Juventus has seen the sport’s biggest names don the iconic black-and-white strip over the years. Today, the bianconeri are the most successful club in Italian football with 36 Scudetti and here we list their top 10 players in their rich 123-year history.
Juventus Fondly nicknamed Old lady is a top-flight club in Italy with an immaculate record and trophies. Winning the domestic league has been like one brushing the teeth every morning so routine.
A club’s brand value and its engagement among its fans lies with the performance and most importantly the star players who elevate their games on an important occasion. Players who gave their sweat and blood with their work rate and loyalty to the club irrespective of the result could be valuable asset to a team. As the saying goes legends are made, not born we will look into the players who influenced the club and the old lady’s history to a good extent.
Without further ado, here is Juventus’ top 10 greatest players of all time.
10) Giancula Zambrotta
When he came into Juventus as 22-year- youngster, he ran into many surgeries. But still emerged as one of the best left-backs, moving up the pitch or blocking the opposition winger, he excelled at all aspects of the game. He is a technically gifted player. His defense partnership with Paolo Montero and Ciro Ferrara was one of the most feared ones.
9) Michael Platini
He played as an attacking midfielder for Juventus. He has one of the most decorated players of his era. One of the most fun-loving personae, he is a legend in his own right.
The Agnelli family said that he has made Juventus a good force in Europe. He has held various prestigious posts in FIFA and UEFA.
8) David Trezeguet
The crocodile once gets hold of its prey then it is a kill, similar to that David Trezeguet is a poacher. He is one of the fan favourites. His off-the-ball movement from the ball and the movement in tight spaces is greater than none. He is one of those players who stayed with Juventus in spite of the demotion to Serie B showing his loyalty to the club. He also attracted interests from top clubs but still wanted to make Juve a dominant side. He is the highest foreign goal scorer for Juve. He is also one of the Golden Foot award legends.
7) Paul Nedved
With the shiny hairstyle of a member from bands like backstreet boys, Nedved was an important part of the glory days. Paul is a steam engine running effortlessly up and down the left-wing. Nedved is a sort of winger who had venomous left and right foot strike in him.
Nedved for all his quality loved the old lady and was very loyal to the fans. He was a warrior and the face for a true Bianconeri. He had a good career with 247 appearances netting in 51 goals. He inspires people on and off the pitch with his boyish charm. He is the poster child for the principles old lady stand for. He was fondly called “Furia Ceca” (meaning “Blind fury”) by the Italian fans.
6) Edgar Davids
With eye-catching googles similar to teenage mutant ninja turtles, he is a pitbull ferocious and powerful. Consider the midfield trio of Conte, Zizou and Edgar the thought of the passing lanes they would stitch will terrorize the opponents. He could easily perform an important tackle, pass and run into the box to finish them off. He made good defensive work with the heart of the defensive diamond. He would easily overturn the possession from the opposition and feed a lot of crispy passes for the forwards to gobble up. He was one of the ballers to be selected to feature in FIFA100 a list curated by Pele.
5) Roberto Baggio
One of the greatest No.10 to inherit the pitch, Baggio is a stellar personality and have netted a lot of 78 goals from his 141 appearances. The goals will look much more than it appears as they were against a lot of best sides in Europe (Cyruff’s greatest side).
The flair and the passion he had for the club (in spite of stating that he has his love for purple =Fiorentina). His main strength is his determination to come back from pretty challenging injuries and giving the best. He was fondly called as “Divine Ponytail” by the fans. He was awarded Ballon D’or in the year 1993 in his spell at Juventus.
4) Zinedine Zidane
Zizou as fondly called Zidane is the midfield maestro weaving magic across the pitch with his wonderful Cryuff turns and accurate ball retentive ability. When he was at his peak Juventus a dominative force in Europe. His special skill is that he scans the pitch like a hawk processing an area and could easily blow a powerful strike (one could ask Materazzi). He has won 3 FIFA World Player award and in the year 1998 won the Prestigious Ballon D or. His success with football continued in coaching as well as he won a three continuous Champions League titles with Real Madrid.
3) Gianluigi Buffon
Buffon will be a legend irrespective of the club, as is his record and he is the Mr. Super Human as he is one of the few players to play the game for such a long time. Such is his longevity he made his debut when Nokia launched their 1st handsets and is still on the pitch smartphones faster than computers.
The most intricate quality of a goalkeeper is his motor reflexes and Buffon is still super sharp and has a great vision while spreading play from the back. He moved to Juve for a world-record fee for a keeper at that time period for 51.5 million. He has made a way more contribution to his price tag and will continue to make so.
Buffon holds numerous records like the longest clean sheet in a single season for Juventus and one of the many players to have 1000 appearances. He plays all the games irrespective of the opposition with his A-Game and is a role model for all young players to look for discipline.
2) Antonio Conte
A young lad with a good work rate and a mountain of hope and determination joined Juventus from Lecce. Many wouldn’t have thought he would raise as captain and come back and make them a formidable side as a manager. He is a classic No.8 unafraid of wild tackles and covering all parts of the pitch for support. He has won 5 Scudetti and came back and brought the good old days to Old Lady again with his managerial success. He was the one holding the torch before Alessandro Del Piero. Conte always considered Juve his second home and that’s the reason he came back to give back the glorious days he was part of again to the fans.
1) Alessandro Del Piero
Del Piero is the Sachin Tendulkar of Juve as he holds the record for most appearances (697) and goals (288). He is not super-fast and super strong, but has the ball control and holding the ball as the shadow (secondary striker made him a valuable asset.
A wonderfully talented set-piece taker. His Curveballs are a sight to behold. A true footballer is a samurai whatever the condition is he never sacrifices his Katana. Alessandro is a true warrior despite the demotion of Juve to Serie B, he stayed with them. And so fondly called by millions of fans as Captain. The legacy of the club is not weighed only on the trophies but the relationship between the fans and the players and Alessandro will be the No 1 in fans loyalty meter to the club.
Juventus is one of the most followed clubs in the world, and what is a club at the end of the day without the supporters. Supporters watch the game and follow the club so loyally not only for the stars and their place in leagues. Rather for the principles and the efforts they show for the normal people who at the end love the game without anything in return (Agnelli has the same ideology!). Legends are not born; they are made one by the supporters.
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