History of Juventus F.C.

The history of Juventus Football Club covers over 110 years of the football from the club based in Turin, Italy. Established in 1897 the club would eventually become the most successful team in the history of Italian football and amongst the elite football clubs of the world.[1]

According to the International Federation of Football History and Statistics, an international organization recognized by FIFA, Juventus were Italy's best club of the 20th century and the second most successful European club in the same period.[2]

Pre-World War I

First Juventus squad to win Serie A, from 1905.

By the start of the 20th century, Juventus had built up a strong squad, but soon after securing their first championship, president Alfredo Dick left the club after a large argument, taking with him several prominent players. Some of the staff at Juventus were considering moving the club out of Turin,[3] so Dick left to form Foot-Ball Club Torino, also taking with him the lease for Velodromo Umberto I. The first ever Turin derby between the two clubs was played the next season on 13 January 1907 and has been an intense rivalry ever since.[4] In 1911, they reached the final of the Sir Thomas Lipton Trophy, but were beaten 6-1 by previous champions, lowly West Auckland FC from County Durham, England.

From this period until the First World War, Italian football was dominated largely by other clubs, such as fellow Piedmont clubs Pro Vercelli and Casale.[5] The Juventus squad was steadily re-built after the war under the presidency of Corradino Corradini, and several players were called up to the Italian national team for the first time.[6] Around this period goalkeeper Giampiero Combi debuted, he would go on to become a club hero.

The Agnelli era begins

Edoardo Agnelli of the Agnelli family, owners of the Fiat company gained control of the club in 1923.[7] They had a private stadium in Villar Perosa (south-west of Turin) built and a complete set of facilities and services. This proved a good move for the club, as Juventus won their second Italian Championship during the 1925-26 season; they beat Alba Roma in the final with an aggregate score of 12-1, Antonio Vojak's goals were essential that season.[5]

From the 1930-31 through the 1934-35 season, Juventus collected a record of five consecutive Italian league championships, four of which were under coach Carlo Carcano;[5] the squad included the likes of Raimundo Orsi, Luigi Bertolini, Giovanni Ferrari and Luis Monti amongst others. Notably, the club reached the semi-finals of the Mitropa Cup before going out to Czechoslovakian side Slavia Prague.[8]

During 1933, Juventus moved to what is considered their first major home; Stadio Benito Mussolini, it was built in 1933 for the 1934 FIFA World Cup, holding a capacity of 65,000.[9] It was originally named after Benito Mussolini who was Prime Minister of Italy at the time. Edoardo Agnelli died on 14 July 1935, this affected the club's league performance in a large manner as some of the most prominent players left soon after his death.

Although the club were unable to re-capture their form for the rest of the 1930s, they did finish as runners-up to Ambrosiana-Inter in the 1937-38 season.[5] After-World War II the club's ground was renamed, Stadio Comunale and Edoardo's son Gianni Agnelli was put in place as honorary president;[7] the club added two more scudetto championship's to their name in the 1949-50 and 1951-52 seasons, the latter of which was under the management of Englishman Jesse Carver. This kind of form would be a sign of things to come in the future.

After a dry spell, Juventus signed Welshman John Charles and Italo-Argentine Omar Sivori in 1957 to play alongside Giampiero Boniperti (who had been with the club since 1946). This system was very successful for Juventus and they won Serie A in 1957-58 and 1959-60 with Fiorentina finishing second on both occasions, the latter of which was Juventus' first ever double, as they also won the Coppa Italia that season. This record breaking squad became the first Italian clubs to win ten championships in 1961, in recognition of this the club were awarded a Golden Star for Sport Excellence (Stella d'Oro al Merito Sportivo) to wear on their shirt. Notably, Omar Sivori became the first Juventus player to win the European Footballer of the Year that year too.[10]

When Boniperti retired in 1961, he retired as the all-time top scorer at the club, with 182 goals in all competitions; a club record which would last for 45 years. The last Juventus championship victory came with Heriberto Herrera as coach in 1966-67,[5] a notable players of this time was the reliable defender Sandro Salvadore.

Juventus further solidified themselves as a tower of strength in Italian football during the 1970s by winning the scudetto in 1971-72, 1972-73, 1974-75 and 1976-77,[5] as well as reaching the 1973 European Cup Final where they lost to Ajax. Coached in the early part of the decade by Čestmír Vycpálek, a Czech who had once played with Juventus (and Palermo), the Old Lady built up a strong squad of players to push them forward, with Gaetano Scirea, Dino Zoff, Roberto Bettega, Fabio Capello, and Brazilian José Altafini who would become the joint-third highest scorer in Serie A history.[11]

Franco Causio also became a very popular player at the club during the 1970s, in fact he was so popular that the club allowed him to wear his hair long, prior to Causio this was against the rules.[12] The club also provided the team with official formal wear (made by famous tailors) and forced them to complete their educational studies. Most of its players remained with Juventus until the end of their careers; many were given jobs with the club or for Fiat (and related companies) after playing retirement.

The Trapattoni era

Although Juventus were successful in Italy, European success eluded them until they won the UEFA Cup 1976-77. This was achieved against Spanish opposition in the form of Athletic Bilbao with goals from Marco Tardelli and Bettega. The UEFA Cup was won under the management of Giovanni Trapattoni, who continued on with Juventus through the 1980s, breaking club longevity records.[13]

Under Trapattoni, Juventus dominated the early part of the 1980s in Serie A, the club won the league in 1980-81, 1981–82 and 1983-84.[5] The second title of which allowed the club to add another golden star above their badge (the only Italian club to achieve this), marking 20 scudetto titles. The club's players were also achieving a lot of notability in the wider scheme of football, Paolo Rossi who had led Italy to victory in the 1982 FIFA World Cup was awarded the European Footballer of the Year in 1982. Juve's French midfielder, Michel Platini was awarded the same title for three years in a row; 1983, 1984 and 1985, a record.[10] Juventus is the only club to have players from their club winning the award in four consecutive years.[10] Juventus again reached the European Cup Final in 1983, but lost against Hamburger SV.

The height of European success was not reached until the mid-1980s, when Juventus won the 1985 European Cup by beating Liverpool 1-0, with a penalty scored by Platini. However, the final match was marred by a tragedy which would change European football; the Heysel Stadium disaster, in which 39 people (mostly Juventus fans) were killed by the stadium collapsing, it has been named "the darkest hour in the history of the UEFA competitions."[14]

Only winning the closely contested Italian Championship of 1985-86 over Roma and Napoli, made the 1980s very success filled for the club. Also, Diego Maradona's Milanese clubs, the Milan and Inter were picking up Italian championships.[5] In 1990, Juventus moved into their new home, Stadio delle Alpi, built for the 1990 World Cup and also because Juventus' old ground which they shared with Torino, Stadio Comunale had been reduced in size.

The Lippi era

Marcello Lippi an Italian who had recently left Napoli as a coach, took over as Juventus manager in 1994. His first season at the helm of the club was a successful one as Juventus recorded their first Serie A championship title since the mid-1980s.[5] The squad of this period featured former Napoli captain Ciro Ferrara; a defender who had joined the Old Lady with Lippi, Roberto Baggio, Gianluca Vialli and a young Alessandro Del Piero, who had just broke into the squad and would become heir to Baggio's throne.

Although in the following season they finished as runners-up to A.C. Milan at home, Juventus were victorious in the UEFA Champions League 1995-96 final. This was the second time in the club's history that they won the trophy, the match was competed against Dutch side Ajax; after 90 minutes the score was level at 1-1, with Fabrizio Ravanelli scoring for Juve. The Italian club won the penalty shootout 4-2 securing them as champions; Vladimir Jugović scored the deciding penalty kick.[15]

During the following years, a second wave of what are considered Lippi-era legends joined; Christian Vieri, Zinédine Zidane, Filippo Inzaghi and Edgar Davids. Since the Champions League victory, Juventus won their home league twice more and the European Super Cup. They also reached the 1997 and 1998 Champions League finals, losing out to Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid respectively.[16]

The latter part of the 1990s was a heated time for rivalries, especially with title rivals Inter[17] and Roma. Roma manager Zdeněk Zeman accused Juventus physicians of doping their players from 1993 until 1998. However, after official inquiries and two trials, Juventus were cleared of all charges by the international Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland. Neither the pharmaceutical substances that were in question were banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency nor did any Juventus players have positive test results for any illegal doping substances.[18] Juventus doctor, Riccardo Agricola, initially found guilty and sentenced to 22 month of prison, was later cleared of all accusations.[19][20]

Lippi left Juventus for rivals Inter briefly, but returned to Juve after one season, signing the third wave of Lippi-era players; Gianluigi Buffon, David Trézéguet, Marcelo Salas, Pavel Nedvěd and Lilian Thuram amongst others. He led the team to two more Serie A titles in the 2001-02 and 2002-03 seasons.[5] Juventus also appeared in an all Italian Champions League final in 2002-03, against A.C. Milan; the game ended in a 0-0 draw, and so had to be decided by a penalty shootout, but this time Juventus lost with three out of five players missing their penalty. Lippi left the following year as he was appointed by the Italian national team as head coach, he would go on to win the 2006 FIFA World Cup with them two years later.

The "Calciopoli" scandal

Since 2004, Fabio Capello had taken over the club, and lead them to two more Serie A titles. But during May 2006, Juventus were one of four clubs (along with AC Milan, Fiorentina, and Lazio) linked to a 2006 Serie A scandal. At the center of the accusations was Juventus general manager Luciano Moggi, who was accused of influencing referees and even the false imprisonment of one; no players were accused of any wrongdoing. Moggi along with two other members of the board resigned on May 13. The clubs involved were ordered to stand trial, around this time Gianluca Pessotto almost lost his life when he fell from a 4th story window. The media suggested that it could have been a suicide attempt because of the stress of trial.[21]

Manager Capello left for Real Madrid before the verdict had been handed out. FIGC prosecutor Stefano Palazzi called the four clubs to be thrown out of Serie A and that Juventus have their last two titles stripped.[22] The sentences saw Juventus stripped of two titles, and relegated to Serie B for the first time in their history.[23] The club was also docked 30 points for the 2006-2007 season, which was reduced to 17 points and finally 9 points after an appeal. Numerous players left the club, including European Footballer of the Year and 2006 World Cup winning captain, Fabio Cannavaro, Lillian Thuram, Gianluca Zambrotta, Patrick Vieira and Zlatan Ibrahimović, the latter two players sold to rivals Inter for €34.3 million. However, some highly rated players remained loyal; Gianluigi Buffon, captain Alessandro Del Piero, Pavel Nedvěd, Mauro Camoranesi and David Trézéguet.

Return to Serie A

Juventus played outside of Serie A for the first time ever, in the 2006-07 season; their first game in Serie B ended in a 1-1 draw away to Rimini. The initial 30-point—the equivalent of having 10 wins count for nothing—made it very likely that Juve would not return to Serie A until 2008 at the earliest, but the eventual reduction to nine points gave the club a fighting chance of returning to the top flight.

During December 2006, two 17 year old Juventus youth team players; Alessio Ferramosca and Riccardo Neri died at the club's training center after trying to recover a football that had fallen into the ice-cold water.[24] Former player Didier Deschamps took over as manager. By May 2007 Juventus was assured of finishing no worse than second, clinching a spot in Serie A for the next season. They finished the season as champions.

Since their return to Serie A in the 2007–08 season, former Chelsea manager Claudio Ranieri managed Juventus for two seasons.[25] They finished in third place in their first return season, and qualified for the 2008–09 Champions League third qualifying round in the preliminary stages. Juventus reached the group stages, where they beat Real Madrid in both home and away legs, before losing in the knockout round to Chelsea. Ranieri was sacked following a string of unsuccessful results, and Ciro Ferrara was appointed as manager on a temporary basis for the last two games of the season,[26] before being subsequently appointed as the manager for the 2009–10 season.[27]

However, Ferrara's stint as Juventus manager proved to be unsuccessful, with Juventus knocked out of Champions League and Coppa Italia, and just lying on the sixth place in the league table at the end of January 2010, leading to the dismissal of Ciro Ferrara and naming Alberto Zaccheroni as caretaker manager. Zaccheroni could not help the side improve, as Juventus finished the season in seventh place in Serie A. For the 2010–11 season, Jean-Claude Blanc was replaced by Andrea Agnelli as the club's president. Agnelli's first action was to replace Zaccheroni and Director of Sport Alessio Secco with Sampdoria manager Luigi Delneri and Director of Sport Giuseppe Marotta.[28] However, Delneri failed to improve their fortunes and was dismissed. Former player and fan favourite Antonio Conte, fresh after winning promotion with Siena, was named as Delneri's replacement.

With Conte as manager, Juventus went unbeaten for the entire season. Towards the second half of the season, the team was mostly competing with northern rivals Milan for first place in a tight contest. Juventus won the title on the 37th matchday, after beating Cagliari 2–0, and Milan losing to Internazionale 4–2. After a 3–1 win in the final matchday against Atalanta, Juventus became the first team to go the season unbeaten in the current 38-game format. Other noteworthy achievements include the biggest away win (5–0 at Fiorentina), best defensive record (20 goals conceded) in Serie A and second best in the top six European leagues.[29] Juventus' unbeaten run of 49 games came to a halt, when fierce rivals of Inter beat them at home 3-1. In 2013–14, Juventus won a third consecutive Scudetto with a record 102 points.[30] The title was the 30th official league championship in the club's history.[31]

References

  1. ↑ "Juventus building bridges in Serie B". fifa.com. Retrieved 20 November 2006.
  2. ↑ "Europe's club of the Century". IFFHS official website. Retrieved 2009-09-10.
  3. ↑ "La Storia della Juventus - 1905". JuventusStory.it. 8 June 2007.
  4. ↑ "Football Derby matches in Italy". FootballDerbies.com. 29 June 2007.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 5.8 5.9 Modena, Panini Edizioni (2005). Almanacco Illustrato del Calcio - La Storia 1898-2004.
  6. ↑ "Juventus in national team". Forza Azzurri. 29 June 2007.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Presidenti". JuventusStory.it. 8 June 2007.
  8. ↑ "Mitropa Cup 1935". RSSSF.com. 8 June 2007.
  9. ↑ "History of Juventus". Bianconeri. 8 June 2007.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 "European Footballer of the Year ("Ballon d'Or")". RSSSF.com. 8 June 2007.
  11. ↑ "All-time top scorers in Serie A". MultiTrivia.net. 8 June 2007.
  12. ↑ "Franco Causio Profile". Football Chat. 8 June 2007.
  13. ↑ "Allenatori Storia". ForzaJuve.org. 25 July 2007.
  14. ↑ Quote from UEFA Chief Executive Lars-Christer Olsson in 2004, uefa.com
  15. ↑ "Juventus Wins European Cup Final on Penalties". Herald Tribune. 8 June 2007.
  16. ↑ "Juventus". European Cup History. 8 June 2007.
  17. ↑ "Juventus, Inter Milan to Meet in Repeat of Controversial Match". Juventus Football Club. 22 October 1998. Archived from the original on 2003-04-10.
  18. ↑ "Juventus cleared of illegal accusations by Court of Arbitration for Sport". ESPN. 28 April 2005.
  19. ↑ "Juve doctor guilty in drugs case". BBC. 26 November 2004.
  20. ↑ "Juve doctor wins appeal against doping verdict". ESPN. 14 December 2005.
  21. ↑ "Finally, joy for Italy". Belfast Telegraph. 5 July 2006.
  22. ↑ "Relegation call for Italian four", BBC, 4 July 2006.
  23. ↑ "Italian trio relegated to Serie B", BBC, 14 July 2006
  24. ↑ "Juventus cancel game after tragedy". CNN.com. 15 December 2006.
  25. ↑ "Ranieri appointed Juventus coach". BBC News. 4 June 2007. Retrieved 4 June 2007.
  26. ↑ "Via Ranieri, ecco Ferrara" (in Italian). Union des Associations Européennes de Football. Retrieved 19 May 2009.
  27. ↑ "Ferrara handed Juventus reins". Union des Associations Européennes de Football. Retrieved 5 June 2009.
  28. ↑ "Zaccheroni nuovo allenatore della Juventus" (in Italian). Juventus Football Club S.p.A official website. 29 January 2010. Retrieved 29 January 2010.
  29. ↑ "A Scudetto built on defense". juventus.com. 15 May 2012.
  30. ↑ "Juventus 3-0 Cagliari". BBC. 18 May 2014. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
  31. ↑ "Juventus complete Serie A title hat-trick as Roma slump at Catania". The Guardian. 5 May 2014. Retrieved 19 May 2014.