-=The begining=-Legend has it that one day over a century ago, November 1, 1897 to be exact, a group of youngsters age 14 to 17 from the D'Azeglio High School in Turin, sitting on an uncomfortable bench on a street called Corso Re Umberto, decided to start a sports club with the aim of playing football. The same legend has it that the club was called "Juventus" more or less by chance, and that the name was immediately loved and adopted as a way of life.
The Club, who's first president was Enrico Cafari, changed headquarters often but soon made a name for itself against many more expert teams in town. The players weared pink jerseys. Juventus made their debut in the Italian championship in 1900, wearing this uniform. The black and white one was imported directly from Nottingham in 1903. The team played in Piazza d'Armi. Meanwhile some of the early games were played on a field near the current train station of Porta Susa. This field was soon covered by buildings and Juventus rented a field on the Motovelodromo Umberto I in the Crocetta part of town instead. Juventus played here until 1906. Juventus then moved to the north of the city and the Stadio di Corso Marsiglia. This small stadium was known as “Campo Juventus" in Turin.
Juventus won their first Italian championship after a heart stopping three way final against Genoa and Milanese. This victory crowned the efforts of the Club's pioneers, under Swiss president Alfredo Dick, with the help of a number of foreign players. Alfredo Dick soon left the Club in anger, however, after losing support from the majority of players, and founded his own soccer team, called Turin. In doing so he took with him a number of valuable foreign players.
The ensuing years were not easy ones for the team, and up to the First World War Italian soccer was dominated by Pro Vercelli and Casale. Juventus stepped into the limelight again just after the war: goalkeeper Giacone and fullbacks Novo and Bruna were the first of the Club's players to be called on the National team. At this time the President was Corradino Corradini, a poet and man of letters.
In 1923 Giampiero Combi, one of the greatest goalkeepers of all times, made his debut on the team. On July 24 of that historical year the Club's Members unanimously elected Edoardo Agnelli, son of the founder of the Fiat automobile company, as President. The Club now boasted its own soccer field in Corso Marsiglia, with masonry stands to host the growing number of fans.
This was the prelude to five consecutive championship trophies in the 1930s, under coach Carlo Carcano and a lineup with champions such as Orsi, Caligaris, Monti, Cesarini, Varglien I and II, Bertolini, Ferrari and Borel II. This uninterrputed string of trophies went from 1930 to 1935, and at the same time players from the Club gave an important contribution to the Italian national team, which won the World Cup in Rome in 1934.
-=Challenge Europe=-The Club's first steps in the international arena date to the same period, when it participated in the European Cup, illustrious ancestor of the Cup Winner's Cup, reaching the semifinals four times. In 1947 Gianni Agnelli, son of Edoardo who had died tragically in a plane crash in 1935, took the helm, bringing back the glorious years. At this time the Club's most representative champions were Carlo Parola, the Danes John Hansen and Praest, and above all Giampiero Boniperti, who was to become the Club's recordman for games played (444) and goals scored (177). Juventus won the National championship in 1950 and 1952.
In 1953 Giovanni Agnelli stepped down as president, a position which was to be filled two years later by his brother Umberto. A new cycle of victories was about to be inaugurated: the Club won the national championship in 1958, 1960, and 1961 with players such as Omar Sivori and John Charles, becoming the first soccer Club in Italy to have won ten national championships (in 1958) and being awarded the national medal for sports merits. Although city rivals Torino had their own stadium at via Filadelfia, its slow demise saw the club move to share the Comunale with Juventus in 1960.
Juventus returned to victory in 1967 under Vittore Catella's presidency, opening a long cycle of triumphs with its most representative champion, Giampiero Boniperti: the Club won nine national championships in fifteen years ( in 1972, '73, '75, '77, '78, '81, '82, '84, '86) plus all there was to win in the international arena: UEFA Cup (first success in 1977), Cup Winner's Cup (1984), European Cup, Supercup and World Club Championship (1985).
In these years the team was coached by Vycpalek, Parola and, above all, Giovanni Trapattoni. This was the time of great Italian champions (from Zoff to Scirea, from Tardelli to Cabrini, from Causio to Paolo Rossi, Gentile, Furino, Anastasi and the current vice president Roberto Bettega) but also of foreign champions such as Michel Platini, who played for Juventus five seasons, winning two national championship trophies, two European Cups, one World Club Championship, three times top scorer of the year and three golden balls.
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Full name Juventus Football Club SpA
Nickname(s)
La Vecchia Signora (Old Lady),
Bianconeri,Zebra,Gobbi (deprec.)
Founded
November 1, 1897
Ground
Stadio delle Alpi,Turin, Italy
Stadio Comunalle(olimpico) turin,italy
Capacity
69,041 Delle Alpi
30,000 olimpico
Chairman
(Italy) Andrea Agnelli
Manager
(ITALY) Luigi Del Neri
Juventus (Latin for Youth, pronounced /ju.?v?n.t?s/) is one of Italy's oldest and greatest football clubs, based in Turin, Piedmont. It competes in Serie A. Juventus are widely regarded as one of the world's top clubs.
The team typically plays in black-and-white striped shirts and black shorts (but for decades in white shorts), and is nicknamed la Vecchia Signora (the Old Lady), bianconeri (black-and-white's), zebre (zebras), or deprecatively gobbi (humpbacks) by the opponents. The team gets its black-and-white striped kits from English side Notts County. Originally the team played in pink shirts (pink being the cheapest material available) with a black tie.
When the club decided to change these, it was decided to import kits, but a mix-up by the supplier meant that the team got the Notts County black and white instead. The club's stadium is the 69,041-seat Stadio Delle Alpi, which it currently shares with Torino F.C.. This arrangement will end after the 2005–06 season, when Torino F.C. will open a new ground of its own.
Juventus F.C. was founded in November 1897 by students from Massimo D'Azeglio Lyceum, in a "legendary" bench in one of Turin's boulevard, Re Umberto boulevard. The team won a previous version of the national league titles 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 won five consecutive Italian league championships (Italian scudetto). In 1933, they began playing at the 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, and have not won it again since, the closest chance being when they lost to AC 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 (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 28 Italian titles and nine Coppa Italias to date, both national records. The club is also one of only four to have won all three major European trophies.
Until recently, Juventus' players had to wear short (and regular) 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 28 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.
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 $64 million (US), which is accurately £48 million.