Juventus F.C.

Juventus Football Club (Latin for Youth, pronounced ) is one of Italy's oldest and most renowned football clubs. It is based in Turin.

With 11 official international titles in team honours (second in Europe), Juve is the 3rd best club in all-time ranking European Clubs Ranking: The all-time table (from 1955-56 season, by the Union of European Football Associations) of the UEFA's official European tournaments and 4th best club in all-time ranking The C1 (UEFA Champion Clubs' Cup and UEFA Champions League) all-time table (from 1955-56 season, by the Union of European Football Associations) of the European Champion Clubs' Cup (now called UEFA Champions League). It is one of the most supported and successful football clubs in the world.

Recently, Juventus F.C. has been involved in a match-fixing scandal and will not be permitted to compete in major Italian and European competions during the 2006/07 season. They were relegated out of Serie A (the Italian first division) for the first time in their history.

The team typically plays in black-and-white striped shirts and white shorts (in some seasons black shorts), and is nicknamed la Vecchia Signora (the Old Lady, by the first official name), i bianconeri (black-and-whites), zebre (zebras), or depreciatively gobbi (humpbacks) by the opponents.

History

Juventus F.C. was founded in November 1897 by teachers from Massimo D'Azeglio Lyceum with the name Società Polisportiva Augusta Taurinorum, in a legendary bench in one of Turin's boulevards, Re Umberto Boulevard. The team won a previous version of the national league title as early as 1905, but did not win their second until 1926. In 1923, the Agnelli family (owners of Fiat) gained control of the club, and built a private stadium in Villar Perosa (near Turin) and a complete series of facilities and services.

From 1931, the club collected the record of five consecutive Italian league championships (Italian scudetto). In 1933, they began playing at the Stadio Municipale 'Benito Mussolini' (later renamed Stadio Comunale). Post-war the club was very successful domestically, winning its tenth championship in 1961, but did not win any European titles until 1977 with the UEFA Cup.

The height of European success was not reached until 1985, when they won the European Champions Cup, but this success was largely overshadowed by the Heysel disaster that had occurred during the final between Juventus and Liverpool. Juventus repeated the success by winning the Champions League for a second time in 1996 in a penalty shootout, and have not won it again since, the closest chance being when they lost to A.C. Milan in the 2003 final due to losing in a penalty shootout.

Juventus also won the Cup Winners' Cup in 1984 and two more UEFA Cup titles (1990, 1993). However, in 1999, due to their poor domestic season, they were forced into the ignominy of entering the UEFA Intertoto Cup in order to qualify for Europe. They have won 27 Italian titles and nine Coppa Italias to date, both national records. The club is also one of only three to have won all Three Major European trophies. (the other two been; Ajax, and Bayern Munich)

Until recently, Juventus' players had to have short (and regular) hair (there was only one exception to this rule: in the 1970s right winger Franco Causio was so popular that the club allowed him to have long hair); 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 still work for the club or for Fiat (or related companies).

The two stars on the Juventus shirt signify they have won the Scudetto over 20 times. In fact, Juventus won the Italian Championship 27 times, more than any other Italian club; no other club has won the championship over 20 times, but the closest one to that objective is AC Milan. Two of Juventus's championships, in 2005 and 2006, were taken away since the club was found guilty of sporting fraud (see section below for further details).

Juventus is now a corporation, listed on the Borsa Italiana. The sale of Zinedine Zidane to Real Madrid of Spain was the most expensive in football to date, costing the Spanish club over $65 million (US), which is approximately £48 million.

On January 10, 2006 Alessandro Del Piero became the all time leading goalscorer for Juventus when he scored three times in a match against Fiorentina and took his total goals for the club to 185. The previous record holder was Giampiero Boniperti, who scored 182 goals for the club.

Colours

The team gets its black-and-white striped kits from English side Notts County. Originally the team played in pink shirts with polka dots (pink being the cheapest material available) with a black tie, but continual washing faded the colour so much that in 1903 they sought to replace them. The club asked one of their team members, Englishman John Savage, if he had any contacts in England who could supply new shirts in a colour that would better withstand the elements. By coincidence, his friend back home lived in Nottingham, and being a Notts County supporter, shipped out the black and white striped shirts to Turin. Juve have worn the shirts ever since.

Rivalries and controversy

In spite (or perhaps because) of its huge popularity, Juve is at the same time considered the most controversial club in Italy. Its detractors mainly point the gap between Juve's national and international successes, citing "influenced" refereeing in Italy as the cause of this gap.

Juve has significant rivalries with several teams, such as Fiorentina, AC Milan, AS Roma, Torino and Internazionale.

Notably, matches between Juventus and Inter are referred to as the Derby d'Italia (Derby of Italy), because these football teams are the most supported in Italy. In recent years there have been many disagreements between the two clubs. A particularly controversial event during the late 90s which elevated the rivalry between Inter and Juve was a disputed penalty on Ronaldo not given to Inter in a crucial tiebreaker match for the Serie A title in 1998. Eventually, Inter would go on to lose the championship in the decisive match against SS Lazio, the result was 4-2 to Lazio.

Juventus however, has also been on the receiving end of similar decisions, for example; two years after the Inter controversy in 2000 Juventus lost the Serie A championship in the season finale against AC Perugia. Despite a violent thunderstorm which had soaked the pitch with rain, referee Pierluigi Collina (after retirement, he declared himself a life-long Lazio supporter), under immense pressure, after an hour delay, had the players continue the match on a ground that was in very poor shape, due to the weather conditions. In the meantime Lazio's match was already over, and its supporters waited in their stadium as Juventus was beaten 1-0, thus giving the Roman team its second Scudetto title.

One of the most controversial matches in Juventus history was their clash with English Champions Derby County FC in the Semi Final of the European Cup in 1973. After Juventus won 3-1 on aggregate the West German referee admitted to accepting bribes from Juventus officials in order to give decisions favourably towards them. Derby's then manager Brian Clough responding by calling the Italians "cheating bastards" and taunted the Italian nation's courage in the war.

In 1998, former A.S. Roma manager Zdeněk Zeman accused Juventus physicians of doping its players from 1993-94 to 1997-98 seasons. After several years of official inquiries and 2 trials by UEFA and FIGC, the case was dismissed in late December 14, 2005 for statute of limitations, and the Juventus physician Riccardo Agricola has been cleared of all the doping charges due to the statute of limitations. (The substances in question were Erythropoietin, legal in sports medicine and used frequently among cyclists, but was prohibited until the 2000-01 season by the World Anti-Doping Agency, and, principally, creatine, which is considered an athletic legal supplement and has never been prohibited by WADA and COI).

2006 corruption scandal

For a comprehensive report, see Serie A scandal of 2006.

In May 2006, a major scandal developed around the controversial figure of Luciano Moggi, the general manager of Juventus. Moggi and other figures of the Italian football federation, including several referees, were accused of associazione a delinquere (conspiracy to commit a crime). Reportedly, evidence exists in wiretapped phone calls registered by magistrates, in which Moggi appeared to try to "influence" specific referees appointed for some matches, in addition to falsely imprisoning referees after a loss. These fixing allegations ranged from selecting specific referees for matches, have opposing players suspended prior to matches with Juventus, have extreme bias in Juventus matches and even the video replay analyst were allegedly under Moggi's control. On May 13, the "Triade" composed of Moggi, Roberto Bettega (who was not accused of corruption) and Antonio Giraudo, resigned together, along with the entire Juventus administrative council.

No Juventus players have been accused of wrongdoing.

On June 22, 2006, Juventus, AC Milan, Fiorentina and S.S. Lazio were ordered to stand trial on 28 June 2006. The teams were expected to be relegated if found guilty by the Italian Football Federation.

On June 27, 2006, Juventus's new director of sport, Gianluca Pessotto fell from a 4th story balcony, seriously injuring himself. Reports are unclear on whether the incident has anything to do with the possible match-fixing scandal, however, there are some reports that Pessoto was clutching a rosary, an indication of a possible suicide attempt.

On the 4th July, the Italian Football Federation's prosecutor, Stefano Palazzi, called for Juventus, Lazio, Fiorentina and AC Milan to be thrown out of Serie A. He called for Juventus to drop to Serie C1 and for AC Milan, Fiorentina and Lazio to drop to Serie B. He also asked for points penalties to be imposed and that Juventus be stripped of its 2005 and 2006 scudetti."Relegation call for Italian four", BBC, 4 July 2006.

Manager Fabio Capello left in early July 2006 to join Real Madrid, a club he had managed previously. He was replaced by former French international Didier Deschamps, who had played for Juventus in the 1990s.^*

When the sentences were handed down on 14 July, Juventus were stripped of its last two scudetti and relegated to Serie B. ^*. They have also been kicked out of the UEFA Champions League for the upcoming 2006-07 season. Juventus have signalled their intention to appeal the ruling. If it stands, it would be the first time the club has found itself out of the Italian top flight in its history. Inter Milan was the only other club that has never been relegated. The 30-point deduction all but assures that Juventus will not make it back to Serie A until 2008-09 at the earliest if the ruling stands. Club president Giovanni Cobolli Gigli called the 30-point hit the equivalent of being knocked down to Serie C1. The court's decision has also created uncertainty over the future of the club's top players, with many other major clubs looking to acquire some of Juventus's talent.

Team members

Current squad

As of 16th July, 2006 List of convoked players for pre-league phase

2005/06 Starting line-up and formation

4-2-2-2 formation

Future transfers

Note: these transfers are set to take place when the transfer market re-opens.

(free transfer) (free transfer)

(co-ownership resolved in favour Juventus)

(co-ownership with Reggina resolved in favour Juventus)

Out

Noted former players

Player Records

All-time Top 10 Juve Goalscorers

Player	Goals
Alessandro Del Piero (*)	194
Giampiero Boniperti	182
Roberto Bettega	178
Omar Sivori	167
Felice Placido Borel II	161
Pietro Anastasi	131
David Trézéguet (*)	125
John Hansen	124
Roberto Baggio	115
Federico Munerati	114

(*) player still active in the Juventus FC team.

All-time Top 10 Juve Appearances

Player	Appearance
Gaetano Scirea	552
Giuseppe Furino	528
Alessandro Del Piero (*)	482
Roberto Bettega	481
Dino Zoff	476
Giampiero Boniperti	460
Sandro Salvatore	450
Franco Causio	447
Antonio Cabrini	440
Antonello Cuccureddu	433

(*) player still active in the Juventus FC team.

Stadium information

Name - Stadio delle Alpi
City - Turin
Capacity - 73,006 (currently being transformed into a 42,000 capacity arena, expected by the end of the 2006-2007 season)
Inauguration - 1990
Pitch Size - 105 x 68 metres

For many years Juventus played at Stadio Grande Torino, until 1990 when the 73,006 Stadio delle Alpi which was built for 1990 World Cup became the club's new ground.

At the end of the 2005/06 season, it was announced that the Stadio delle Alpi would undergo major changes. Spectators have long complained that the stands are too far from the pitch due to a running track, and that the visibility in some areas is poor. This will change when the stadium is transformed into a 42,000 capacity arena.

Delle Alpi's stadium name will change once it is complete, however. Juventus are looking to sell the naming rights of the new reconstructed stadium to a sponsor, much to the disappointment of the club's fans who wanted to see the stadium named to honor the Agnelli family members Giovanni Agnelli or Gianni Agnelli.

For the 2006/07 season, Juventus will be playing in the stadium they previously used prior to 1990; Stadio Grande Torino.

Honours and Club Records

The club is the most successful in Italian football Italian Serie A all-time table since 1929 and, internationally, one of the most successful around the world.

Italian Championships: 27 (record). (note: 2005 and 2006 titles stripped)
- 1905, 1925-26, 1930-31, 1931-32, 1932-33, 1933-34, 1934-35, 1949-50, 1951-52, 1957-58, 1959-60, 1960-61, 1966-67, 1971-72, 1972-73, 1974-75, 1976-77, 1977-78, 1980-81, 1981-82, 1983-84, 1985-86, 1994-95, 1996-97, 1997-98, 2001-02, 2002-03, 2004-2005, 2005-2006

Italian Cups: 9 (record).
- Winners: 1937-38, 1941-42, 1958-59, 1959-60, 1964-65, 1978-79, 1982-83, 1989-90, 1994-95.
- Runner-up: 1972-73, 1991-92, 2001-02, 2003-04

Italian Supercups: 4
- Winners: 1995, 1997, 2002, 2003.
- Runner-up: 1990, 1998, 2005.

European Cups: 2 (now called: UEFA Champions League).
- Winners: 1984-85, 1995-96.
- Runner-up: 1972-73, 1982-83, 1996-97, 1997-98, 2002-03

Cup Winners' Cups: 1
- 1983-84.

UEFA Cups: 3 (record).
- Winners: 1976-77, 1989-90, 1992-93.
- Runner-up: 1994-95

European Super Cups: 2
- 1984, 1996 (1985 final with Everton FC not played due to Heysel Stadium disaster).

Intertoto Cups: 1
- 1999-2000.

Coppa delle Alpi
- 1963

Intercontinental Cups: 2
- Winners: 1985, 1996.
- Runner-up: 1973

Inter-Cities Fairs Cup (UEFA Cup predecessor)
- Runner-up: 1964-65, 1970-71

Juventus hold several records in regards to trophies they have won;

First team in Europe to win all Three Major European Trophies, also known as The European Grand Slam, which includes; UEFA Champions League (1985), UEFA Cup Winner's Cup (1984) and UEFA Cup (1977). To date, only three clubs have achieved this; Juventus, Ajax and Bayern Munchen. The Old Lady has recieved in recognition the Targa UEFA, by the Union of European Football Associations, in 1987.
The only team in Europe to win all UEFA's Official Championships (the European Intertoto Cup of 1962 and European SuperCup of 1971 in AFC Ajax's palmares are not official trophies by UEFA).
The only Italian team to win a European Official Tournament only with Italian players in First team Squad''' (the UEFA Cup in 1977 as the first southern European club).

Reference

External links

Juventus F.C. | Italian football clubs | Turin | G-14 clubs | 1897 establishments

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