Juventus All-Time Team for Foreign Players

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

Boniek and Platini

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

Italy All-Time Team
Juventus All-Time Team
Juventus All-Time Team for Italian Players

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

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.

Trezeguet, Davids and Zidane

Team 
GK: Edwin Van Der Sar (Netherlands)
Van Der Sar is the most capped player in Dutch history with 130 caps.  He went to 1994, 1998 and 2006 World Cup and Euro 1996, 2000 and 2004.  He was best remembered for being the Ajax keeper in 1995 that won the Champions' League and then, later for Manchester United for 6 seasons.  He won the Champions' League in 2007-2008. In between, he also played with Fulham and Juventus.

GK: Wojciech Szczesny (Poland)
In 2006, Szczęsny joined the Arsenal youth set-up.  He promoted to senior team in 2009.  He joined Juventus in 2017 after a two season loan deal with AS Roma. Following Buffon's departure, he became Juventus' starting goalkeeper. From 2009, he was a member of the national team's pool.  He was a member the team at Euro 2012 and 2016 as well as the 2018 World Cup Finals.

GK: Fabián Carini (Uruguay)
Carini played for 3 seasons in Uruguayan club Danubio F.C., before signing with Italian club Juventus in 2001.  In 2004, Carini left Juventus for Internazionale, when he was exchanged for Fabio Cannavaro. From 1999 to 2009, he was capped 74 times. He helped Uruguay to finish 2nd at the 1999 Copa America. He was also their starting goalkeeper at the 2002 World Cup Finals.

RB/CB:  Lilian Thuram (France)
Lilian Thuram is France's most capped player. He played in France, Italy and Spain for over 15 seasons, including ten in the Serie A with both Parma and Juventus. He also played for Barcelona FC. 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. 

Lilian Thuram 

RB: Stephan Lichtsteiner  (Switzerland)
Since 2006, Stephan Lichtsteiner has earned over 90 caps.  He had played in Euro 2008, the World Cup Finals in 2010, 2014 and 2018.  He played for Grasshopper Zurich in Switzerland and Lille in France.  He moved to Italy in 2008, joining first Lazio and then, Juventus in 2011. At the time of writing, he is considered one of the best right wingback playing in Serie A.  

CB: Jurgen Kohler (Germany)
Jurgen Kohler was regarded one of the best defenders in the 1990's.   He earned 105 caps for West Germany/Germany between 1986 and 1998.  He won the World Cup in 1990 and the European Championship in 1996.  For his club career, he played with Koln, Bayern Munich, Juventus and Borussia Dortmund.  He won the Champions' League in 1997 with Borussia Dortmund.  He was Footballer of the Year in Germany in 1997.

CB: Paolo Montero (Uruguay)
Paolo Montero began his career in Uruguay with Peñarol in 1990, before moving to Italian side Atalanta in 1992. He joined Juventus in 1996, spending 9 seasons there.  He won 4 scudetti titles, but failed to win a Champions League despite playing in 3 Finals.  He also played for San Lorenzo. With La Celeste, he was capped 61 times.  He went to 2002 World Cup Finals in Korea/Japan. His father is former Uruguay international Julio Montero Castillo. 

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.

John Charles 

 CB: Julio Cesar (Brazil)
Júlio César began his career in 1979 with Brazilian club Guarani. He moved to Europe in 1986, where he payed for many clubs.  His best spells were with Juventus and Borussia Dortmund. In 1997, he helped Borussia Dortmund to win the Champions' League, beating Juventus in the Final.  He played for Brazil at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico and won the Best Central Defender Award, being elected to the team of the tournament, but he also missed his penalty during the shootout loss to France.

LB: Patrice Evra (France)
Evra began his career with Nice and then, Monaco. He played for the Red Devils from 2006 to 2014, where he became one of the best left backs in the world.  At the time of writing, he earned 81 caps and was a key player for France since 2008.  He was the captain of the national team.  At South Africa 2010, he led a player revolt against Raymond Domenech.

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. 

DM: Luis Monti (Argentina)
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.

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.

CM: Luis del Sol (Spain)
Luis del Sol started with Real Betis.  In 1960, he joined Real Madrid, winning five major titles with the latter side, and earning several Ballon d'Or nominations.  In the 1962, he signed for Juventus, becoming the club's first ever Spanish player. He made a total of 292 outings in eight seasons.  Del Sol represented Spain at the 1962 and 1966 World Cups and was also part of the championship-winning squad at the 1964 European Nations' Cup.

Luis del Sol

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 Chamionship 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.

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

LW: Karl Aage Praest (Denmark) 
Karl Aage Praest attended the Royal Orphanage. The orphanage became the youth team of football club Østerbros Boldklub (ØB) in 1936. He joined Juventus in 1949.  He won a bronze medal at the 1948 Summer Olympics.  His international career was limited to his status as a professional player after he joined Juventus in 1948.  He won the 1949-50 and 1951-52 Serie A championships.  He is a Danish Football Hall of Fame inductee.

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 Juvnetus.  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 ofthe game due to suspension.  He won the European Footballer of the that year.

Pavel Nedved

FW/LW: Raimundo Orsi (Argentina)
Orsi was considered one of the greatest forwards in Argentina's history.  He 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 switched to play for Italy in 1929.  He was a star player as Italy won the WC in 1934.

ST/LW: John Hansen (Denmark)
Hansen was capped 8 times, scoring 10 goals. He started his career with Copenhagen club BK Frem in the amateur-only Danish league. After winning a bronze medal at the 1948 Olympics, he turned professional and joined Juventus, ending his amateur status and international career.  His international career was only a single year in 1948. He was the top scorer in Serie A for the 1949-1950 season. He joined Lazio in 1954. He was capped 8 times scoring 10 goals.

SS/FW:  Omar Sivori (Argentina)
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.

Omar Sivori 

FW/RW/LW: Zbigniew Boniek (Poland)
Zbigniew Boniek is one of the greatest Polish players in the history of the game.  He earned 80 caps with 24 goals.  He played at three consecutive World Cups. After the WC Finals in 1982, he moved to Italy and played for Juventus, where he won the Champions' League in 1985. Boniek also for Polish clubs Zawisza Bydgoszcz and later at Widzew Łódź, and Roma. 

FW:  Helmut Haller (Germany)

Haller was one of the best midfielders in the world in the 1960's.  In 1966, he helped West Germany to reach the World Cup Final in 1966, forming one of the best midfield of the tournament.  He also went to the 1962 World Cup in Chile and the 1970 World Cup Finals in Mexico.  He started with Augsburg in 1957.  He was also known for his spells in Italy, playing for Bologna and Juventus.

ST: Ferenc Hirzer (Hungary)

Hirzer began his career in 1913 with Törekvés SE.  He moved to the Czech Republic to play for Makkabi Brno and to Germany to play for Union 03. Altona. For the 1925–26 season, he moved to Juventus, winning the first league title in 20 years. He scored 35 goals in 26 games. From1922 to 1932, he played 32 times for Hungary.  He went to the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris.

ST: David Trezeguet (France)

David Trezeguet started his career in Argentina, but was snapped up by Monaco after a few games.  At Monaco, he was known for his partnership with Thierry Henry.  In 2000, he joined Juventus, where he stayed until 2010.  For the national team, he was selected to play in the 1998 World Cup Finals.  He was a key player throughout his career with France, earning 71 caps.  He won the World Cup in 1998 and then, the European Championship in 2000.

David Trezeguet 

Honorable Mention 
Vladimir Jugović (Yugoslavia), Michael Laudrup (Denmark), Massimo Bonini (San Marino), Igor Tudor (Croatia), Paul Pogba (France), Arturo Vidal (Chile), Jose Altafini (Brazil). Paulo Sousa (Portugal).

Squad Explanation
-- Luis Monti, John Charles, Omar Sivori, Zbigniew Boniek, Pavel Nedved, Michel Platini, Zinedine Zidane and Didier Deschamps made my all-time Juventus team.
-- In 1985, Juventus won their first European Cup with three foreigners (Zbigniew Boniek, Michel Platini and Massimo Bonini).   Massimo Bonini only made honourable mention.
-- In 1996, they won their second European Cup (Champions' League).  Only Didier Deschamps made this team.
-- Júlio César, Andreas Moller and Jürgen Kohler helped Juventus to win the 1993 UEFA Cup.  They beat Borussia Dortmund in the Final.  In 1997, Andreas Moller and Jürgen Kohler helped Borussia Dortmund to win the Champions' League beating Juventus in the Final.  Júlio César who was also with Borussia Dortmund missed the Final through an injury.  Two other former Juventus players Paulo Sousa (Portugal) and Stefan Reuter (Germany) also played for Borussia Dortmund in the Final.
-- At the time of writing, Omar Sívori and Luis Monti are the only foreign players who captained the side.  Both also played for Italy.
-- Juventus did not have many non-Italian goalkeepers.  Edwin van der sar is the obvious choice.  Wojciech Szczesny is the only other keeper who played regularly as a starter for the club.
-- Fabián Carini was once projected to start ahead of Van der sar, but unfortunately, his career with Juventus was derailed by the presence of Gianluigi Buffon. He did not play much. At the time of writing, Neto is enjoying his career with Valencia. He was my other choices. In the end, I took Carini who had a stronger international career than the others.
-- The centerback position is easier to select.  Paolo Montero, Jurgen Kohler and Julio Cesar all established themselves with the club.  John Charles is probably their best striker, but I put him on defence. He was voted as Juventus' greatest foreign player.  I started him as the striker (see below).
-- Omar Sivori, John Charles and Giampiero Boniperti formed "the Magical Trio" with the club.
-- Patrice Evra did not play his prime here, but the club lacks a good foreign left back.  I can only come up with Alex Sancho as the alternative.
-- Lilian Thuram (France) is an easy choice for the rightback.  Stephan Lichtsteiner spent 7 years with the club.  I took him as a backup.
-- Massimo Bonini played for San Marino and is considered a non-Italian, but the presence of Edgar Davids, Luis Monti, Luis Del Sol, Didiner Deschamps and  Helmut Haller kept him from this team.  
-- Raimundo Orsi, Omar Sivori and Luis Monti played for Italy, but they would have been cap-tied to Argentina in the modern world.  Mauro Camoranesi never played for Argentina.  He is considered to be "Italian".  I did not consider him to be a foreign player.  Jose Altafini made honorable mention as a "Brazilian".
-- Surprisingly, Juventus had three Danish greats in its history.  I did not make the connection until I started this post. Laudrup only made honorable mention because of Zidane and Platini who were also attack midfielders.   Both Karl Aage Praest and John Hansen made the team.  John Hansen is the third highest goal scorer among foreigners for the club.
-- David Trezeguet is among Juventus' appearance leaders for foreign players.  He is the first all-time leading scorer for foreigners, 4th overall.  He was also Serie A Foreign Footballer of the Year in 2002.
-- Ferenc Hirzer had scored a total of 50 goals in 43 games for Juventus during his time with them.  He scored 35 goals in 26 games in a single season for Juventus.  It remained a record for the club. I admitted that I never heard of him before I started this research.  I selected him because he belonged to an era forgotten by the modern fans.
-- This team is overloaded with left-sided attackers. The right side is much weaker.
-- Cristano Ronaldo does not make the team at this moment.  

Formation