5 Best Moments For Juventus Fans

With any football club around the world, there are going to be some serious ups and downs. For fans of Juventus, there have thankfully been far more ‘ups’ throughout the club’s history. Of those highlight moments, which ones were the best for fans? Here are the five best moments in Juventus history when it was truly great to be a supporter.

Giampiero Boniperti’s Debut

Many consider Barengo native Giampiero Boniperti to be the greatest player in Juventus history thanks to his 15-year career that was spent entirely with the club. He would go on to become a politician who was part of the European Parliament during the 1990s, but long before that, he was the first superstar in Juventus history. In March 1947, Boniperti made his debut for Juventus and he’d never look back.

Over the course of his career, Boniperti played 443 league matches, scoring 178 times in that span. He helped Juventus win the Serie A title five times, as well as back-to-back Coppa Italia titles. He was inducted into the Italian Football Hall of Fame in 2012, and the striker put Juventus on the map.

Formation of Il Trio Magico

Of course, Boniperti saw most of his success throughout his career when he was teamed up with Omar Sivori and John Charles. The three men made up what was known in Italy as Il Trio Magico, or The Magic Trio for us English speakers. All three would come from different parts of the world but were able to blend together magnificently over their four years together.

Charles was born and raised in Wales, then made his way to England to play for Leeds United. Meanwhile, Sivori was from Argentina and played for River Plate in his native country. In August 1957, Juventus spent £65,000 to obtain Charles and an undisclosed amount on Sivori to form the trio which would get Juventus out of a dry spell and back into the top of the fixture. Together, Il Trio Magico won several major trophies including three Serie A titles.

Trap Takes the Reigns

Throughout the course of his playing career, Giovanni Trapattoni mostly played for AC Milan, making 274 appearances from 1959 to 1971. He then wrapped up his career with Varese in 1972 and returned to AC Milan to become the club’s manager. After a couple of years in charge of the club, Trapattoni made his way to Juventus for the first of his two stints which would total 13 years.

Trap ended up being the man that Juventus needed to get them to the top tier of Serie A, and he would win the league title six times in a decade. He also helped guide Juventus to a pair of Coppa Italia wins, as well as the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup, European Super Cup, and Intercontinental Cup. Trap was inducted into the Italian Football Hall of Fame in 2012.

First Champions League Title

Juventus had its first chance to win the UEFA Champions League (back when it was the European Cup) when it faced off against Ajax in 1973. Unfortunately, the club would fall just short as Ajax won the finals 1-0. It would take some time for Juventus to get back to the finals, and Juventus lost for a second time in 1983, this time against Hamburger SV.

It turned out that the third time was the charm for Juventus. In 1985, the club faced off against Liverpool in Brussels, but neither team scored in the first half. Juventus got on the board first thanks to a penalty kick from Michel Platini, and neither team would score again, giving Juventus the 1-0 win and its first Champions League title.

Return to Glory After Scandal

Juventus had won the 2004-05 Serie A title, but a few years later, the title was stripped after the Calciopoli scandal that rocked Italian football. Club executives throughout Serie A had been illegally communicating with referees and fixing matches. Not only did Juventus get stripped of its title, but the club was also relegated to Serie B and had to work its way up.

It didn’t take long for Juventus to win Serie B and return to the top league, but it would be a few years before they were back on top of Serie A. Juventus had been in a dogfight with AC Milan for much of the 2011-12 Serie A campaign, but Juventus came out on top with 84 points. The league title marked a return to prominence following a scandal that may have ended operations for most clubs.