Juventus

Juventus Football Club also known as Juventus Turin (or Juventus Torino), Juventus, or simply Juve, is a football club from Turin, Italy.

The club is currently playing in the Italian Serie B , for its first time after having spent its whole history in the top Italian league Serie A. Juventus is the most successful team in the history of Italian football. Overall, Juventus has won 51 official trophies, more than any other Italian team; 40 in its country (also a record), and 11 in European and the world competitions (see Honours). Juventus is the third club from Europe and fifth in the world with the most international titles recognized by the Union of European Football Associations and the International Federation of Association Football.

In 1985, Juventus became the first club in the history of the European football to have won all three Major European trophies and also, the only team in the world to have won all international cups and championships (which includes all official European tournaments and the Intercontinental Champions Clubs' Cup ). Juventus is also one of the G-14’s founding members, a group that represents eighteen of the largest and most prestigious European football clubs.

History

The club was founded on November 1, 1897 by a group of youngsters from the grammar school of Massimo D'Azeglio Lyceum in Turin. The people who decided to form the club were all between the ages of fourteen and seventeen, they came up with the idea of forming a club while sitting on a bench in Corso Re Umberto park.

Very little early documentation exists of the foundation, as during this early period in Italian football newspapers did not devote much space to the sport. One of the founding members; Enrico Canfari later wrote a document (in 1914) describing the birth of the club. The young founders heatedly discussed what to name the club; after a round of voting, the name was narrowed down to three choices, Società Via Fori, Società Sportiva Massimo D' Azeglio and Sport Club Juventus, they chose the latter. The men who were involved in the founding of Juventus were: -Gioacchino Armano
-Alfredo Armano
-Enrico Canfari
-Eugenio Canfari
-Francesco DaprÃ
-Domenico Donna
-Carlo Ferrero
-Luigi Forlano
-Luigi Gibezzi
-Umberto Malvano
-Enrico Piero Molinatti
-Umberto Savoia
-Vittorio Varetti

The first ever president was Eugenio Canfari (brother of Enrico), they played very early on at Piazza D'Armi in Crocetta, Turin. Juventus changed their name to Football Club Juventus in 1899 the first ever colours of the club were pink and black, known in Italy as rosanero.

Juventus enter the Italian Championship
Juventus eventually made their debut in the Italian Football Championship during the 1900 season, wearing their original pink shirts. The first ever game competed by the club in the championship, was on 11 May 1900 where they lost to F.C. Torinese 1-0 at Piazza D'Armi. In their second ever season, Juventus fared better when they reached the semi-finals of the league by beating locals Ginnastica Torino 5-0, before losing to Milan Cricket 2-3.

The club decided to find a new kit in 1903, they asked an English player at the club; John Savage if he could help, Savage had a friend in Nottingham who supported Notts County and sent to Turin the world famous black and white striped shirts which they have used ever since[12]. Around this period they also moved playing field to Velodromo Umberto I. For two seasons in a row, Juventus narrowly ended as runners-up to Genoa Cricket & Football Club, before beating them out for their first ever championship title victory in 1905.

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,[13] 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.

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. 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. 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. 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.

From the 1930-31 through the 1934-35 season, Juventus collected a record of five consecutive Italian league championships under coach Carlo Carcano; 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 Russian side Slavia Prague.

During 1933, Juventus moved to what is considered their first major home; Stadio Mussolini, it was built in 1933 for the 1934 FIFA World Cup, holding a capacity of 65,000. 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. After-World War II the club's ground was re-named, Stadio Comunale and Edoardo's son Gianni Agnelli was put in place as honorary president; 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 ocassions, 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 little golden star to wear on their shirt. Notably, Omar Sivori became the first Juventus player to win the European Footballer of the Year that year too.

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, a notable players of this time was the reliable defender Sandro Salvadore.

European success
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. 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 Roberto Bettega, Fabio Capello, and Brazilian José Altafini who would become the joint-third highest scorer in Serie A history.

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. 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.

Although Juventus were successful in Italy, European success eluded them until they won the UEFA Cup 1976-77, this was achieved against Spanish oposition 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.

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. The second title of which allowed the club to add another golden star above their crest (the only club to achieve this), marking 20 scudetto titles. The club's players were also achiving 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. Juventus is the only club to have players from their club winning the award in four consecutive years.

The height of European success was not reached until the mid-80s, when Juventus won the 1985 European Cup by beating Liverpool 1-0, with a penalty scored by Platini. However, what should have been the greatest day in the club's history 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.".

With the exception of winning the closely contested Italian Championship of 1985-86 over Roma and Napoli, the rest of the 1980s were not very successful for the club. As well as having to content with Diego Maradona's Napoli, both of the Milanese clubs Milan and Inter were picking up Italian championships. In 1990, Juventus moved into their new home; Stadio delle Alpi, this was built for the 1990 World Cup and also because Juventus' old ground which they shared with Torino, Stadio Comunale was been reduced in size.

The Lippi era
Marcello Lippi took over as Juventus manager in 1994. During his first season, Juventus recorded their first Serie A championship since the mid-1980s. Around this time the squad featured the likes of Ciro Ferrara, Roberto Baggio, Gianluca Vialli and a young Alessandro Del Piero, who would become heir to Baggio's throne.

Juventus followed up their home success by winning the Champions League for the second time in their history in 1996, the game went down to a penalty shootout against reigning champions Ajax Amsterdam; Vladimir Jugović scored the deciding penalty kick. During the following years a second wave of what are considered Lippi-era legends joined; Zinedine Zidane, Filippo Inzaghi, Edgar Davids and briefly Thierry Henry. Since the Champions League victory, they won their home league twice more and the European Super Cup. Between 1996 and 1998, they appeared in all three Champions League finals, losing to Borussia Dortmund in 1997 and Real Madrid in 1998.

During 1998, former A.S. Roma manager Zdeněk Zeman accused Juventus physicians of doping their players from the 1993-94 to 1997-98 seasons. After several years of official inquiries and 2 trials by UEFA and FIGC, Juventus were cleared of all charges by the international Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne, Switzerland. Neither the pharmaceutical substances that were in question were banned nor did any Juventus players have positive test results for any illegal doping substances.[15] The substances in question were principally creatine - which is considered a legal athletic supplement and has never been prohibited by the World Anti-Doping Agency - and Erythropoietin, legal in sports medicine and used frequently among cyclists, but prohibited by WADA at the start of the 2000-01 season).

Lippi left Juventus for rivals Internazionale Milano F.C. briefly. He returned to Juve after one season, and signed the third and final 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. Juventus appeared in an all Italian Champions League final, against rivals A.C. Milan; the game ended in a goalless draw, 0-0, and so again had to be decided in a penalty shootout, but this time Juventus lost. 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 Serie A match fixing scandal. At the center of the acusations was Juventus general manager Luciano Moggi, who was acused of influencing referees and even the false imprisonment of one; no players were accused of any wrong-doing. 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.

Manager Capello, left for Real Madrid before the verdict had been handed out. IFF prosecutor, Stefano Palazzi, called the four clubs to be thrown out of Serie A and that Juventus have their last two title's stripped. The sentences saw Juventus stripped of two titles, and relegated to Serie B for the first time in their history. The club was also docked points for the 2006-2007 season, which was eventually reduced after an appeal. Numerous players left the club, including European Footballer of the Year and 2006 World Cup winning captain, Fabio Cannavaro, two players were also 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.  

Alessandro Del Piero

source: wikipedia.org
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