Football Club Profile: Juventus F.C.
Juventus, referred to sometimes as Juve, are a professional football club based in Turin, Italy. The club has spent its entire history in the top flight of Italian football except for the 2006/2007 season, when they were relegated as a punishment for a match-fixing scandal. The club was created in 1897 and has been given the name of the 'old lady' by its supporters. The home games are played at the Stadio delle Alpi.
Historically, Juve have been the most successful football club in Italy, an achievement that has been recognized by FIFA by voting them as the most successful Italian side in the 20th century and the second most successful club in all of Europe. By 1984, Juventus had won 20 League titles which meant that they now had a second golden star on their shirts, something no other Italian club had managed.
On the European stage the club was performing very well at the time. They still hold the record for having 4 consecutive European footballer of the year awards. Three of them went to the French legend, Michel Platini, who helped secure the European cup in 1985 with the winning goal. That particular tournament though has sad memories for the Juve fans as 39 people lost their lives after a stadium wall collapsed. Except for a victory in the league championships in 1985, the rest of the decade did not go so well for Juventus while their rivals, Milan and Inter were relatively successful.
After Marcello Lippi took over in 1994, the club went through a very successful period winning league titles in 1995, 97 and 98. They also took the Champions League crown in 1996, beating Ajax on penalties after a 1-1 draw in normal time. The rise in profile of the club meant that a high level of talent made its way to Juve. Among the players that joined were Zinedine Zidane, Filippo Inzaghi and Edgar Davids.
After Zinedine Zidane was sold to Real Madrid in 2001, Lippi signed Gianluigi Buffon, David Trezeguet, Pavel Nedved and Lilian Thuram from the record transfer. The signings helped the club lift two more Serie A titles before Lippi left the club for the Italian National side in 2004.
Lippi's place was filled by another Italian in Fabio Capello. During his reign, Juventus won two more titles but after the match-fixing scandal erupted, they were stripped of those titles and relegated to Serie B. The scandal disgraced the club, which was accused and convicted of influencing referee's in order to win games. However, due to their talented squad, the club was able to make a swift return to the top flight of Italian football, although they have struggled since then to challenge for honours as Inter Milan have taken over as the dominant force in the league from Juve.
Last season was very disappointing for Juventus as they finished in 7th place. The club is going through something of a decline and will be hoping for a top 4 finish next season in order to secure Champions League football. New Manager Luigi Delneri has a tough task of inspiring his side but he will have to do something fast or he will be replaced like his predecessor. The squad has some talented players, including Diego who was signed recently to boost the attack but unfortunately struggled to replicate his form in Italy. Players like Del Piero will have to use all their experience if this giant of Italian football is going to make a comeback any time soon.
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