It all began in 1897, when three friends were sat on a bench in the small town of Turin, Italy. This group of friends, only teenagers at the time, all had a passion for soccer and had the intriguing idea to create a sports club. Little did they know, they curated an idea that would lead to becoming one of the most decorated clubs in European football.

The young team didn’t play in an official league match until 1900, and two short years later the club won their first Italian league championship. In 1923 the Agnelli family, owners of the Fiat automotive company, gained presidency and control of the club. This not only changed the state of the club but brought attention to the city of Turin, as well. Financially, the Club was able to expand, and more prominent faces were brought to the pitch. Still under the ownership of the Agnelli’s, they’ve become the longest active ownership of a professional sport entity in the world for 96 years and counting.

The 1930’s brought the “Golden Era” for the Italian team when they took home five Italian League championships and provided players to the national side who won the 1935 Rome World Cup. Over the next six decades, the team won two UEFA Champions League titles (1985, 1996), three UEFA Cups (1977,1990,1993), two UEFA Super Cups (1984,1996), and a European Cup Winners’ Cup (1984). In Domestic competitions, they’ve won handfuls of Italian Cups and Italian Super Cups.

Everything was smooth sailing for the Italian team – they had managed to hold their position in the Serie A, until an unfortunate scheme of scandal during the 2006-07 season. Scheming between managers and officials caused their 2005-06 title to be revoked and the team was bumped down to Serie B. Luckily with some dedication and hard work, they bounced back into the Serie A action and proved they were a dominant force.

Despite the past scandal, a turning point came in 2010 when Andrea Agneli became president of the club, and a new chapter was born. With all-new Board of Directors, coaches, recruitment, and a 41,000 all-seater stadium, the team came back better than ever. They’ve grown themselves on and off the field with the opening of the J-Museum and youth educational programs. With a promise to create a brighter future, Juventus will continue to break records and create legends. 

Highlights

Wondering what makes Juventus so great? With the talent they’ve had on the field, it’s not surprising that these highlights exist:

• In 1985, they became the first ever club to win all the available international trophies.
• They hold a record number of 36 Serie A titles.
• They hold the longest ever winning streak in Serie A with 33 victories at home in a row.
• With 102 points, they have the most points in a single Serie A season than any other team.
• In the 2011-12 season, they became the first Serie A team to go a whole season unbeaten.

Notable Coaches and Players

One of Juventus’ first league standouts was Giampiero Combi. Signed in 1923, he was – and still is – considered one of the greatest Italian goal keepers of all time. He was the first team member to contribute heavily to the change in the club’s standing. The golden era of the 1930’s can thank their manager Carlo Carcano and their entire team for their five consecutive Scudetto trophies and Champions League showings.

When the leading Italian player of the 1950’s, Giampiero Boniperti, joined Juventus he became one of the most notable players to play for the team. He led the Boniperti Era and played his entire career for the club winning five league titles, then becoming the first president of the team to last for two decades.

The man who would come to rewrite all of Juventus’ records is Alessandro Del Piero. For the 19 years that he was apart of the club, he was the prototypical secondary striker. He became the club’s all-time leader in both appearances and goals and was named Serie A footballer of the year twice. A captain to the team, he’s considered to be the club’s greatest player.

The past 2 decades of play has been categorized by coaches and players like Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Zinedine Zidane, Cristiano Ronaldo, Antonio Conte, Giorgio Chiellini, and Paul Pogba, who all used to rep the black and white stripes or still do.   

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