Juventus F.C.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - 04/2015
Full name
Juventus Football Club S.p.A.
Nicknames
(La) Vecchia Signora (The Old Lady)
(La) Fidanzata d'Italia (The Girlfriend of Italy)
(I) bianconeri (The White-Blacks)
(Le) Zebre (The Zebras)
(La) Signora Omicidi (The Killer Lady)
(La) Goeba (Gallo-Italic for: Hunchback)
Founded
1 November 1897 (as Sport Club Juventus)
Ground
Juventus Stadium,
Turin, Italy
Capacity
41,254
Owner
Agnelli family (through EXOR S.p.A, BIT: JUVE)
Chairman
Andrea Agnelli
Manager
Massimiliano Allegri
League
Serie A
2013-14
1st
Juventus Football Club S.p.A. (from Latin iuventus: youth), commonly referred to as Juventus and colloquially as Juve, is a professional Italian association football club based in Turin, Piedmont.
The club is the third oldest of its kind in the country and has spent the majority of its history, with the exception of the 2006-07 season, in the top flight First Division (known as Serie A since 1929).
Founded in 1897 as Sport Club Juventus by a group of young Torinese students, among them, who was their first president, Eugenio Canfari, and his brother Enrico, author of the company's historical memory.
They are managed by the industrial Agnelli family since 1923, which constitutes the oldest sporting partnership in Italy, thus making Juventus the first professional club in the country.
Over time, the club has become a symbol of the nation's italianità ("Italianness"), due to their tradition of success, some of which have had a significant impact in Italian society, especially in the 1930s and the first post-war decade; and the ideological politics and socio-economic origin of the club's sympathisers.
This is reflected, among others, in the club's contribution to the national team, uninterrupted since the second half of the 1920s and recognised as one of the most influential in international football, having performed a decisive role in the World Cup triumphs of 1934, 1982 and 2006.
The club's fan base is larger than any other Italian football club and is one of the largest worldwide.
Support for Juventus is widespread throughout the country and abroad, mainly in countries with a significant presence of Italian immigrants.
Juventus is historically the most successful club in Italian football and one of the most laureated and important globally.
Overall, they have won fifty-six official titles on the national and international stage, more than any other Italian club: a record thirty league titles, a record nine Italian cups, a record six national super cups, and, with eleven titles in confederation and inter-confederation competitions (two Intercontinental Cups, two European Champion Clubs' Cup/UEFA Champions Leagues, one European Cup Winners' Cup, a record three UEFA Cups, one UEFA Intertoto Cup and two UEFA Super Cups) the club currently ranks fourth in Europe and eighth in the world with the most trophies won.
In 1985, under the management of Giovanni Trapattoni, who led the Torinese team to thirteen official trophies in ten years until 1986, including six league titles and five international titles.
Juventus became the first club in the history of European football to have won all three major competitions organised by the Union of European Football Associations: the European Champions' Cup, the (now-defunct) Cup Winners' Cup and the UEFA Cup (the first Italian and Southern European side to win the tournament).
After their triumph in the Intercontinental Cup the same year, the club also became the first in football history - and remains the only one at present - to have won all possible official continental competitions and the world title.
According to the all-time ranking published in 2009 by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics, an organisation recognised by FIFA, based on clubs' performance in international competitions, Juventus were Italy's best club and second in Europe of the 20th century.
HISTORY
EARLY YEARS
Juventus was founded as Sport Club Juventus in late 1897 by pupils from the Massimo D'Azeglio Lyceum school in Turin, but were renamed as Foot-Ball Club Juventus two years later.
The club joined the Italian Football Championship during 1900. In 1904 the businessman Ajmone-Marsan revived the finances of the football club Juventus, making it also possible to transfer the training field from Piazza d'Armi to the more appropriate Velodrome Umberto I.
During this period the team wore a pink and black kit. Juventus first won the league championship in 1905 while playing at their Velodrome Umberto I ground.
By this time the club colours had changed to black and white stripes, inspired by English side Notts County.
There was a split at the club in 1906, after some of the staff considered moving Juve out of Turin.
President Alfred Dick was unhappy with this and left with some prominent players to found FBC Torino which in turn spawned the Derby della Mole.
Juventus spent much of this period steadily rebuilding after the split, surviving the First World War.
LEAGUE DOMINANCE
Fiat owner Edoardo Agnelli gained control of the club in 1923, and built a new stadium.
This helped the club to its second scudetto (league championship) in the 1925-26 season beating Alba Roma with an aggregate score of 12:1, Antonio Vojak's goals were essential that season.
The club established itself as a major force in Italian football since the 1930s, becoming the country's first professional club and the first with a decentralised fan base, which led it to win a record of five consecutive Italian championships .
The first four under the management of Carlo Carcano and form the core of the Italy national team during the Vittorio Pozzo's era, including the 1934 world champion squad.
With star players such as Raimundo Orsi, Luigi Bertolini, Giovanni Ferrari and Luis Monti amongst others.
Juventus moved to the Stadio Comunale, but for the rest of the 1930s and the majority of the 1940s they were unable to recapture championship dominance.
After the Second World War, Gianni Agnelli was appointed honorary president.
The club added two more league championships to its name in the 1949-50 and 1951-52 seasons, the latter of which was under the management of Englishman Jesse Carver.
Two new strikers were signed during 1957–58; Welshman John Charles and Italo-Argentine Omar Sivori, playing alongside longtime member Giampiero Boniperti.
That season saw Juventus awarded with the Golden Star for Sport Excellence to wear on their shirts after becoming the first Italian side to win ten league titles.
In the same season, Omar Sivori became the first ever player at the club to win the European Footballer of the Year.
The following season they beat Fiorentina to complete their first league and cup double, winning Serie A and Coppa Italia.
Boniperti retired in 1961 as the all-time top scorer at the club, with 182 goals in all competitions, a club record which stood for 45 years.
During the rest of the decade the club won the league just once more in 1966-67.
However, the 1970s saw Juventus further solidify their strong position in Italian football.
Under former player Čestmír Vycpálek they won the scudetto in 1971-72 and 1972-73, with players such as Roberto Bettega, Franco Causio and José Altafini breaking through.
During the rest of the decade they won the league twice more, with defender Gaetano Scirea contributing significantly.
The later win was under Giovanni Trapattoni, who helped the club's domination continue on into the early part of the 1980s and to form the backbone of the Italian national team during Enzo Bearzot's era, including the 1978 FIFA World Cup and 1982 world champion squads.
EUROPEAN STAGE
The Trapattoni-era was highly successful in the 1980s; the club started the decade off well, winning the league title three more times by 1984.
This meant Juventus had won 20 Italian league titles and were allowed to add a second golden star to their shirt, thus becoming the only Italian club to achieve this.
Around this time the club's players were attracting considerable attention; Paolo Rossi was named European Footballer of the Year following his contribution to Italy's victory in the 1982 FIFA World Cup, where he was named player of the tournament.
Frenchman Michel Platini was also awarded the European Footballer of the Year title for three years in a row; 1983, 1984 and 1985, which is a record.
Juventus are the only club to have players from their club winning the award in four consecutive years. Indeed it was Platini who scored the winning goal in the 1985 European Cup final against Liverpool, however this was marred by a tragedy which changed European football.
That year, Juventus became the first club in the history of European football to have won all three major UEFA competitions and, after their triumph in the Intercontinental Cup, the club also became the first in association football history - and remain the world's only one at present - to have won all possible confederation competitions and the club world title.
With the exception of winning the closely contested Italian Championship of 1985-86, the rest of the 1980s were not very successful for the club.
As well as having to contend with Diego Maradona's Napoli, both of the Milanese clubs, Milan and Internazionale, won Italian championships.
In 1990, Juventus moved into their new home, the Stadio delle Alpi, which was built for the 1990 World Cup.
LIPPI ERA OF SUCCESS
Alessandro Del Piero, the Juventus all time leading goal scorer and appearance maker, during the 2007–08 season.
Marcello Lippi took over as Juventus manager at the start of the 1994-95 campaign.
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.
The crop of players during this period featured Ciro Ferrara, Roberto Baggio, Gianluca Vialli and a young Alessandro Del Piero.
Lippi lead Juventus to the Champions League the following season, beating Ajax on penalties after a 1:1 draw in which Fabrizio Ravanelli scored for Juve.
The club did not rest long after winning the European Cup, more highly regarded players were brought into the fold in the form of Zinedine Zidane, Filippo Inzaghi and Edgar Davids.
At home Juventus won Serie A in 1996-97 and 1997-98, as well as the 1996 UEFA Super Cup and the 1996 Intercontinental Cup.
Juventus reached the 1997 and 1998 Champions League finals during this period, but lost out to Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid respectively.
After a season's absence Lippi returned, signing big name players such as Gianluigi Buffon, David Trezeguet, Pavel Nedvěd and Lilian Thuram, helping the team to two more scudetto titles in the 2001-02 and 2002-03 seasons.
Juventus were also part of an all Italian Champions League final in 2003 but lost out to Milan on penalties after the game ended in a 0:0 draw.
The following year, Lippi was appointed as Italy's head coach, bringing an end to one of the most fruitful managerial spells in Juventus' history.
THE „CALCIOPOLI“ SCANDAL
Fabio Capello became its coach in 2004, and led Juventus to two more Serie A titles.
However, in May 2006, Juventus became one of the five clubs linked to a 2006 Italian football scandal, the result of which saw the club relegated to Serie B for the first time in its history.
The club was also stripped of the two titles won under Capello in 2005 and 2006.
Many key players left following the demotion to Serie B, including Thuram, star striker Zlatan Ibrahimović and defensive stalwart Fabio Cannavaro.
However, other big name players such as Buffon, Del Piero and Nedvěd remained to help the club return to Serie A while youngsters from the Primavera such as Sebastian Giovinco and Claudio Marchisio were integrated into the first team.
The bianconeri were promoted straight back up as league winners after the 2006-07 season while captain Del Piero claimed the top scorer award with 21 goals.
RETURN TO SERIE A
After returning to Serie A in the 2007-08 season, Juventus appointed Claudio Ranieri as manager.
They finished in third place in their first season back in the top flight, 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 2008-09 season, before being subsequently appointed as the manager for the 2009-10 season.
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.
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. In September 2011, Juve relocated to the new Juventus Stadium.
With Conte as manager, Juventus went unbeaten for the entire 2011-12 Serie A 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, fewest ever in the current league format) in Serie A and second best in the top six European leagues that year.
In 2013-14, Juventus won a third consecutive Scudetto with a record 102 points.
The title was the 30th official league championship in the club's history.
They also achieved the semi-finals of 2013-14 UEFA Europa League being eliminated at home against 10-man Benfica's catenaccio, missing the final at the Juventus Stadium.
COLOURS, BADGE AND NICKNAMES
Juventus have played in black and white striped shirts, with white shorts, sometimes black shorts since 1903.
Originally, they played in pink shirts with a black tie, but only because they had been sent the wrong shirts.
The father of one of the players made the earliest shirts, but continual washing faded the colour so much that in 1903 the club sought to replace them.
Juventus 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.
He had a friend who lived in Nottingham, who being a Notts County supporter, shipped out the black and white striped shirts to Turin.
Juve have worn the shirts ever since, considering the colours to be aggressive and powerful.
Juventus Football Club's official emblem has undergone different and small modifications since the 1920s.
The last modification of the Old Lady's badge took place before 2004-05 season. Since then, the emblem of the team is a black-and-white oval shield of a type used by Italian ecclesiastics.
It is divided in five vertical stripes: two white stripes and three black stripes, inside which are the following elements.
In its upper section, the name of the society superimposed on a white convex section, over golden curvature (gold for honour).
The white silhouette of a charging bull is in the lower section of the oval shield, superimposed on a black old French shield; the charging bull is a symbol of the Comune di Torino.
There is also a black silhouette of a mural crown above the black spherical triangle's base.
This is a reminiscence to Augusta Tourinorum, the old city of the Roman era which the present capital of Piedmont region is its cultural heiress.
In the past, the convex section of the emblem had a blue colour (another symbol of Turin) and, furthermore, its shape was concave.
The old French shield and the mural crown, also in the lower section of the emblem, had a considerably greater size with respect to the present.
The two Golden Stars for Sport Excellence were located above the convex and concave section of Juventus' emblem.
During the 1980s, the club emblem was the silhouette of a zebra, to both sides of the equide's head, the two golden stars and, above this badge, forming an arc, the club's name.
During its history, the club has acquired a number of nicknames, la Vecchia Signora (the Old Lady) being the best example.
The "old" part of the nickname is a pun on Juventus which means "youth" in Latin.
It was derived from the age of the Juventus star players towards the middle of the 1930s.
The "lady" part of the nickname is how fans of the club affectionately referred to it before the 1930s.
The club is also nicknamed la Fidanzata d'Italia (the Girlfriend of Italy), because over the years it has received a high level of support from Southern Italian immigrant workers (particularly from Naples and Palermo), who arrived in Turin to work for FIAT since the 1930s.
Other nicknames include; i bianconeri (the black-and-whites), le zebre (the zebras) in reference to Juventus' colours.
I gobbi (the hunchbacks) is the nickname that is used to define Juventus supporters, but is also used sometimes for team's players.
The most widely accepted origin of gobbi dates to the fifties, when the bianconeri team was wearing a large jersey.
When players ran on the field, the jersey, which had an opening on the chest with laces, generated a bulge on the back (a sort of parachute effect), giving the impression that the players have a hunchback.
STADIUMS
After the first two years (1897 and 1898), during which Juventus played in the Parco del Valentino and Parco Cittadella.
Their matches were held in the Piazza d'Armi Stadium until 1908, except in 1905, the first year of the scudetto, and in 1906, years in which it played at the Corso Re Umberto.
From 1909 to 1922, Juventus played their internal competitions at Corso Sebastopoli Camp, and before moving the following year to Corso Marsiglia Camp where they remained until 1933, winning four league titles.
At the end of 1933 they began to play at the new Stadio Mussolini stadium inaugurated for the 1934 World Championships.
After the Second World War, the stadium was renamed as Stadio Comunale Vittorio Pozzo.
Juventus played home matches at the ground for 57 years, a total of 890 league matches.
The team continued to host training sessions at the stadium until July 2003.
From 1990 until the 2005-06 season, the Torinese side contested their home matches at Stadio delle Alpi.
Built for the 1990 FIFA World Cup, although in very rare circumstances, the club played some home games in other stadia such as Renzo Barbera at Palermo, Dino Manuzzi at Cesena and the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza at Milan.
In August 2006, the bianconeri returned to play in the Stadio Comunale, now known as Stadio Olimpico, after the restructuring of the stadium for the 2006 Winter Olympics onwards.
In November 2008, Juventus announced that they will invest around €120 million to build a new ground, the Juventus Stadium, on the site of Delle Alpi.
Unlike the old ground, there will not be a running track; instead the pitch will be only 7.5 meters away from the stands.
The planned capacity is 41,000. Work began during spring 2009 and the stadium was opened on 8 September 2011 for the start of the 2011-12 season.
SUPPORTERS
Juventus Ultras on the pitch at Juventus Stadium after the club won the 2012-13 Serie A title.
Juventus are the best-supported football club in Italy, with over 12 million fans or tifosi, which represent approximately 29% of the total Italian football fans according to a research published in September 2010 by Italian research agency Demos & Pi.
Juventus is one of the most supported football clubs in the world, with 180 million supporters (43 million in Europe alone).
Particularly in the Mediterranean countries, to which a large number of Italian diaspora have emigrated.
The Torinese side has fan clubs branches across the globe.
Demand for Juventus tickets in occasional home games held away from Turin is high.
Suggesting that Juventus have stronger support in other parts of the country.
Juve is widely and especially popular throughout mainland Southern Italy, Sicily and Malta, leading the team to have one of the largest followings in its away matches, more than in Turin itself.
RIVALRIES
Juventus have significant rivalries with two clubs. Their traditional rivals are fellow Turin club Torino F.C. and matches between the two side are known as the Derby della Mole (Derby of Turin).
The rivalry dates back to 1906 as Torino was founded by break-away Juventus players and staff.
Their most high-profile rivalry is with Internazionale, another big Serie A club located in Milan, the capital of the neighbouring region of Lombardy.
Matches between these two clubs are referred to as the Derby d'Italia (Derby of Italy) and the two regularly challenge each other at the top of the league table, hence the intense rivalry.
Up until the Calciopoli scandal which saw Juventus forcibly relegated, the two were the only Italian clubs to have never played below Serie A.
Notably the two sides are the first and the second most supported clubs in Italy and the rivalry has intensified since the later part of the 1990s; reaching its highest levels ever post-Calciopoli, with the return of Juventus to Serie A.
They also have rivalries with Milan, Roma and Fiorentina.
YOUTH PROGRAMME
The Juventus youth set-up has been recognised as one of the best in Italy for producing young talents.
While not all graduates made it to the first team, many have enjoyed successful careers in the Italian top flight.
Under long-time coach Vincenzo Chiarenza, the Primavera (Under-20) squad enjoyed one of its successful periods, winning all age-group competitions from 2004 to 2006.
The youth system is also notable for its contribution to the Italian national senior and youth teams.
1934 World Cup winner Gianpiero Combi, 1936 Gold Medal and 1938 World Cup winner Pietro Rava, Giampiero Boniperti, Roberto Bettega, 1982 World Cup hero Paolo Rossi and more recently, Claudio Marchisio and Sebastian Giovinco are a number of former graduates who have gone on to make the first team and full Italy squad.
Like Dutch club Ajax and many Premier League clubs, Juventus operates several satellite clubs and football schools outside of the country (i.e. United States, Canada, Greece, Saudi Arabia, Australia and Switzerland) and numerous camps in the local region to expand talent scouting.
Players