Juventus Rising: The return of the Old Lady

In 2006, the footballing world was shocked. The Italian footballing scene was shaken up and the Serie A’s integrity was perched precariously on the edge of a deep, deep fall. ‘Calciopoli’ they called it, ‘Bribesville’ indicating the network between some of the authorities from the clubs and the Italian football association with the referees’ association. And while there were Milan, Fiorentina, Lazio & Reggina also on the scene, none were punished as severely as Juventus, thanks in no small part to their General manager Luciano Moggi’s generous amount of involvement in the scandal. As a result, Juve were stripped of their 2005 and 2006 league titles and initially demoted to Serie C1 before the decision was revised and finally ended up in Serie B. This resulted in a mass exodus from the club with manager Capello leaving the club even before the verdict was out to pursue his monetary benefits at Real Madrid. He was followed by the then popular Cannavaro, Thuram, Zambrotta, Vieira and Ibrahimovic, among others. However, proving that loyalty to the club is still a virtue in some circles, Buffon, Del Piero, Camoranesi, Trezeguet and Nedved remained faithful to the club. Finding themselves in Serie B for the first time and starting the season with a 9 point deficit to their name, things only got worse for Juve with two youth players drowning in ice-cold waters while trying to retrieve a football around December. But, in true romantic fashion, Juve fought their way out of the darkness to make a triumphant return to Serie A, having been crowned the Champions of Serie B.

Juventus, filled with a history of triumphs, are known as the Old Lady. They are to Italy as Liverpool is to England. The club with a ‘History’ as some call it. But they had some issues to set right. And they almost did, finishing 3rd and 2nd in the subsequent years losing out on the Scudetto narrowly. And now, with more talent being pumped into the club to support the weakening squad, Juventus look poised to stake their claim for the Scudetto once more. Alessandro Maitri has not only knocked in 7 goals since Juve took him up on loan in January, but also has youth on his side. Having scored on his International debut for Italy, great things will be expected of him and if he delivers, Juve will be strong contenders indeed. Add to this Quagliarella, who struck 9 goals for Juve on loan, and Simone Pepe who struck 4 and you have a cure for the ailing attack which was being propped up mainly by the aging Luca Toni and Del Piero. Some players’ age like fine wine and Andrea Pirlo, as he proved at the world cup, being the only player to leave with his reputation intact is certainly one among them. With him in the midfield supporting the impressive milos Krasic, Juve can only hope to achieve better things. And while they may not have the most famous defense in the world in the form of Grosso, Barzagli and Motta, it is backed by a man who was once regarded as the best in the world and is, to this date associated with clubs like Manchester United. Gianluigi Buffon, he is known as. And having stayed on to help the Old Lady recuperate from the shocks, he will be desperate to place a new feather on her cap. In the meanwhile, the fans pray.

Tags: Alessandro Matri, Fabio Quagliarella, Juve, Juventus Football Club, Marco Motta, Old Lady, Simone Pepe