A lot of surprises came in the form of comebacks in the 2018-19. Some of the highlights of the season were both Liverpool and Tottenham’s semi-final games and Ajax’s comeback against the titular Juventus. They were great and surely this past season was nothing short of memorable. That being said, imagine a comeback that took years to come to fruition and when it when finally paid off, it was all the more glorious. Such can be said of Juventus FC, the Italian titans.
Juventus FC won consecutive titles in 2005 and 2006 under Fabio Capello or so it seemed. The Calciopoli scandal flipped them upside down. It implicated Juventus and other major league teams Lazio, AC Milan, Fiorentina and Reggina in match-fixing by selecting favourable referees. As a result, the 2005 title was stripped from Juventus and was awarded to no one while the 2006 title was awarded to Internazionale (Inter Milan). As a result, despite amassing top place and 91 points, Juventus were relegated to the Serie B.
Major Repercussions:
Juventus were on the receiving end of some terrible consequences as a result of their relegation. Fabio Capello, who was one of the most sought after coaches at the time, left amidst the scandal. Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who was their star striker, scoring the most goals for Juve in 2004-05 left the club. Lillian Thuram and star defender, future Ballon d’Or and World Cup winner, Fabio Cannavaro left the club following suit.
Weathering the Storm:
Juventus after Relegation (Pic Courtesy: www.squawka.com )
While it seemed that all hell would break loose, some big players chose to stand their ground. Gianluigi Buffon, Pavel Nedved, David Trezeguet, Alessandro Del Piero, Camoranesi and Chiellini all stayed at the club. Players like Marchisio and Giovinco were also brought in from the youth team of Primavera. They lost some star players but a lot of people stayed to help them push through these trying times. Losing only 4 matches out of a total of 42, Juventus topped the Serie B. They had a Goal Difference of 53. No other team managed even half of that. Del Piero was the top goalscorer of the league with 20 goals. Trezeguet was not far behind with 15, while Pavel Nedved scored 11.
Serie A Return and Bumps along the Road with Multiple Managers:
As a result of their topping the Serie B, Juventus returned to the top Flight in 2008-09 but they didn’t exactly start off with a bang. Claudio Ranieri was appointed manager and he took Juventus to third place. In the following season, Juventus were knocked out of the UCL by Chelsea and placed second but due to a lack of trophies, Ranieri was sacked and Ciro Ferrara was brought in first as interim manager and then full-on. The trophies did not pile up with Ferrara at the helm either and he was replaced by Zaccheroni after placing 6th in the League(ended up 7th after Zachheroni took over as caretaker manager). Luigi Delneri was appointed as manager then and failed to change things at Turin as well. These were tough times for the club that is now synonymous with the best football has to offer.
Conte and Pirlo Turn the Tide:
Antonio Conte
Following the unsuccessful managers, Juventus appointed Antonio Conte for the 2011-12 season and everything changed. One of the biggest things he did was sign Andrea Pirlo(for free) who was past 30 at the time. That didn’t stop him from racking up two assists in Juve’s first competitive game of the 2011-12 league where they won 4-1. He was the older deep-lying playmaker surrounded by younger players like Marchisio and Arturo Vidal, not that you’d notice from seeing him play. They ended the season conceding the least amount of goals in Serie A (20) and unbeaten, finally winning the Serie A after 9 years. They ended the following season on top again and secured a hat-trick of Serie A championships in the 2013-14 season, winning 33 out of their 38 games and scoring a gargantuan tally of 102 points. No team has beaten that tally of points. Pirlo was elected as the Serie A Footballer of the Year in 2012,2013 and 2014. No other person has won it 3 times in a row.
Massimiliano Allegri continued the winning streak after he was appointed as manager in 2014-15 and received a lot of praise for his tactical prowess throughout the Juventus years. They even made it to the UCL finals under him only to be beaten by Barcelona. The Serie A Championship streak has continued to this day, as Juventus are standing at 8 consecutive Serie A titles(4 consecutive doubles as well).
Most Recent Season and Ronaldo Arrival:
Cristiano Ronaldo
Juventus were just as formidable in the recent season. The Bianconeri topped the table with 90 points under Massimiliano Allegri. They bought Cristiano Ronaldo for 100 million Euros which is their most expensive transfer to date and is also the highest amount paid for any player over 30. The signing seems to have paid off, with Ronaldo scoring 21 goals and 8 assists winning Serie A Player of the Year. As indicated earlier they did win the double this past season as well( Supercoppa Italiana and the Serie A). Some were disappointed by the fact that they did not win any other titles like the UEFA Champions League. They were knocked out by Ajax in the Quarter Final stage after a brilliant 3-0(3-2 agg.) comeback against Atletico Madrid in the previous stage. Massimiliano Allegri left the club following the 2018-19 season and Maurizio Sarri was appointed as the new manager. Juventus recently signed Matthijs De Ligt in what is reportedly the most expensive transfer for a defender( 85 Million Euros).
And thus, the team that was once relegated is now the most dominant in the Italian League. They have won 8 consecutive Leagues and 4 consecutive doubles and will look to bring the Champions League home in the next Time. A comeback that was as sweet as it was long; surely one for the history books.
