Socrates

Juventus story The Birth Juventus are one of Italy?s oldest professional clubs which has earned them the nickname of La Vecchia Signora ? The Grand Old Lady. Founded in 1897 by students, the club originally played in pink shirts, but after the strips became faded and discoloured new strips that would prove more durable were required. An English player at the club had a friend from Nottingham send over a batch of his beloved Notts County strips and the Bianconeri (white and blacks) were born. Success came fairly quickly as the game of football started to bloom in the peninsula, Juventus? first championship win came in 1905, but just a year later an argument at boardroom level ripped the team apart and several important players followed staff to form Torino Football Club. The Agnelli family took the club over in the early twenties and the club has been linked with the family and its other major company ? FIAT ever since. This take-over provided the stability that was required after the war and the team being ripped apart and Juventus went on to become one of Italy?s leading clubs eventually netting five consecutive league wins in the early thirties. Domestic Record Juventus have become Italy?s most successful club, amassing 29 League wins (2 were rescinded due to the calciopoli scandal), a feat that sees them the only club in Italy to wear 2 stars on their shirt ? a team can wear one star for every ten league wins. In fact Juventus? league record dwarfs those of the other Italian giants, AC Milan have 17 league wins and Inernazionale have 15 (one awarded after calciopoli). Their 9 Coppa Italia (league cup) wins is also a record achievement, they?ve also won the Super Coppa Italia (league curtain raiser) 4 times and just recently added their first Serie B title. European Record Although Juventus? record in European and International competition is fantastic, their haul of 2 European Cup wins is a little on the sparse side when compared to other prestigious clubs, most notably their domestic rivals AC Milan. The first cup win in Europe?s flagship tournament came in 1985 against Liverpool. The win was completely overshadowed by the terrible events at the Heysel stadium which resulted in the death of 39 fans, 32 of which were Italian Juventus fans. The darkest hour in the club?s history. The second cup win was against Ajax of Amsterdam in 1996 after a 1-1 draw saw the match go to penalties, Vladimir Jugovic netted the eventual winner in a 4-2 victory for the Italians. The club?s success has spread to the other senior competitions, 3 UEFA Cup wins, 1 Cup Winner?s Cup win, 2 European Super Cup wins and 2 Intercontinental Cup wins. Fanbase Juve are credited as Italy?s most supported club with a recorded third of the country (14 million) following the Turin giants and a further 44 million across Europe. The huge percentage of fans in Italy is said to be thanks in part to the close connection with the FIAT car company, the company pulled in workers from all over the country to work in its Turin factory in the early days, especially from the south of the country where unemployment was high and life was economically grimmer than the industrial north. The workers followed ?FIAT?s team? and this has passed down the generations. FIAT was also always viewed as Italy?s company, a symbol of the country?s prosperity and strength, with Juventus tied so closely this earned them fans from across the nation. Club Greats The club has provided home to some of the world?s greatest players. Giampiero Boniperti - Spent 15 years at the club and made 444 appearances before his retirement, he went on to become President of the club. Gaetano Scirea - Was one of the finest defenders to play the game, one of many players who were Synonymous with the club during the halcyon times of the eighties. An elegant, classy sweeper who tragically died in a car crash in 1989 while on scouting duty for the club. Dino Zoff ? A professional career that spanned an incredible 32 years saw Zoff captain the World Cup winning side in 1982 at the grand old age of 40. Arguably the greatest ?keeper in history. Michel Platini ? Regarded by many as the greatest in the club?s history, the Frenchman was the epitome of the continental number ten. A player whose sublime ability saw him crowned European Player of the Year 3 consecutive years in a row as well as World player of the Year two consecutive years in a row. Roberto Baggio ? Bought for a then World record ?8m from bitter rivals Fiorentina, his sale to Juventus led to riots in the streets of Florence such was the Fiorentina fans rage at losing their idol to a hated rival. Zinedine Zidane ? A young classy playmaker from Bordeaux moved to the Turin giants for ?3m, 5 successful years later he became the most expensive player in the history of the game moving to Real Madrid for ?47m. from newcastle-online.com To be continued ....

The new Juve Year after scandal, relegation, Juventus on way back One of the most well-worn clich?s in sports is that "staying at the top is tougher than getting there." It's also one of the most idiotic. If you're smart and have even the most basic resources at your disposal you can, once you attain success, parlay it into a virtuous cycle, making it even harder for the competition to knock you off your perch. Juventus, of course, grew used to being on top, whether by fair means or foul (as was revealed in last summer's Calciopoli scandal), over the past decade. But that hegemony was smashed by the scandal, which saw Juve relegated to Serie B, publicly humiliated and forced to sell many of its stars. A year after its summer of shame, Juventus is back in Serie A, for what promises to be a very different experience. The likes of Gigi Buffon, Mauro Camoranesi, and, of course, Alessandro Del Piero are still around, as are David Trezeguet and Pavel Nedved. But much of the midfield and defense have been radically overhauled. Plus, there is an entirely different aura around the club, mostly due to the choice of manager, Claudio Ranieri, who replaced Didier Deschamps (despite the Frenchman leading Juve to the Serie B title). Ranieri beat out Gianluca Vialli for the job. Among the decisive factors, was that, unlike Vialli, the former Valencia boss had no ties to the old Juve, either as a player or as a coach. But another key factor had to do with image. Whatever else one may think of him, Ranieri is a genuinely likeable guy, a true gentleman who avoids controversy and radiates fair play. Contrast this with the previous regime, the combination of manager Fabio Capello, chief executive Antonio Giraudo, vice president Roberto Bettega and general manger Luciano Moggi. Lapo Elkann, scion of the Agnelli family and one of the club's owners famously said about that quartet: "The fact that Moggi is the most likeable of the bunch says it all, doesn't it?" Winning friends is only part of the new Juve. Soon after promotion it became clear that the club had to build for next season. What's more, it had to do it from a severely weakened position. Two years ago, Juventus attracted more sponsorship money than any other club in the world: most of those contracts were voided following relegation. Two seasons without the Champions League (last year and this year) are also quite a blow, as is the lost stadium revenue from the year in Serie B. All of this left Juventus in a big financial hole, which meant this summer's transfer budget was rather limited. Those who expected the Bianconeri to roar back with a star-studded array of new faces are going to be disappointed. Instead, Juve went for guys who could help the team go to the next level which, at this stage, means -- at a minimum -- qualifying for the Champions' League. Along the way, Juve has strengthened every department, albeit quietly. Jorge Andrade and Zdenek Grygera may not be box-office players but they are solid veterans who will tighten up the back four. The new faces in midfield have a similar profile: Tiago, formerly of Lyon and Chelsea, Hasan Salihamidzic, picked up on a free from Bayern, and the Argentine Sergio Almiron, one of Serie A's unsung heroes last year. All are solid, workman-like pros with the added bonus of not costing too much in terms of wages or transfer fees, much like Vincenzo Iaquinta, a World Cup-winning center forward, nabbed on the cheap from Udinese. For an aristocratic club like Juventus, it's quite the blue-collar revolution. It also leaves Ranieri with a very large squad, one which includes varied constituencies, from gifted up-and-comers (Domenico Criscito, Raffaele Palladino, Claudio Marchisio) to holdover superstars from the old Juve (Camoranesi, Del Piero, Nedved, Trezeguet and Buffon) to the new signings. Keeping everyone happy and finding enough playing time in a season with no European action won't be easy. Particularly since you have to wonder how many of these guys fit into Ranieri's plan. In fact, it's an open secret that Nedved's decision to play another year was seen as something of a mixed blessing. Equally, the club tried to sell Camoranesi and Trezeguet but nobody came close to matching Juve's valuation. And so Juve re-signed them to long-term deals (through 2010 and 2011, respectively) with the club's spin doctors putting out the message that two "crucial cogs" to Juve's future had been put into place with the contract extensions. Whether this was the case or whether Juve just found itself stuck with these guys and preferred giving them new deals rather than losing them on free transfers next summer remains to be seen. What does seem indisputable, however, is that Ranieri will have plenty to sink his teeth into this season. He's not just rebuilding a side. He and Juve's new executives are rebuilding a whole club, a brand, a way of doing business. And they are doing it at one of the most historic and tradition-rich clubs in the world, after making a clean break from its recent past. It's a tall order indeed. from sportsillustrated.com

I have found something about the recent Juve history and about our glorious future. Juventus Back After Season Of Purgatory This time last year the ?Old Lady? was on her knees, her legs buckling under the strain of Calciopoli, Italy?s biggest ever match-fixing scandal. Juventus were contemplating their first ever campaign in the second division after being banished to Serie B with a nine-point penalty for their involvement in the furore. Many big names departed for pastures new and the future looked awfully bleak for Italy?s most successful and best supported club. But following a swift promotion ? masterminded by former Juve player Didier Deschamps before he fell out with the club and quit ? a major boardroom overhaul and a host of new signings, ?La Vecchia Signora? is back on her feet and ready to reclaim her place at the top of Serie A. Gone are the two architects of Juventus? web of corruption - general manager Luciano Moggi and director Antonio Giraudo ? while on the pitch several new players have been drafted in. Claudio Ranieri has replaced Deschamps as coach, while Italian World Cup striker Vincenzo Iaquinta and Portuguese midfielder Tiago are among an influx of reinforcements. John Elkann, heir to Fiat, the Italian car manufacturing giant which own Juventus, insists the Turin club are stronger than ever after putting their house in order. ?Being in Serie B was tough and it would have been better had we been able to avoid it ? nobody enjoyed a season in purgatory,? he said. ?Now we are back in Serie A with a clear conscience and strong squad - on the pitch and off it.? Juventus president Giovanni Cobolli Gigli predicted the club would make life difficult for their main rivals, Inter and AC Milan. ?We will make sure we give everyone a hard time, and as always we will play to win every fixture,? he said. ?In Ranieri we have a great, experienced coach and I am more than satisfied with the signings we have made. It?s been a real team effort, with (CEO Jean-Claude) Blanc and (sporting director Alessio) Secco the main protagonists. Blanc is very good in transfer dealings, he?s like a poker player.? Expectations are high at Juventus after a summer makeover but Ranieri, who guided Parma to survival on the last day of the Serie A season, warned the club?s fans not to expect miracles. ?We have a burning desire for victory ? it?s in the DNA of this club,? said the former Chelsea manager. ?First we?ll try to demonstrate it domestically, and then in Europe. I can guarantee I will tell my players the one thing I have always said in my career ? I don?t care who we?re playing, I just want to win. ?But the fans must understand that rebuilding a squad and returning it to its past glories will take some time.? As well as bringing in several new faces, Juve managed to hold onto World Cup-winning goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, French striker David Trezeguet and Czech midfielder Pavel Nedved who will provide some much-needed experience as they navigate their way back in the big time. While Italy were celebrating World Cup victory last year, Juventus hit their nadir. But twelve months is a long time in football, and with a nip here and a tuck there, the Old Lady is starting to look glamorous again. from suntimes.co.za

E non e' il primo.

Questo non lo fanno neanche nel campionato di Haiti.

Spero che l'Arezzo si salvi con il TAR e che lo Spezia di Moratti comunque vada in C1 con il play out contro il Verona.

Auguro di cuore all'Arezzo di salvarsi grazie al TAR visto che la Juve non lo ha fatto.

L'Arezzo di Antonio Conte retrocesso grazie alla Juventus.

Parata miracolosa di Santoni per lo Spezia.

Incredibile. Lo Spezia e' la nostra bestia nera.

Trezeguet meglio di Platini in quanto a media-goal.

Palo dello Spezia!

Gli interisti dello Spezia stanno per retrocedere.

Guzman cerca di dare un dispiacere alla Juve e ad Antonio Conte.

Meno male! Manca poco alla premiazione della Juve.

Non esagerare ora.

Io al posto del verbo "buttare" userei un altro verbo ma non posso provare i miei sospetti e quindi me lo tengo per me.

Pero' anche l'anno scorso Buffon aveva salutato il pubblico all'ultima giornata e poi e' rimasto.

Potrebbe essere stata l'ultima partita di Trezeguet con la maglia della Juve.

Di nuovo pareggio immediato della Juve con Bianco su passaggio del genietto Giovinco!!!!

Pareggio della Triestina, Spezia in vantaggio, Arezzo in C1.

Goal di Guidetti per lo Spezia.

Entra Guzman per lo Spezia.