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33rd Scudetto

30 May 2015



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7th Italian Supercup

8 August 2015



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A Juventus Renaissance, Part I: Road to hell and back

 

 

 

http://www.juvefc.com/juventus-renaissance-part-road-hell-back/

 

 

Mar 22, 2017

Tifosibianconeri English page - CLICK HERE

 

 

In the wake of a crucial string of victories over opponents both domestic and international, containing a storm of controversy surrounding Juve’s victories over Napoli, Inter and AC Milan, I decided to trail back in recent Juve history and begin a review of the past 10 years. Juve at this point in the current campaign has built up a healthy 8-point lead in the league, with less than 10 games left to play.  The Bianconeri  also have one foot in the Coppa Italia final after beating Napoli 3-1 in the first leg of the semi’s. And to top it all, the Bianconeri have sealed a spot in the Champions League quarterfinals against Barcelona, beating Porto with a sound 3-0 aggregate score!

But this article is not about these games. No, we go back to relive the glory and doom of years gone by. It embodies both our darkest hour and arguably the most successful period Juventus ever had. It is a tale of heroes and villains, of glory and despair. For many, nothing new will be written. For some, this might be an eye opener. In whichever group you belong, I aim to keep you fascinated and to continue reading. So let’s get started with a little glory and meet the boys in black and white anno 2004.

2004-2005

After unsuccessfully defending the 2002-2003 Serie A title in the 2003-2004 campaign in which Juve finished third, the Bianconeri looked to bounce back in 2004-2005. 2003 was also the year in which Gianni Agnelli, son of Edoardo, passed away after losing his battle with cancer. It would eventually mean a lot more responsibility for the next Agnelli in line: Andrea, but that would come later.

 

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The proud class of 2005, containing some absolute legends, with Buffon the last remaining survivor of that team

Coach Marcello Lippi’s contract was not renewed after what was seen as a failed season and Fabio Capello was announced as the new man on the bench, a move many praised manager Luciano Moggi for. Besides Capello, Juve also landed the then most sought after youngster of that year, none other than Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who arrived from top Dutch team, Ajax. Capello proved to be an instant success: Juve won the Scudetto, aided by Ibrahimovic, who turned out Juve’s topscorer in the league with 16 goals.

The Champions League campaign was bittersweet: Juve had a strong group phase, beating Bayern Munich twice and won 5 out of 6 games – that sixth game being a draw. Juve beat Real Madrid 2-1 on aggregate in the round of 16, goals courtesy of Trezeguet and Zalayeta. The next opponent, Liverpool, was too stubborn however. The Reds managed to beat Juve in the quarterfinals and went on to win the Champions League.

The Coppa Italia campaign was a disaster, with Juve bowing out to Atalanta in the round of 16.
Disaster struck the Agnelli family again in 2004, as this was the year in which the great Umberto Agnelli died. These were dire times for the Agnelli family, with the FIAT group and Juventus ownership now managed by chosen heir John Elkann, until a new Agnelli could stand up and take responsibility (Andrea was still a young man at the time).

2005-2006

Juventus picked up where they left the last season, adding Patrick Vieira to the roster and winning the first 9 games of the season before losing their first and only league game in the season, away against Milan. Juve comfortably won the league, boasting Trezeguet as club topscorer with 23 goals, with only Viola man Luca Toni doing even better with 31 goals to be crowned Capocannoniere

In the Champions League, we got an almost exact repeat of last season: Juve won 5 out of 6 games in a group phase containing Bayern Munich, Club Brugge and Rapid Wien, losing just once to Bayern. They went on to beat Werder Bremen in the round of 16 and were then eliminated by Arsenal in the quarterfinals after a 2-0 defeat in London and a 0-0 stalemate at home. The Coppa Italia fortunes did not improve much either: after disposing of Fiorentina with a 6-3 aggregate score in the round of 16, Juve was eliminated by Roma in the quarterfinals by away goals after a 3-3 aggregate score.

2006 World Cup

In the following 2006 World Cup in Germany, we witnessed a vintage Italy. Hard as a rock in defense, a strong midfield and a close to legendary attack, yet as seems to be customary, Italy were not expected to get far. The Azzurri were in a group with Ghana, the Czech Republic and the United States, beating the first two before drawing with the US.

Group leaders Italy then defeated Australia 1-0 in the round of 16 after playing the majority of that game with 10 men, after defender Materazzi picked up a controversial red card. Totti converted an equally controversial penalty in the dying seconds of that game. Next up came Ukraine in the quarterfinals: an easy 3-0 for Italy! Juventus man Zambrotta opened the scoring after only 6 minutes before Luca Toni added two more goals to finish the job. In the semi’s, Italy faced hosts Germany and put them to the sword: Despite a hard-fought and dogged display from the Germans, it ended 2-0 for Italy, goals by Grosso and none other than Juventus icon Alessandro Del Piero.

Quite a few Bianconeri stalwarts played in the grand final between France and Italy:  Buffon, Cannavaro, Zambrotta and Camoranesi started the match, while Del Piero was subbed in later. For France, Vieira and Thuram started with Trezeguet subbed in later. Former Juventini Zidane and Thierry Henry also started the game for France. The game was tied 1-1 after 120 minutes (goals by Materazzi for Italy and Zidane for France) and eventually won by Italy after penalties, with Fabio Grosso scoring the eventual winning penalty (and the unfortunate Trezeguet missing for France, dooming his country to a loss)

 

 


Unfortunately, this is where things took a very, very dark turn for Juventus. It would be a long time before Juve got another taste of success. It was the time of Calciopoli, often nicknamed “Moggiopoli” by those who hate Juve and “Farsopoli” by the Juve faithful.

 

 

CALCIOPOLI

Calciopoli is what we call the shitstorm that broke loose in May 2005, when recordings of phone calls between then Juve manager Luciano Moggi + Antonio Giraudo (among others, such as Milan, Lazio and Fiorentina … ) and the referee designator board were discovered by media and the police.

Severe punishments were demanded by prosecutor Palazzi, especially for Juve, it must be said. The original demand for Juventus was demotion to a league lower than Serie B, (not specified), a six-point deduction to start in that league, the stripping of the 2005 and 2006 Serie A titles and a huge fine. As the World Cup winning Juve players arrived back home, they were greeted by detectives and being accused of corruption. As if that wasn’t bad enough, Buffon was accused of betting on rigged matches. The homes of Gigi, Cannavaro and Ibrahimovic were searched by the police, with no discoveries made.

There are multiple recordings that show Moggi had contact with the referee designators for games, though there is nothing that shows Moggi could hand pick the referee he liked best. He was a close friend with Bergamo and they often called, sometimes talking about this or that referee indeed, but never did Moggi specify ‘I want this referee for that game, give me that one’. Never.

Moggi.jpg

One of the most brilliant transfer guru’s of all time, a charismatic man, undone by the wretchedness of Calciopoli…

In a short version: Moggi was a brilliant, but proud and vain businessman. He had great knowledge of football and knew very well how to play the media. He also had a great eye for talent, was deservedly seen as the best transfer guru of his time, had many friends in important offices and was a charismatic man. He is seen as the main figure in Calciopoli, but then he has also been made the scapegoat of the entire affair. Berlusconi of Milan, the Della Valle brothers of Fiorentina and Lotito of Lazio have all been caught out with similar recordings. Years later, recordings surfaced of Giacinto Facchetti of Inter doing the same thing (though Facchetti was deceased at the time this happened).

There are a whole lot of reasons why Calciopoli divides opinions even now, in 2017, 11 years after it all took place. Internazionale and its fans like to play the role of the knight in shining armour, the sole innocent club, who cleared out the swamp of corruption. And after doing that, nicely cruising to an easy 4 Scudetti in a row! A justified position? I think not. Here’s why.
For starters, the sound tapes were held by Telecom Italia, a company that was managed by a man who was also manager of Pirelli, who were and still are, as you might know, Inters main sponsor. When releasing said sound tapes, nothing was done with them originally. At the time, there was no rule that said managers could not be in contact with the referee designators. It was common in most clubs to have phone calls between club hierarchy and the referee body.

Next up, the head of the FIGC was forced to step down after a scandal and was replaced by a self-confessed Inter fan – Guido Rossi, who also was a shareholder of Inter AND Telecom Italia. It still doesn’t stop there, as Massimo Moratti himself, Inter president at the time, was also a Telecom Italia shareholder. Keep in mind that all the sound tapes involving Giacinto Facchetti, Inter president prior to Moratti, talking to the referee designator board suddenly ‘vanished’ and were not made public in the media. Coincidence or planned out, one must wonder. It certainly was a boon for Inter.

Another reason why Calciopoli is farcical can be seen when one looks to the players on the pitch. Juve boasted a squad full of international stars, quite a few of them even captains of their national teams, Cannavaro was captain of the Azzurri for example. Why on earth would a squad like that need to bribe a referee? Sure, having good players isn’t excluding any bribery or wrongdoing, but one must ask himself, why would Juventus need to bribe anyone to win? With a squad like they had at the time, a top 3 finish was always on the books and they certainly won those titles on the pitch.

Finally, Juve were placed last for the 2005-2006 season (they won the championship before the trial), demoted to Serie B, starting with a 9-point deduction (originally 30-point deduction was demanded, after it was settled that Juve would play in Serie B), fined a sizeable fee and stripped of both the 2004-2005 and 2005-2006 titles, the latter of which was handed to the then 3rd ranked team – Inter. Why to the third ranked team you ask? Because second placed team Milan was also punished for their part in Calciopoli. The 2004-2005 title has been left unassigned ever since. Milan, Fiorentina and Lazio were all docked points and received a fine, but got to keep their top-flight status.

Juve were not found guilty of direct sporting fraud: they were found guilty of a violation of sporting principles and influencing the referee. Inter fan and FIGC chief Guido Rossi conveniently made it illegal for club managers to have any contact with referees, so punishments could be handed out. Juventus general manager Moggi was found guilty of having unjustified power in the league and enriching himself in illegal ways and therefore banned from any football related activities for life.

A case as enormous as this one should have taken months or even years to thoroughly investigate and conclude, if there was any wrongdoing and if so, who the culprit was. Andrea Agnelli, current Juventus president, witnessed the Calciopoli period as a young man, with many lawyers among his friends. They told him how excited they were about this process: it would be huge and a real test for their skills. Only 3 weeks later, the trial was done and dusted, with the aforementioned conclusion. Remember, the people deciding this were shareholders and managers in Inter itself, Telecom Italia and Pirelli, coincidentally enough, all linked with one another.

Juventus originally announced they would take this decision to court, which was ill received by the FIFA board. They threatened to suspend the FIGC and thus throw out all Serie A participants from FIFA competitions for next season if the case went through. The day before the case was set to start in court, Juventus called it off. In an interestign twist, Milan went on to win the 2006-2007 Champions League!

The recordings of the now deceased Inter manager Facchetti prove Inter have managed to evade any punishment, as they are now protected by the statute of limitations, which renders any case older than 10 years as void. Inter has been asked (on basis of ethics, since they can’t be forced to on legal basics) to hand back the 05-06 Scudetto to Juve, something then president Moratti refused to do, clinging on to what is now called the ‘cardboard’ Scudetto. Moggi is banned for life from any football activities, but most of the charges against him were dropped, also due to the statute of limitations. He is convicted of being the ‘main promoter’ of a conspiracy.

Juventus under Andrea Agnelli is still fighting for amendments of what is now received as unfair and out of proportion punishments, received in 2006. It is an uphill battle though, as the statute of limitations is a big shield for the whole case. Juventus are trying legal ways to find compensation, be it through CAS or the Liga. They have taken it to European court as well, but it remains a glaring question mark if Juve will ever see any compensation for the damages suffered.

Current FIGC president Carlo Tavecchio seemed to be seeking a deal with Juve a few months ago, but not much has been reported ever since. Juve reportedly demanded both revoked Scudetti back and the enormous fee of 400 million Euros for repair in damages suffered by the demotion, loss of players and huge smear on the Juventus reputation. Tavecchio allegedly said that if Juventus were to receive such a fee, the FIGC would be financially broke and was reported to suggest handing both Scudetti back in return for the case to be dropped.

I have to say the last part is unconfirmed and undocumented; We will have to wait longer for any true definite conclusions. In any case, Juve is pursuing any and all legal ways to take back the revoked Scudetti. Whether it will be to any avail is questionable, but the Juve mentality is rooted in ‘Fino alla fine’ after all. The Italian justice system has failed us, hopefully Europe can change something. If there was anyone who should have been severely punished, it was Internazionale. The true winner of Calciopoli was Inter. They won 4 successive Scudetti, thanks to a lack of real opposition.

CALCIOPOLI AFTERMATH

Of course, Juventus had to face with dire consequences of the scandal in 2006-2007. First, the entire management board resigned (some were banned) and left Juve. Former player and then newly appointed sporting director Gianluca Pessotto even attempted suicide, despite not being investigated, by throwing himself off a building. Miraculously, he survived and has fully recovered from his fall. Perhaps the most damaging consequence however, was the mass exodus of star players that followed. In order to understand this, I will note the team that won the 2005-2006 championship and note the team that played for Juve in the 2006-2007 Serie B competition.

2005-2006 winning Juventus squad:

Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Buffon, Christian Abbiati, Landry Bonnefoi
Defenders: Alessandro Birindelli, Gianluca Zambrotta, Fabio Cannavaro, Lilian Thuram, Giorgio Chiellini, Gianluca Pessotto, Federico Balzaretti, Jonathan Zebina, Robert Kovac, Igor Tudor
Midfielders: Patrick Vieira, Emerson, Pavel Nedved, Mauro Camoranesi, Manuele Blasi, Ruben Olivera, Giuliano Giannichedda
Attackers: Alessandro Del Piero, David Trezeguet, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Marcelo Zalayeta, Adrian Mutu

Coach: Fabio Capello

(Players in bold are still present in the 2016-2017 squad, players in italics are on the current management board)

The older Juventus fans will read this list and feel a hint of nostalgia, as this was a team laden with talent, capable of challenging on all fronts. Without any doubt, this was one of the finest teams Juve ever had. The younger fans among us will perhaps not know all of these players, but I think most Juventini will at least have heard of most names in this list. Many of them were world class stars.

After the forced demotion, many of the stars left. Gianluca Zambrotta and Lilian Thuram left for Barcelona. Coach Capello jumped ship, taking Cannavaro and Emerson with him to Real Madrid. Adrian Mutu left for Fiorentina. What perhaps hurt the most, on an emotional level, was the exit of Patrick Vieira and Zlatan Ibrahimovic to arch rivals, Internazionale.

Many Juventini have never forgiven either of them for the deep betrayal. They will be remembered as those who left their Lady in darkness, at a time she needed them most..
Other stars decided to stay and their names are forever written in the heart of Juventus. Gianluigi Buffon, Pavel Nedved, Mauro Camoranesi, Alessandro Del Piero and David Trezeguet chose to weather the storm and bring Juve back to its former glory. Three of these had only just won the World Cup and now looked at a season in the second tier of Italian football.

To start the new season in Serie B, Juve promoted a host of Primavera players to the senior team, players who won the youth competition in the previous season, in order to fill the glaring holes left by the mass exodus. Former Juventus midfielder Didier Deschamps – current Bleus manager – was appointed as coach and a new management was formed with Giovanni Cobolli Gigli as president, Alessio Secco as sporting director and Jean-Claude Blanc as chairman at the helm.

2006-2007 Serie B Juventus squad:

Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Buffon, Antonio Mirante, Emanuele Belardi
Defenders: Giorgio Chiellini, Alessandro Birindelli, Robert Kovac, Felice Piccolo, Federico Balzaretti, Jean-Alain Boumsong, Jonathan Zebina, Paolo De Ceglie, Nicola Legrottaglie, Andrea Pisani, Igor Tudor, Orlando Urbano
Midfielders: Pavel Nedved, Mauro Camoranesi, Claudio Marchisio, Giuliano Giannichedda, Matteo Paro, Marco Marchionni, Dario Venitucchi, Cristiano Zanetti
Attackers: Alessandro Del Piero, David Trezeguet, Marcelo Zalayeta, Valeri Bojinov, Raffaele Palladino, Tomas Guzman

Coach: Didier Deschamps

Juve started, as earlier mentioned, with -9 points and began the season with a drab 1-1 draw to Rimini. Doubts were high; would Juve ever be able to climb up to greatness again? Would they slump away in the bowels of lower league football? After that draw however, the Juve machine sparked to life and Juve racked up points at high speed. The remnants of the great 2005-2006 team ensured Juve won Serie B and were straight back up to Serie A football, with Del Piero crowned Serie B Capocannoniere with 20 goals. Napoli and Genoa finished the list of 3 teams promoted to the top tier.

Sadly enough, with just two games remaining to finish the Serie B campaign, coach Didier Deschamps resigned from his position due to disagreements with director of football Secco over the transfers for next season. His assistant coach, Giancarlo Corradini, took the reins for the remainder of the season. Claudio Ranieri was appointed as his permanent successor for the upcoming season. A fresh start in Serie A awaited Juve, albeit with a very different team.

To be continued…

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On This Day: Goodbye Del Piero

 

DelPiero-goodbye490epa_6.jpg

 

http://www.football-italia.net/102502/day-goodbye-del-piero

 

 

May 13, 2017

 

Tifosibianconeri English page - CLICK HERE

 

On this day in 2012, Alessandro Del Piero played his final Serie A game for Juventus, at a tearful Juventus Stadium.

It had been announced in October of 2011 that the captain would not be offered a new contract, so demand for tickets for the season finale with Atalanta was huge.

The Bianconeri had secured the Scudetto a week before, and though he had been a peripheral figure for much of the season, Del Piero’s winner against Lazio proved to be crucial in winning the first title of the post-Calciopoli era.

Unsurprisingly, Pinturicchio started in his final match in Turin, and Luca Marrone put the Old Lady in front after nine minutes.

 

Del_Piero-_Scudetto-epa.jpg

 

The real show was yet to come though, and the stadium held its breath as Del Piero exchanged passes with Emanuele Giaccherini on the edge of the box.

The Juve captain stood on the edge of the D, took a quick look at the goal and fired a perfect shot into the bottom corner for his 289th Juventus goal.

The Bianconeri fans went wild, and Del Piero was swamped by his teammates - he’d crowned his farewell in the best way.

If that was emotional, the crowd in Turin hadn’t seen anything yet.

With 57 minutes played, the board went up - Simone Pepe on, Del Piero off. After shaking hands with everyone on the pitch - including the referee - the veteran took his seat on the bench.

The crowd hadn’t seen enough though, demanding that their idol make one final lap of honour.

What followed was a bizarre yet touching spectacle, with the game a mere distraction as Del Piero collected scarves thrown to him by the adoring Juventini.

People in the stands were in tears, though Alex himself just about managed to hold it together.

His final match, the Coppa Italia final with Napoli, would end on a more bitter note with defeat, but the lasting image will be of that final walk around the stadium.

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On This Day: Juventus win CL

 

Juventus-CL-1996-Juve.jpg

 

http://www.football-italia.net/102954/day-juventus-win-cl

 

 

May 22, 2017

 

On this day in 1996, Juventus won the Champions League by beating Ajax in a penalty shoot-out.

 

The knockout stage had seen Marcello Lippi’s side beat Real Madrid and then Nantes, advancing to the final at Rome’s Stadio Olimpico.

 

Winning the competition for the first time since 1985 would be no easy task, however, against an Ajax side which was defending their crown.

 

Louis van Gaal could call on the likes of Edwin van der Sar, Edgar Davids, Jari Litmanen and the De Boer brother, Ronald and Frank.

 

Lippi though had his famously deadly front three, Gianluca Vialli flanked by Fabrizio Ravenelli and a young Alessandro Del Piero.

 

Behind them sat the current Coaches of Fiorentina, France and Chelsea in the shape of Paulo Sousa, Didier Deschamps and Antonio Conte.

 

Things got off to a flying start for the Old Lady, Ravenelli capitalising on a mix-up between Van der Sar and Frank de Boer to score from a seemingly impossible angle.

 

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The Dutch side came back though, Angelo Peruzzi spilling a ball in the box which allowed Litmanen to equalise.

 

Ravanelli missed what was arguably an easier chance than the one he had scored, but the sides couldn’t be separated and the match went to penalties.

 

Future Bianconero Davids went first, but Peruzzi guess right to beat away his low effort.

 

Ciro Ferrara, Litmanen, Gianluca Pessotto, Arnold Scholten and Michele Padovano all scored their spot kicks, piling the pressure on Ajax’s fourth kicker, Sonny Silooy.

 

The whistles from the mostly Italian crowd were deafening, and the defender had to re-spot the ball on the instruction of referee Manuel Díaz Vega.

 

Silooy never looked confident, and his tame penalty was easily read by Peruzzi, who dived to his left and beat the ball away.

 

Juventus held a 3-2 lead in the shoot-out, meaning Vladimir Jugovic had only to score to ensure the trophy would head home to Turin.

 

In the event Van der Sar guessed correctly, but the Yugoslavian’s spot kick was right in the side netting and the Bianconeri went wild.

 

Lippi’s men would go on to reach the final for the next two years in a row, but lost both times to Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid respectively.

 

The Old Lady was truly a European power, but she could not, it seemed, repeat the feat of Rome.

 

Another two losses - in 2003 and 2015 - mean Juve have not actually won the big-eared cup since that Jugovic penalty hit the netting.

They will try to correct that in Cardiff in just under two weeks’ time.

 

main image via juventus.com

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On This Day: The Heysel disaster

 

 

http://www.football-italia.net/103312/day-heysel-disaster

 

 

May 29, 2017

 

Juventus won their first European Cup on this day in 1985, but it was overshadowed by the death of 39 fans in the Heysel disaster.

 

The Bianconeri had beaten Ilves, Grasshopper, Sparta Prague and Bordeaux to set-up a final with reigning champions Liverpool.

 

The match was to be played in Belgium’s national stadium, Heysel Stadium in Brussels, but the venue was in a state of disrepair and arguably unfit to hold such an event.

 

Both clubs were given over 25,000 tickets for the match, with neutral Belgian fans to be housed in section Z, next to the English supporters.

 

Due to the large Italian expat community in Belgium, as well as ticket touting, the neutral section soon became a de facto Juve area.

 

Before the match, a group of Liverpool fans broke through the boundary separating them from section Z, with the Juventus fans fleeing toward the perimeter wall.

 

The result was that supporters were crushed against wall, causing the deaths of 39 fans and a further 600 injuries.

 

The wall then collapsed, though it’s thought this may actually have saved lives by relieving the deadly pressure.

 

Heysel-fans-epa.jpg

 

In retaliation for the events in section Z, Bianconeri supporters from the other end of the stadium began to riot, fighting pitched battles with police and Liverpool fans.

 

Despite the tragic events in the stands, UEFA and the local police felt that cancelling the match would create an even greater security problem, and the match went ahead.

 

To this day it’s not clear how much the players of both sides knew about events, with the Juve players stating they knew there had been trouble, but were unaware of any deaths.

 

The Old Lady won the trophy, winning 1-0 thanks to a Michel Platini penalty, though it hardly mattered given the backdrop to the match.

 

“I’ve never won the European Cup,” Marco Tardelli, playing in midfield that night, said this year. “That is, I’ve won it but I haven’t… won it. I don’t recognise it.”

 

English clubs were banned from Europe for the next five seasons, while top officials and 14 Liverpool fans were convicted of manslaughter.

 

Today at Heysel there is a memorial to commemorate the disaster, as there is at Juventus’ museum and Liverpool’s Anfield Stadium.

 

"The memory of the victims, taken from their families and loved ones on that ill-fated night, has remained with us constantly for 32 years," Juventus said in a statement today.

 

"Not a day goes past when we do not feel compelled to remember them and make sure that a similar act of madness must never, ever be repeated."

 

 

Liverpool FC today remembers the 39 football fans who lost their lives at Heysel Stadium on this day 32 years ago.

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Happy 120th birthday, Juventus

 

 

http://www.football-italia.net/112181/happy-120th-birthday-juventus

 

 

Nov 1, 2017

 

Today marks the 120th anniversary of the founding of Serie A’s most successful club, Juventus.

 

The club was founded on November 1, 1897 by students from the Massimo D'Azeglio Lyceum school, and initially wore pink and black kits.

 

It was in 1903 that the famous Bianconeri kits were adopted, with then Juve player Tom Gordon Savage sourcing black and white kits from his hometown side, Notts County.

 

Savage had met his wife, Sarah, in Turin and had two children in the city, Ettore and Richard Savage.

 

The first Scudetto arrived in 1905, before a split in the club the following year led to President Alfred Dick forming a new side: Torino.

 

That league triumph wasn’t followed up by quick success, with the dominant Old Lady we know today only really coming into being after the club was bought by FIAT owner Edoardo Agnelli in 1923.

 

Juventus-fans-_Piazza_Castello490epa.jpg

 

Agnelli financed the construction of a new stadium, and the club’s first ever professional Coach, the Hungarian Jenő Károly brought a second Scudetto in 1926.

The 1930s saw Juve really become a dominant force in Italy, winning five Scudetti in a row, a feat matched only be il Grande Torino, and beaten only by the current Bianconeri side.

 

However, following the last of those consecutive triumphs Juventus fell away, with Torino becoming Italy’s dominant side both before and after the Second World War.

 

The early 50s brought a further two Scudetti, but it was with the arrival of John Charles and Omar Sivori, joining Giampiero Boniperti up-front that once again took the Bianconeri up a level.

 

They became the first ever Italian side to win 10 league titles, winning the Scudetto in 1958, 1960 and 1961.

 

The 1970s and 80s brought further Scudetti, as well as European success in the form of the 1977 UEFA Cup, the 1984 Cup Winners’ Cup and the 1985 European Cup.

 

However, the latter was marred by tragedy as 39 Juve supporters were killed after Liverpool supporters broke through barriers at Heysel Stadium, causing a mass crush.

 

Aside from the 1986 Scudetto, there was a period of relative decline after Heysel, with Arrigo Sacchi’s Milan and a Napoli inspired by Diego Maradona ending the Turin club’s domestic dominance.

 

Lippi-suit-epa.jpg

 

It was not until the arrival of Marcello Lippi for the 1994-95 season, with the cigar smoking Coach winning the Scudetto in his first campaign.

 

The following season Lippi led a side featuring Alessandro Del Piero, Antonio Conte and Gianluca Vialli to a Champions League triumph, though they would lose in the final in the two following seasons, having won Serie A.

 

Lippi left during the 1998-99 season, and his replacement Carlo Ancelotti could only finish second in the two subsequent campaigns, missing out on the Scudetto by one point and then two points to Lazio and Roma respectively.

 

That prompted the club to bring Lippi back, and he won another two Scudetti before losing the 2003 Champions League final to Milan.

 

Fabio Capello’s arrival in 2004 brought a further two Scudetti, but there was a dark cloud hanging over the club.

 

Wiretaps were unearthed of general manager Luciano Moggi attempting to influence the appointment of referees, and the club was demoted to Serie B, with the two previous titles stripped.

 

The 2004-05 Scudetto remains unassigned, with the following season’s title awarded to Inter as a result of the scandal.

 

Those titles remain a controversial issue, with Juventini and indeed the club continuing to count them, especially after prosecutor Stefano Palazzi accused the Nerazzurri of the same crimes in 2011.

 

However, the statute of limitations had expired and no charges were ever brought against Inter.

 

Though many of the team’s stars left rather than remaining with Juventus in Serie B, several stayed, including Del Piero, Gianluigi Buffon, David Trezeguet, Pavel Nedved and Mauro Camoranesi.

 

Del_Piero-_Frosinone490epa.jpg

 

The Bianconeri won the second division, returning to Serie A at the first time of asking, but despite some qualified initial success they were unable to return to their pre-Calciopoli heights.

 

That all changed in the summer of 2011 when, after two seventh-place finishes in a row, Antonio Conte returned to the club as Coach.

 

Aided by a shrewd summer transfer campaign which saw Andrea Pirlo, Arturo Vidal and Stephan Lichtsteiner arrive in Turin, the former midfielder led the Old Lady to the title unbeaten.

 

Juventus have won the Scudetto in every season since then, taking six on the bounce as well as the last three Coppe Italia.

 

Despite their domestic domination though, European success has continued to prove elusive, with Max Allegri’s side losing the Champions League final in 2015 and 2017.

 

Having won the Coppa Italia 12 times and Serie A on 33 - 35 if you’re a Juve fan - occasions, adding to those two European Cups is the final frontier a very Old Lady.

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Del Piero: ‘When I joined Juventus…’

 

 

http://www.football-italia.net/112216/del-piero-‘when-i-joined-juventus…’

 

 

Nov 2, 2017

 

Alessandro Del Piero recalls his “total euphoria” after joining Juventus, and reveals Giampiero Boniperti told him “cut your hair”.

 

The former striker is a Bianconeri legend, having made more appearances and scored more goals for the club than anyone else.

 

Pinturicchio joined the Old Lady from Padova in 1993, and he recalled his beginnings in Turin while talking to Sky.

 

“My first night in Turin I couldn’t close my eyes, regardless of the fact I was a Juventus fan,” Del Piero recalled.

 

“It was a moment of total euphoria for me, I didn’t sleep very much. Then you start to realise where you are, with the proximity of teammates of such a high level.

 

“At first it was very difficult for me, but my teammates helped me. I found the right atmosphere, and an understanding with my teammates, the team and the club, it was the best.

 

“Signing my contract with Boniperti? When I was invited to see Juventus in Udine he told me ‘cut your hair’. I had already cut it…

 

“Then my agent and I had a plan about what we’d say when we met him, but when we entered Boniperti’s office he talked for five minutes then said: ‘this is the contract, sign it’.

 

“We took five minutes out to discuss it and said ‘it seems like a good offer’…

 

“Gianni Agnelli? I first met him at Villar Perosa in ritiro with the squad, it wasn’t a good period. He introduced himself during training with a copy of Gazzetta dello Sport and said: ‘I think you’re better than what’s written here’.

 

“Then he left. He chatted with some of us, but not with me. The next day though, when I scored three goals in a game, he talked to me too.”

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On this day: Juventus' last CL

 

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https://www.football-italia.net/121741/day-juventus-last-cl

 

 

May 22, 2018

 

On this day in 1996, Juventus won the Champions League by beating Ajax in a penalty shoot-out.

 

The knockout stage had seen Marcello Lippi’s side beat Real Madrid and then Nantes, advancing to the final at Rome’s Stadio Olimpico.

 

Winning the competition for the first time since 1985 would be no easy task, however, against an Ajax side which was defending their crown.

 

Louis van Gaal could call on the likes of Edwin van der Sar, Edgar Davids, Jari Litmanen and the De Boer brother, Ronald and Frank.

 

Lippi though had his famously deadly front three, Gianluca Vialli flanked by Fabrizio Ravenelli and a young Alessandro Del Piero.

 

Behind them sat the current Coaches of Fiorentina, France and Chelsea in the shape of Paulo Sousa, Didier Deschamps and Antonio Conte.

 

Things got off to a flying start for the Old Lady, Ravenelli capitalising on a mix-up between Van der Sar and Frank de Boer to score from a seemingly impossible angle.

 

The Dutch side came back though, Angelo Peruzzi spilling a ball in the box which allowed Litmanen to equalise.

 

Ravanelli missed what was arguably an easier chance than the one he had scored, but the sides couldn’t be separated and the match went to penalties.

 

Future Bianconero Davids went first, but Peruzzi guess right to beat away his low effort.

 

Ciro Ferrara, Litmanen, Gianluca Pessotto, Arnold Scholten and Michele Padovano all scored their spot kicks, piling the pressure on Ajax’s fourth kicker, Sonny Silooy.

 

The whistles from the mostly Italian crowd were deafening, and the defender had to re-spot the ball on the instruction of referee Manuel Díaz Vega.

 

Silooy never looked confident, and his tame penalty was easily read by Peruzzi, who dived to his left and beat the ball away.

 

Juventus held a 3-2 lead in the shoot-out, meaning Vladimir Jugovic had only to score to ensure the trophy would head home to Turin.

 

In the event Van der Sar guessed correctly, but the Yugoslavian’s spot kick was right in the side netting and the Bianconeri went wild.

 

Lippi’s men would go on to reach the final for the next two years in a row, but lost both times to Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid respectively.

 

The Old Lady was truly a European power, but she could not, it seemed, repeat the feat of Rome.

 

Another three losses - in 2003, 2015 and 2017 - mean Juve have not actually won the big-eared cup since that Jugovic penalty hit the netting.

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Liverpool FC

 

 

 

 

LFC marks 33rd anniversary of Heysel Stadium disaster

 

Liverpool FC today remembers the 39 football fans who lost their lives at Heysel Stadium in Belgium on this day 33 years ago.

 

 

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https://bit.ly/2xmA9fD

 

 

May 29, 2018

 

 

The disaster occurred before the European Cup final between Liverpool and Juventus on May 29, 1985, when events in Block Z of the stadium tragically led to the deaths of 39 people - mostly Juventus supporters - and left hundreds more injured.

 

As a mark of respect to those who died, a floral tribute was placed beside the Heysel memorial plaque on the Kenny Dalglish Stand at Anfield this morning by the club’s chief executive, Peter Moore.

 

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“We will always remember those who lost their lives on this day at Heysel and use this moment to pay our respects,” said Moore.

 

“Heysel is a tragedy that will never be forgotten, and today Liverpool Football Club honours all of those impacted.”

 

Flags across all the club’s sites are being flown at half-mast throughout the day and access to the Heysel memorial plaque has been made available to the public via the Anfield Road entrance to the Kenny Dalglish Stand.

 

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In Memoria e Amicizia, in Memory and Friendship

Rocco Acerra
Bruno Balli
Alfons Bos
Giancarlo Bruschera
Andrea Casula
Giovanni Casula
Nino Cerullo
Willy Chielens
Giuseppina Conti
Dirk Daenecky
Dionisio Fabbro
Jacques François
Eugenio Gagliano
Francesco Galli
Giancarlo Gonnelli
Alberto Guarini
Giovacchino Landini
Roberto Lorentini
Barbara Lusci
Franco Martelli
Loris Messore
Gianni Mastrolaco
Sergio Bastino Mazzino
Luciano Rocco Papaluca
Luigi Pidone
Bento Pistolato
Patrick Radcliffe
Domenico Ragazzi
Antonio Ragnanese
Claude Robert
Mario Ronchi
Domenico Russo
Tarcisio Salvi
Gianfranco Sarto
Giuseppe Spalaore
Mario Spanu
Tarcisio Venturin
Jean Michel Walla
Claudio Zavaroni

 

Rest In Peace - You'll Never Walk Alone.

 

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On This Day: Del Piero’s first UCL goal
 

 

https://www.football-italia.net/127907/day-del-piero’s-first-ucl-goal

 

 

Sep 13, 2018

 

On this day in 1995, a 20-year-old Alessandro Del Piero scored his first Champions League goal for Juventus.

 

Only 16 teams competed in the competition in those days, and the Bianconeri were drawn in a tough group with Dortmund, Steaua Bucharest and Rangers.

 

The first game of the group brought a trip to Germany, and the hosts took the lead after just one minute through former Juventino Andreas Möller.

 

The equaliser came 13 minutes later though, Del Piero swinging in a cross from the left that was met by Michele Padovano.

 

The striker was a long way out, but he managed to generate enough power in his header to beat Stefan Klos, the ball going in via the underside of the bar.

 

An assist was a good start to Del Piero’s Champions League debut, but things got even better on 37 minutes.

 

A Dortmund attack broke down in the Juve half, allowing future Fiorentina Coach Paulo Sousa to pick up the ball.

 

The Portuguese sent the ball down the channel with the outside of his right boot, and Del Piero raced after it.

 

The 20-year-old caught up with it on the left wing, and was immediately met by another Juventino, Jürgen Kohler.

 

The young Italian shifted the ball right, then back onto his left, before taking a much firmer touch onto his right foot.

 

That opened up enough space for the shot, and Del Piero unleashed what would soon become known as his signature, curling the ball into the far top corner with his right foot.

 

Pinturicchio did that so often throughout his career that it’s still referred to in Italy as the ‘Gol alla Del Piero’.

 

An Antonio Conte goal in the second half gave the Old Lady a 3-1 win, and Del Piero would go on to score in the next four Champions League matches in a row, finishing as the tournament’s second top-scorer as Juve lifted the trophy.

 

By the end of his career Del Piero had 42 Champions League goals, but few were as beautiful as his first.

 

 

 

 

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Vialli reveals cancer battle

 

 

https://www.football-italia.net/131199/vialli-reveals-cancer-battle

 

 

Nov 26, 2018

 

Former Juventus and Italy striker Gianluca Vialli has confessed that he battled cancer. “It’s been a year and I’m back to having a beastly physique…”

 

Vialli made the revelation in Monday’s Corriere della Sera, telling the newspaper that he also hoping ‘my story can inspire people’.

 

“I’m fine now, very well indeed,” the ex-Sampdoria and Chelsea star told Corriere della Sera.

 

“It’s been a year and I’m back to having a beastly physique, although I still have no certainty of how this match will end.

 

“I used to wear a sweater under my shirt so no-one noticed anything. I was still the person everyone knew.

 

“I hope my story can inspire people, who are at crucial intersections of their lives, and I hope mine is a book to keep on the bedside table so people can read one or two stories before falling asleep or in the morning as soon as they wake up.

 

“Another key phrase that came up during my treatment, hanging on a yellow post-it on the wall, was this: ‘We’re the product of our thoughts.

 

“The important thing isn’t winning; it’s thinking like a winner. Life is made up of 10 percent for what happens to us and 90 percent for how we deal with it.

 

“I hope my story can help others, to deal with what’s happening in the right way.”

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Deschamps: ‘Serie B was an adventure’

 

 

https://www.football-italia.net/132731/deschamps-‘serie-b-was-adventure’

 

 

Jan 2, 2019

 

France Coach Didier Deschamps describes his season with Juventus as “a sporting and human adventure”.

 

The former midfielder took over the Bianconeri when they were demoted as punishment for the Calciopoli scandal in 2006.

 

While players like Patrick Vieira, Fabio Cannavaro and Zlatan Ibrahimovic left the club, Juve won the second division to return to Serie A at the first time of asking.

 

“Coaching Juventus was a sporting and human adventure,” Deschamps said at the Globe Soccer event in Dubai.

 

“I’m very attached to the club, and that was the only time they’d played in Serie B. We were playing against small teams, and then there was the satisfaction of winning the league right away.

 

“Juve gave me so much as a footballer, so for me it was important to give something back, by giving my contribution to get them straight back to Serie A.”

 

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Juventus remember Gianluca Vialli on his birthday: “Always in our hearts”

 

Vialli-Del-Piero-940x584.jpg

 

 

On the 6th of January 2023, football lost a true icon when Gianluca Vialli tragically passed away following a long bout with cancer.

 

The legendary Juventus striker and captain would have turned 59 on Sunday, so the club’s official Twitter account paid tribute to the departed star with a brief yet touching message:

 

#BornOnThisDay, and always in our hearts, our former captain Gianluca Vialli”

 

Read more -> https://www.juvefc.com/photo-juventus-remember-gianluca-vialli-on-his-birthday-always-in-our-hearts/

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