senior team, women’s team and youth squads with 12 training pitches, two small stadiums, four gyms, hotel rooms and a restaurant.
The project began in November 2019 in Bagno a Ripoli, close to Florence, and was opened formally in July 2023, but not to the public until the grand opening on October 11.
Among those invited to the event were UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin, Minister for Sport Andrea Abodi, Italy coach Luciano Spalletti and the Presidents of the CONI, FIGC and Lega Serie A.