CBC Sports Online's soccer expert, John Molinaro, takes you inside the world of soccer and offers his insights about the action on the pitch and in the front office.
Juventus should not take success for granted
Comments (11)
Thursday, May 24, 2007 | 02:31 PM ET
Following a season spent in the wilderness in Serie B, Juventus will return to Italy's top flight next year after securing promotion at the first attempt.
Winning its way back to Serie A was the easy part. Now the real work begins for a Juventus side looking to reassert itself as the dominant force in the Italian game and a European powerhouse.
Success won't come easy for the Old Lady of Italian soccer, though.
The bianconeri have some serious work to do, not the least of which is re-signing World Cup hero Gianluigi Buffon, the best goalkeeper in the game today.
While some players bolted Juventus for other teams when the match-fixing scandal verdicts were handed out last summer – Patrick Vieira and Zlatan Ibrahimovic headed off to Inter Milan, Fabio Cannavaro and Emerson followed coach Fabio Capello to Real Madrid, while Lilian Thuram and Gianluca Zambrotta went to Barcelona – Buffon stayed behind.
Buffon could have easily left – several teams were lining up to procure his services – but he remained in Turin to help Juventus in its promotion battle. Now that Juventus is back in Serie A, it's believed that the club will allow him to leave as a reward for his loyalty.
There is also talk that French striker David Trezeguet and Mauro Camoranesi, another key member of Italy's World Cup-winning team, could be on their way out of Turin.
Captain Alessandro Del Piero and Czech midfielder Pavel Nedved stayed behind and have committed their futures to the club, but both are the wrong side of 30 and will surely find the going much tougher in Serie A where the speed of the game is quicker, the star players are younger and the competition stiffer.
The future of coach Didier Deschamps, who as a player helped Juventus win the 1996 Champions League, is also in doubt.
Deschamps is said to be at odds with the cub's board of directors, and the belief is that Juventus will dump the Frenchman in favour of another high profile coach – possibly Capello, who looks set to leave Real Madrid after just one season.
Defence is another issue.
The match-fixing verdicts led to the exodus of Juventus's starting backline (Cannavaro, Zambrotta and Thuram). Jean Alain Boumsong was brought in from Newcastle United, but the Frenchman, who was renowned for his mental lapses in the Premiership, looked very shaky in Serie B.
Juventus needs to buy two or three world-class defenders in order to compete in Serie A, but that's easier said than done.
Club owners Fiat have already said they will commit a substantial amount of money to buy new players, but Juventus could find that the spectre of the match-fixing scandal still haunts them –already, German midfielder Torsten Frings has turned the club down, and others seem wary of joining the club.
The exodus of so many stars also forced the team to accelerate the appearance of some of their youth players. Raffaele Palladino, Matteo Paro, Paolo De Ceglie and Sebastian Giovinco all looked impressive this past year, and it'll be interesting to see if Juventus gives them significant playing time next season.
Even more interesting will be whether Juventus can seriously challenge the likes of Inter Milan, AC Milan and AS Roma for the scudetto.
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About the Author
John F. Molinaro is a reporter for CBC Sport Online whose chief love is international soccer. John served as senior editor of Sports Online's Euro 2004 website, which helped him win a CBC.ca Award of Excellence, and was the driving force behind our coverage of the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He holds an honours BA in sociology from York University and a print journalism diploma from Sheridan College, and is also the author of The Top 100 Pro Wrestlers of All Time (Stewart House, 2002).
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Comments (11)
BM
Minneapolis
It's just too bad that AC Milan didn't receive the appropriate punishment(i.e no Champions league)for their role in the match fixing scandal.
Posted May 24, 2007 03:44 PM
Jonathan
Indianapolis
Juventus will win the Scudetto next year with the help of Del Piero and Nedved. Both world class players
Posted May 24, 2007 05:24 PM
Anthony
Toronto
West Ham and Man U have both been implicated in cheating this year. And they received a slap on the wrist. So don't talk about Milan not deserving to be there. And the article is talking about Juve not Milan!!
Posted May 25, 2007 08:30 AM
BigShow
Montreal
Juventus will probably not win the scudetto next year but I do support them in getting rid of players like Trezeguet,Del Piero and Nedved and make place for the development of home grown youth so we can aim for another world cup in 2010.
Posted May 25, 2007 11:14 AM
Jan Triska
Ottawa
The nice thing about all of this potentially hearbreaking dismantling of a world-class club is the loyalty of two players: Nedved and del Piero. Del Piero has always been a class act and a guy his team could count on in clutch times..and Nedved has basically adopted Torino (and Italy) as his home, he's the one Czech player who has adapted well and even flourished abroad. They are playmakers and scorers and even if ageing, they can still put the ball in the net easier than 99% of players out there.
In a hyper-cosmpolitan sport where players follow the money trail all too easily, it's a good thing to see that iconic footballers like these two actually stay, for the city, for the fans, both hometown fans and fans from abroad like myself.
Posted May 25, 2007 11:25 AM
Jon
Calgary
It is really good to see the loyalty of these players who decided to stay with the club! But it is puzzling to think that these players who sacrificed at times their national team position to stay with the club would pack up and leave after they have succesfully made Seria A! Jonathan Zebina gave up his position on Les Bleus to stay with Juve. He could have easily found another team. While there may be speculation as to the imminent departures of key players, I believe that they will in the end decide to stay. It would be the quite the cinderella story if they won the Scudetto. While it may seem farfetched, It is possible with the monetary funds that FIAT could provide. While some, like Frings, do not want to go to the club, money talks and Juve will probably sign some big names during the transfer window. I see Juventus as a Scudetto contender this coming year. The Old Lady shall sing again.
Posted May 25, 2007 12:40 PM
Shooter McGavin
Loyalty to organised crime generally doesn't come from the heart - something to consider for those celebrating the "loyalty" of certain players who stayed with Juventus. As for fans - well, there's a point at which loyalty becomes poisonous - it's once you realise the thing or person you're being loyal to had no integrity. It ripped me apart to let go - but Juve is like an ex to me now. Livorno are my fresh new crush (for anyone interested).
Posted May 25, 2007 01:27 PM
Jon
Calgary
While certain club members had no integrity, you must realize Shooter McGavin that the fans and the team players had no part in the scandal. They just went down with the ship. It takes an over exceptional fan to stick with a team that went through shame and humility. Its like a marriage and one person has cheated. Instead of complete divorce they went through a difficult period to come out on top. Fans who stuck with Juve should get kudos for their dedication and commitment rather than those who chose to leave the team because of problems! That is the the meaning of loyalty.
Posted May 26, 2007 01:09 PM
.steven.
canaduh
fair play to Del Piero, Nedved & Buffon for staying .. the spectre of the match fixing scandal will hang for years to come but these players showed some class by sticking by the club they love .. it's very rare you see this kind of commitment in the modern game and even though i'm no Juve fan, as a Liverpool supporter we have a undying link with this club and i hope to give them a good kicking in Europe again soon ..
Posted May 28, 2007 08:23 PM
Keith
Ontario
I definately believe that Juve will in fact be back, but this coming year....pure fantasy! As for this so-called loyalty, it may have something to do with the fact that many players were rumoured to being involved in the match fixing and they may have been forced to stay or the secrets would of come out. This was reported. Whether true? Who knows. Go Rosanero!
One last thing, Anthony, there is a huge, collosal difference between match fixing and what West Ham (3rd party ownership of player, allowed in other leagues) and Man Utd (agreement to not field a on-loan player) did. Anthony, please get some perspective.
Posted May 29, 2007 02:12 PM
Dave Duronio
With Ranieri and Buffon confirmed, Juve will be back into, at least, the UEFA zone this coming season. Don't bet against them breaking into Champions either. Here's why...
With the usual consolidation of talent to the top clubs over the summer where the Quagliarella's of this past season will sign into the upper end of the table, Juve will already be much stronger on paper than about 2/3 of the teams in Serie A. Add Fiat money and the usual scam that is their TV contract which will still be as fat as Berlusconi's negotiation, many purchases will be made not only in the summer, but during the winter window as well. The only teams to take seriously for next term will be Milan, Inter and Roma as the likes of Lazio and Fiorentina will not make a substantial-enough plunge into the transfer market this summer to confirm themselves as Champions' League quality. Juve will be just fine.
Posted June 7, 2007 01:54 PM