Juventus Greatest All-time Team

This blogger Artur Yanturin of Russia copied many of my blog teams.  This blog was one of them.  It was my Russia All-Time Team here.  His team was written in 2020, but mine was uploaded in 2014.   His Spartak Moscow All-Time team entry of was published in October 2020, but mine was uploaded in 2017.  His entry of the Dutch-German rivalry between Real Madrid and Barcelona was written in 2020, but mine was uploaded in 2014.  He also copied many many of my blog entries.

His Facebook and Instagram

Intercontinental Cup and European Cup in 1996

Please also see my All-Time World Cup Team Index.

Italy All-Time Team
Juventus All-Time Team for Foreign Players
Juventus All-Time Team for Italian Players
All-Time Team Under Fabio Capello (Club only)
All-Time Team under Marcello Lippi (Club only)
All-Time Team under Carlos Ancelotti
AC Milan, Juventus, Inter Milan,
Roma, Lazio, Torino, Napoli, Fiorentina,
Sampdoria, Geona, Bologna, Parma, Udinese, Brescia.

This is my selection of a 25 member all-time team for Juventus.  The number 25 was chosen because it is the official squad size for the Champions' League.

Founded in 1897 by a group of Torinese students, the club has worn a black and white striped home kit since 1903 and has played home matches in different grounds around its city, the latest being the 41,507-capacity Juventus Stadium. 

Juventus has won more Serie A titles than any other Italian clubs, but they are known as the unlucky team at the European Cup/Champions League.  They won two European Cup/Champions' league titles.  They also have the misfortune of losing in the Final 6 times.  And their very first title came in 1985, a team consisted of Michel Platini and the backbone of the 1982 Italian World Cup winning team.  A decade later, they won their second title in 1996.

The club's fan base is the largest at national level and one of the largest worldwide. Unlike most European sporting supporters' groups, which are often concentrated around their own club's city of origin,  it is widespread throughout the whole country and the Italian diaspora, making Juventus a symbol of anticampanilismo ("anti-parochialism") and italianità ("Italianness").
  

Juventus has won the most league titles in Italy

Team 
GK: Gianluigi Buffon (Italy)
Gianluigi Buffon is considered to be one of the greatest keeper ever.  He made his Serie A debut at the age of 17 in 1995 with Parma.  He earned his first cap when he was only 19.  He had a total of 175 caps. His biggest achievement must be winning the World Cup in 2006.  He has been named the Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year a record eight time. He became the most expensive goalkeeper of all time following his transfer from Parma to Juventus in 2001.  He moved to PSG in 2019.

Gianluigi Buffon

GK: Dino Zoff (Italy)

Dino Zoff captained the World Cup winning side in 1982 at the age of 40.  He held the Serie A appearance record until 2006. He was also a part of the team that won the European Championship in 1968. He achieved great club success with Juventus, winning 6 Serie A titles, 2 Coppa Italias, and an UEFA Cup, also reaching two European Champions' Cup finals in 1972-73 and 1982-83 seasons. He also played for Udinese, Mantova and Napoli.

GK: Giampiero Combi (Italy)
Combi won the 1934 World Cup with Italy.  He was considered one of the best in the world during his time.  He spent his entire career with Juventus.  He played 351 games in Serie A, winning five titles – in 1926 (having conceded only 18 goals during the season), 1931, 1932, 1933 and 1934 as part of the first golden age of the club with a record of five championship victories in a row, a feat known as Il Quinquennio d'Oro (The Golden Quinquennium).

RB/CB:  Lilian Thuram (France)
Lilian Thuram is France's most capped player with 142 between 1994 and 2008.  He played at the top flight in France, Italy and Spain for over 15 seasons, including ten in the Serie A with both Parma and Juventus. With France, Thuram won the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000, and was in the runner-up squad for the 2006 World Cup in Germany.  He scored two goals vs Croatia in the semifinal of the World Cup in 1998. 

CB/RB: Claudio Gentile (Italy)
Gentile was considered one of the Azzurri's greatest defender.  He went to both 1978 and 1982 World Cup Finals.  He was best remembered for stopping Diego Maradona and Zico at the World Cup Finals in 1982 as Italy won their third World Cup.  His playing style was very hard. He was capped 71 times.  Gentile played over a decade with Juventus. He also played for Fiorentina and other clubs.

SW: Gaetano Scirea (Italy)
Scirea was the starting libero for Italy's World Cup winning team in Spain 1982 and Juventus throughout the 1980's.  He is considered one of the greatest defenders ever played the game.  He is one of only five players in history to have won all international trophies for football clubs recognized by UEFA and FIFA.  He had 78 caps for Italy between 1975 and 1986 . He also played in 1978 and 1986 World Cup Finals as well as the European Championship of 1980.

Gaetano Scirea

SW: Ciro Ferrara (Italy)
Ciro Ferrara was considered one of the best defenders in the world during his prime.  However, his career with the Azzurri was limited by the same period with some of the greatest defenders in history. For club football, he played nearly a decade for Napoli during Duego Maradona's years before moving to Juventus.  At Juventus, he won 6 scudettis and a single Champions' League.

CB/LB: Giorgio Chiellini (Italy)
Chiellini played with Livorno, Roma and Fiorentina before moving to Juventus in 2005. With Juventus, he has won seven consecutive Serie A titles from 2012 to 2018. He earned over 90 caps. He was selected for the 2004 Olympics, winning a bronze medal, as well as for three European Championships, two World Cups and two Confederations Cups, helping them to reach the final of Euro 2012.  He captained Italy as they won Euro 2021.

LB: Antonio Cabrini (Italy)
Antonio Cabrini was one of the best leftbacks in the world during his time.  He was remembered for being a part of the great defensive unit at the 1982 World Cup.  He spent the best part of his career with Juventus, winning the European Cup in 1985. He started his career with  U.S. Cremonese. He also played for Atalanta and Bologna. He picked up 73 caps, and went to the 1978, 1982 and 1986 World Cup Finals.

RB/LB: Gianluca Zambrotta  (Italy)
Gianluca Zambrotta was one of the best fullbacks in his prime.  He could play both rightback and leftback. He earned 98 caps or Italy   He was a member of the 2006 World Cup winning team.  He was selected to the Team of the Tournament. He also played in 2002 and 2010 World Cup Finals.  He played mainly with Juventus. He also played with Como, Barcelona, AC Milan and Bari.

DM: Luis Monti (Argentina/Italy)
The ruthless central midfielder led Argentina to the World Cup Final in 1930 where they lost to Uruguay.  Four years later, he won the World Cup with Italy. He played 16 times for Argentina and 18 times for Italy. Monti started his career in 1921 with Huracán. The following year he signed with Boca Juniors but left without playing a game. He joined San Lorenzo. In 1930, he joined Juventus in Italy, where he played until 1939.

Luis Monti

DM:  Didier Deschamps (France)
Didier Deschamps was only the second player in history to captain his team to lift the three big trophies: the Champions League trophy, the World Cup trophy and the European Championship trophy.  He started his career with Nantes. The prime of his career was spent with Marseille and Juventus, where he won a Champions League for both club.  He earned 103 caps between 1989 and 2000.

DM/CM: Marco Tardelli (Italy)
Marco Tardelli played at the 1978 World Cup Finals in Argentina and the 1980 European Football Championship at home.  He was the unsung hero of Italy's 1982 World Cup winning team scoring a goal in the Final.  He was capped 81 times.  He also won all the three major European competitions with Juventus. He also played for Pisa, Como, Inter Milan and St.Gallen of Switzerland.

CM: Edgar Davids (Netherlands)
Nicknamed "the Pitbull", Edgar Davids was one of the greatest defensive midfielders in the world.  At the club level, he won the European Champions' League with Ajax in 1995, a team considered to be the best ever club side.  He also spent 7 seasons with Juventus in Italy at the height of his career.  He played 74 times for the Dutch national team between 1994 and 2005.  He was an important player at the World Cup Finals in 1998 when Netherlands reached the semi-final. 

AM: Michel Platini (France)
Michel Platini is one of the greatest footballers of all time.  He played 72 times for France, He scored 9 of France's 14 goals as they won the European Championship in 1984 at home.  It was probably the greatest individual performance in a tournament.  He won the Ballon d'Or three times, in 1983, 1984 and 1985.  With Juventus, he won the European Cup in 1985, the first ever for the club. He started with Nancy and was a member of the famous team with AS Saint-Etienne.

Michel Platini

CM:  Andrea Pirlo (Italy)
Andrea Pirlo started as an attack midfielder with Inter Milan without success before becoming a regista.  He redefined the regista role in the modern game.  He had 116 caps.  He won the World Cup in 2006 and took Italy to the Final of Euro 2012.  For his club career, he was known for his career with AC Milan.  He played over 280 matches for them, winning two Champions' League titles.  He switched to Juventus late in his career.  

AM: Zinedine Zidane (France)
Zidane was named the best European footballer of the past 50 years in the UEFA Golden Jubilee Poll, and has been described as one of the greatest players in the history of the game.  He won the FIFA World Player of the Year award three times.  He led France to victory at  the World Cup in 1998 and the European Championship in 2000.  With Real Madrid, he also won the Champions League in 2002, where he scored one of the greatest goals in history at the Final.

Zinedine Zidane

AM: Alessandro Del Piero (Italy)

Alessandro Del Piero is considered to be one of Juventus' greatest players. He played with them for 19 years (11 years as captain), and holds the club records for most goals (289) and appearances (705). For Italy, he played 91 times, despite the fact that Italy had many players fighting for his position.  He was on the 2006 World Cup winning team. He also went to the World Cup Finals of 1998 and 2002, and the European Championship of 1996, 2000 and 2004.

AM/FW: Roberto Baggio (Italy)
Roberto Baggio was the World Player of the Year, the Ballon d'Or winner and the World Soccer Player of the Year in 1993.  He led Italy to reach the semifinal at Italia 1990 and then, to a second place four years later.  He only had 56 caps for Italy. For club football, he started his career with Fiorentina.  He became the most expensive player in the world when he joined Juventus, right before the World Cup Finals in 1990.  He also played for AC Milan, Bologna, Inter Milan and Brescia.

Roberto Baggio

FW/LW: Raimundo Orsi (Argentina/Italy) 
Raimundo Orsi started his career with Indpendiente in Argentina before lured away to play for Juventus. he won 5 league titles with Juventus. Later in his career, he would play in Brazil and Chile.  He was capped by Argentina 12 times winning a silver medal at the 1928 Olympics.  He later switched to play for Italy, winning the World Cup in 1934.

LW/AM: Pavel Nedved (Czech Republic)
Nedved was a key player as the Czech Republic finished second at Euro 1996 and reached the semi-final at Euro 2004.  For club football, he is best remembered for playing for Lazio and Juventus.  At Lazio, he won the Scudetti in 1999-2000, only the second league title in Lazio's history.  With Juventus, he led the team to the Final of the 2002-2003 Champions' League final, but he sat out of the game due to suspension.  He won the European Footballer of the year that year.

SS/FW:  Omar Sivori (Argentina/Italy)

Omar Sivori is remembered one of the greatest ever player from Argentina. He won the Ballon d'Or in 1961. After Argentina won the Copa America in 1957, he joined Juventus where he enjoyed 8 successful years.  He was credited with the resurgence of the club.  With John Charles and Giampiero Boniperti, he formed "the Magical Trio" with the club.  In Argentina, he played for River Plate.  He also played for Napoli between 1965 and 1969 after he departed from Juventus.

Omar Sivori

ST/FW/RW: Giampiero Boniperti (Italy)
Giampiero Boniperti played his entire career with Juventus where he played from 1946 to 1961.  He was known for playing alongside John Charles and Omar Sivori. He was the highest goalscorer in Juventus' history for more than 40 years, until his record was broken by Alessandro Del Piero. He went to the World Cup Finals in 1950 and 1954.  He was capped 38 times and served as captain 24 times.  

ST/FW: Roberto Bettega (Italy)
Nicknamed "White Feather", Roberto Bettega spent most of his career with Juventus. He won 7 Serie A titles there.  He was Serie A topscorer in the 1978-1979 season. From 1975 to 1983, he playd 42 times for Italy. He went to the 1978 World Cup Finals in Argentina, where he was voted into the Team of the tournament.  He missed the following World Cup Finals held in Spain because of an injury, where Italy won their third title. 

CB/ST: John Charles (Wales)
John Charles was equally adept at centre-forward or centre-back.  In England, he played for Leeds United, Cardiff City and Hereford United.  However, the best part of career was with Juventus. He played in Turin for five years, scoring 93 goals in 155 matches, winning the scudetto (Italian league championship) three times, and the Italian Cup twice. He was 3rd in the Ballon d'Or (Golden Ball) in 1959. He was never booked in his entire career. He played in the 1958 World Cup Finals.

John Charles 

Honorable Mention
Angelo Peruzzi (Italy), Stefano Tacconi (Italy), Leonardo Bonucci (Italy), Andrea Barzaghi (Italy),  Giampiero Boniperti (Italy), Virginio Rosetta (Italy), Giovanni Ferrari (Italy), Felice Borel II (Italy), Umberto Caligaris (Italy), Umberto Caligaris (Italy), Francesco Morini (Italy), Ernesto Castano (Italy), Pietro Rava (Italy), Virginio Rosetta (Italy), Sergio Brio (Italy), Fabio Cannavaro (Italy), Gianluca Pessotto (Italy),  Paolo Montero (Uruguay),  Jurgen Kohler (Germany), Sandro Salvadore (Italy), Juan Cuadrado (Columbia), Angelo Di Livio (Italy), Antonello Cuccureddu (Italy), Antonio Conte (Italy), Claudio Marchisio (Italy), Mauro Camoranesi (Italy), Fabio Capello (Italy), Giuseppe Furino (Italy), Franco Causio (Italy), Giovanni Ferrari (Italy), Felice Borel II (Italy), David Trezeguet (France), Fabrizio Ravanelli (Italy), Paulo Rossi (Italy), Filippo "Pippo" Inzaghi (Italy), Gianluca Vialli (Italy),  Silvio Piola (Italy).

Squad Explantion

-- The original team was created in August, 2016. I redid the team on April, 2024.
-- Alessandro Del Piero, John Charles, Gianluigi Buffon, Dino Zoff, Gaetano Scirea and Michel Platini are probably automatic selection.  Pavel Nedved, Omar Sivori and Zinedine Zidane are close to be on the list.  

Alessandro Del Piero 

-- Juventus dominated domestic football, but their record in Europe was underperforming as compared to their domestic record.  At the time of writing, it only won two European Cup/Champions' League.  
-- Nazio-Juve was a group of Juventus' players who formed the backbone of Italy's World Cup winning team in 1934.  Giampiero Combi, Raimundo Orsi and Luis Monti made this team.  Virginio Rosetta, Giovanni Ferrari and Felice Borel II and Umberto Caligaris are on my honorable mention.
-- Blocco-Juve (Juve Block), also known as Blocco Juventus was the nickname of the group of Juventus players who were the backbone Italy's World Cup winning team in 1982.  Under Giovanni Trapattoni, this group also helped Juventus to  dominate the Italian football. This group usually referred the defensive players, but the period also had many great attackers.  I selected the following players from this group: Dino Zoff, Claudio Gentile, Gaetano Scirea, Antonio Cabrini, Marco Tardelli, Roberto Bettega and Paolo Rossi.  Some of the players went on to win Juventus' first ever European Cup in 1985.
-- In 1985, Juventus won their first ever European Cup.  Unfortunately, the day was also remembered by the incidents at the Heysel stadium. I took three players from that team: Michel Platini, Marco Tardelli and Antonio Cabrini.  
-- In 1996, Juventus defeated the defending champion Ajax to win their second European Cup/Champions' League titles. Ajax was the club that beat them in the 1973 Final.  From the 1996 team, Gianluca Vialli, Alessandro del Piero, Ciro Ferrara and Didier Deschamps made my all-time team.
-- Juventus won 9 straight Serie A titles.  However, I only selected Andreas Pirlo, Gianluigi Buffon and Giorgio Chiellini from this generation. 

-- It was interesting that this team does not have a single Brazilian.  I did not even have a player on honorable mentions, which is very rare for a top European club.  Júlio César (defender) is the only player who came close to being a top player here.

Goalkeepers

-- Gianluigi Buffon and Dino Zoff were obvious choices for the first two goalkeepers.  Buffon is widely acknowledged as the finest goalkeeper in the history of the sport, not just for Juventus. Zoff is held in high regard and comes close in terms of his historical importance.

Dino Zoff

-- Stefano Tacconi stepped in as Zoff's successor and guarded the Juventus goalposts from 1983 to 1992. During this remarkable nine-year tenure, he led the team to triumph in every international competition they participated in. Another talented Italian goalkeeper who played for Juventus was Angelo Peruzzi. He notably contributed to the team's victory in the 1995/96 Champions League season against Ajax.
-- But I took Giampiero Combi as my third goalkeeper.  He is widely regarded as one of Italy's greatest goalkeepers in history. He achieved great success by winning the 1934 FIFA World Cup with the Italian national team. Combi played a crucial role during Juventus' first golden era, securing an impressive streak of five consecutive championship victories, famously known as "Il Quinquennio d'Oro" or "The Golden Quinquennium."

Defenders

-- Gaetano Scirea is considered one of the greatest defenders ever played the game.  Ciro Ferrara spent 11 seasons with this club.  Both were undisputed selection for this team.  

-- I preferred a younger backline.  Pietro Rava and Virginio Rosetta were dropped.  While Jurgen Kohler was great, I selected the ones with stronger connection with the club. Fabio Cannavaro only spent two seasons with Juventus.  So, I also did not take him. The other defenders have served longer times.  Both Sandro Salvadore and Carlo Parola were iconic symbol of the club at their time, but spaces are tight in this position.  I also studied Paolo Montero, Sergio Brio, Francesco Morini, Antonello Cuccureddu and Ernesto Castano.

-- Giorgio Chiellini has a special place in the hearts of Juventus fans.  He played over 500 games for the club. He was known for his solid backline playing alongside Leonardo Bonucci and Andrea Barzaghi, collectively known as BBC.  For Juventus, they were a rock solid until.  Ironically, they lost a Champions' League final against the "BBC" of Real Madrid. Chiellini and Bonucci also won an European Championship for Italy.  In 2016, it was difficult to select him over some of the biggest legends in the history of the game. He has to replace Ciro Ferrara, Gaetano Scirea and Claudio Gentile.  In 2016, it was difficult for him to break into the team. However, in 2024, I replaced Zbigniew Boniek with him.  Boniek was an important player in the 1980's, but he only spent 3 seasons here.  

Giorgio Chiellini

-- Both Lilian Thuram and Claude Gentile also played central defenders, but they were best remembered for playing as right fullbacks in Juventus.  Their remarkable command of the position in Turin remains unrivaled by any other Juventus rightback. I can only put Juan Cuadrado, Virginio Rosetta and Angelo Di Livio on honorable mentions.

-- Antonio Cabrini is an unequivocal selection for the leftback position due to his integral role in the renowned "Blocco-Juve" (Juve Block). The second choice came down to Zambrotta and Pessotto, with Zambrotta ultimately claiming the spot. Although Pessotto had a lengthier tenure of 11 seasons at Juventus compared to Zambrotta's 7, I held Zambrotta in higher regard as an international player.  Gianluca Pessotto's international reputation was hurt by playing at the same time as Pablo Maldini. Pessotto did not have the same exposure outside of club football.  He only earned 22 caps for Italy.

Midfielders/Wingers

-- Claudio Marchisio was an unsung hero for Juventus.  He played for them from 2005 to 2018 with a loan spell with Empoli.  Giuseppe Furino was similar.  However, while many players on this All-Time team were considered the greatest ever in their respective positions, Marchisio and Furino may not have reached that same level of distinction.  So, I only put them on honorable mentions. Paul Pogba achieved superstardom in Turin, but his peak was very short.  

-- Luis Monti helped Juventus to four consecutive Serie A titles (1932 to 1935), also serving as the club's captain.  In 2004, Marco Tardelli was named 37th in the UEFA Golden Jubilee Poll.  He was a two way midfielder.

-- Deschamps played a pivotal role in Juventus' winning 3 Serie A championships and the prestigious Champions League in the 1995-1996 season, serving as their captain. While Edgar Davids may have won fewer significant trophies during his tenure in Turin compared to Deschamps, his impact on the team could be considered more substantial. Over the course of his impressive 7 seasons with the club (in contrast to Deschamps' 5 seasons), Davids epitomized the role of an engine on the field. While Deschamps' leadership style deserves utmost respect, Davids' presence and performance on the field were instrumental to the team's success. So, I decided to take both of them. Antonio Conte, Romeo Benetti and Fabio Capello just missed the boat.

-- Before Andreas Pirlo transferred to Juventus, he brought immense glory to both Italy and AC Milan. During his time at AC Milan, the team triumphed by securing the scudetto in his final season. However, upon joining Juventus, he immediately aided them in securing the coveted title in his debut season.   With Juventus, he would win four consecutive championships, contributing significantly to Juventus' impressive streak of nine consecutive titles.   In 2016, I hesitated to choose him because he was more of a legend at AC Milan, but his impact in Turin could not be underestimate. Besides, Andreas Pirlo was a deep-lying playmaker that this team badly needed.  He was mentioned several times as an All-Timer here.

-- Michel Platini was Juventus' best player as they won their first ever  1 European Cup in 1985.  Zidane played 4 seasons and took the team to two Champions' league finals. Both Zidane and Platini also won many individual awards while playing for the club. Roberto Baggio established himself as one of the best players in the world while playing here.  He helped the club to win an UEFA Cup.  He scored 115 goals in 200 appearances during his five seasons at Juventus. His stint, however, was short.  He was replaced by Alessandro Del Piero.  Del Piero is probably the club's greatest player.   The four of them kept Giovanni Ferrari off the team.

-- Giampiero Boniperti could take care of the right wing, a position he played before, but not his best position.  He was a striker.  He was the highest goalscorer in Juventus history for more than 40 years, until his record was broken by Alessandro Del Piero in 2006. For the left side, I would select Raimundo Orsi and Pavel Nedved. Orisi established himself one of the greatest wingers in Europe while playing here.  Nedved won an European Player of the Year award while helping Juventus to reach the Champions' League final in 2013. Omar Sivori and Roberto Bettega could also operate as a wing-forward from the left.

Omar Sivori, John Charles and Giampiero Boniperti 

Forwards

-- Omar Sivori, John Charles and Giampiero Boniperti formed "the Magical Trio" with the club.  Sivori won the European Footballer of the Year award in 1961. John Charles played as a forward here. During his time at Juventus, Charles became a fan favorite and formed a formidable partnership with Omar Sivori. He was instrumental in helping Juventus win three Serie A titles in 1958, 1960, and 1961. Charles' performances earned him the nickname "Il Gigante Buono" (The Gentle Giant) due to his physical presence on the field combined with his fair play and humility off the pitch. He was voted as Juventus' greatest foreign player.  In the 1959 Ballon d'Or rankings, Charles secured a commendable third place, trailing behind Alfredo di Stefano and Raymond Kopa. During the 1959/60 season, both Charles and Sivori combined their efforts to score an impressive total of 50 Serie A goals. Meanwhile, as a cohesive unit, Juventus netted a remarkable 92 goals in 34 games. I already discussed Boniperti as a right winger.

-- Gianluca Vialli and Fabrizio Ravanelli brought home the 1996 Champions' League, but both of them did not have a long career here.  Vialli only scored 53 goals while Ravanelli had 69 goals. Like Vialli, Paulo Rossi helped Juventus to win a European Cup, but his legacy in the history of Italian football was about Italy's World Cup victory.  His career here over here was overshadowed by other players. During his time here, he managed to score a modest total of only 44 goals.  So, I left him off the team.

-- Silvio Piola, despite being the all-time leading scorer in the Italian league, had a relatively short stint with us, spanning just two seasons. Consequently, his name was not closely associated with Juventus. In contrast, Roberto Bettega and David Trezeguet left a more significant impact during their time here. Bettega, a prominent figure in the 1970s and 1980s, scored an impressive 179 goals in 482 games for Juventus. He secured the third spot as the club's all-time leading scorer. Meanwhile, David Trezeguet emerged as Serie A's top scorer in the 2001-2002 season. With 171 goals in 320 games, he currently ranks as the fourth highest scorer.  The team boasted an impressive lineup of strikers, consisting of three notable players: John Charles, Roberto Bettega, Giampiero Boniperti, and Gianluca Vialli. Additionally, they possessed three talented forwards in Roberto Baggio, Omar Sivori, and Alessandro Del Piero.  So I did not need Trezeguet.

Roberto Bettega

Formation
The team was the 1980's added Buffon, Del Piero, Monti, Charles, Sivori and Thuram.  Zidane or Baggio might be better than Del Piero, but Del Piero is a Juventus' icon.  I reunited John Charles with Omar Sivori.