The Juventus of Serie A are a historical club, just like any significant, prosperous European team. Nine Italian Cups, four Italian Supercups, two Intercontinental Cups, two European Champion Clubs’ Cups/UEFA Champions Leagues, one European Cup Winners’ Cup, a record three UEFA Cups, one UEFA Intertoto Cup, and two UEFA Super Cups are among their eleven international titles. They have also won a record 27 league titles. With 51 titles to their name, they rank sixth in the globe and as the most successful club in Italy. Great legends follow rich histories. Legends who willed their squad to triumph and cleared the path for success. Find the list of the Top 10 Juventus Players of All Time below.
The Top 10 Juventus Players of All Time
Ciro Ferrera
Ferrara, a 42-year-old Neapolitan, was a fierce defender before he was covering the Juventus junior system or staffing the sidelines. Ferrara’s mindset can be summed up in one word: winner. Ferrara arrived at Juventus in 1994 following a fruitful ten-year tenure with his native Napoli. Ferrara captured five Scudetti, one Coppa Italia, two Supercoppa Italia championships, and the Champions League with Juventus in 1996.
You can refer to that as “getting it done.” Ferrara, the commanding center who had returned from Napoli, was in the middle of everything. Following his retirement in 2005, Ferrara worked as Marcello Lippi’s assistant during the 2006 World Cup and again after EURO 2008. Ferrara managed the youth system for the Bianconeri before being named manager of Juventus for the 2009–10 campaign. He starts off our list of The Top 10 Juventus Players of All Time.
Gianluca Zambrotta
Zambrotta was a promising 22-year-old midfield player who had just earned his first cap with the Italian national team a few months prior when he moved to Turin from Bari in 1999. Following an injury sustained at the 2002 World Cup versus South Korea, Zambrotta was sidelined for the start of the 2002–03 season. With Mauro Camoranesi joining the team and the injury, Zambrotta was left with no room to operate in the middle. Marcello Lippi turned Zambrotta into a left-back as a result.
There was absolutely no issue with the position modification. Zambrotta had no trouble adjusting to his new position on the field. He swiftly rose to the top of the field by fusing his already strong offensive skills with excellent defense. He would frequently be flying down the wing on the counterattack, trying to score as well as cross the goal. Zambro was among the numerous players who left Turin in the summer of 2006 to sign a €14 million contract with Barcelona. His return to Italy was announced in 2008 when he signed a contract with AC Milan.
Lillian Thuram
Thuram, the first player on this list to arrive at Juventus in the summer of 2001, joined Gianluigi Buffon from Parma. Thuram was one of the greatest defenders in the league while he was at Turin. He was a versatile player who could play on the right or in the middle. He was a fearless tackler who wouldn’t hesitate to hurl his body around when necessary.
Thuram abandoned ship and ended up with Barcelona, while Buffon stayed with Juventus following Calciopoli. He made 180 appearances, scored four goals, and made innumerable contributions to shutouts during his Juventus career. After two years of playing in Spain, he announced his retirement in the summer of 2008. It follows the discovery of a heart abnormality.
Antonio Conte
There was a fantastic midfielder in Turin who wore the No. 8 jersey before Claudio Marchisio arrived. Antonio Conte is the man’s name. Conte arrived in Turin from Lecce in 1992 at the age of 22. He embodied all the qualities one would expect of a true Juvetino. His work ethic is similar to Pavel Nedved, a player a little further on this list. He put forth the same amount of effort as everybody else on the field. He gives every game his all for the full ninety minutes. Conte was a man of unwavering resolve and grit. He demonstrated incredible clutch play when it mattered most, scoring vital goals late in games.
Sounds like captain material, and that’s precisely what Conte was. Conte was Il Capitano prior to Alessandro Del Piero. He has held the captaincy for the majority of the past ten years, taking over in 2001. There is no finer captain than him; he loved the club more than anything and wore his emotions on his sleeve. Conte won five Scudetti while at Juventus, two of which in this decade (in 2002 and 2003). In 384 games overall, he scored 30 goals.
Currently serving as Juventus’ head coach, Conte has made a superb managerial transition from player to manager. Although he makes contentious decisions and controls with an iron grip, in the end, he generates outstanding results that have Juventus playing at their best since Calciopoli.
Edgar Davids
How can you not fall in love with a man who has proven himself on the field, rocking dreads and amazing goggles in the process? David was an even more distinctive player because of his appearance. A total bulldog in the middle of the pitch, the explosive Dutchman could finish it on the other end of the field after making a huge tackle at his own end. He was a beast, as I mentioned.
If you group him with the aforementioned Conte, Zinedine Zidane, and Alessio Tacchinardi, your midfield becomes the strongest in the entire game. That this occurred in the midst of Juventus’ heyday in the late 1990s and early 2000s is hardly surprising. Davids’ time at Turin came to an end in 2004 when he was sold to rival Inter Milan after being loaned to Barcelona.
Zinedine Zidane
Despite leaving Juventus in the summer of 2001 for a then-record €78 million to join Real Madrid, the legendary Zizou had a significant impact on the team when he was in Turin. Zidane’s dominance as one of the greatest players in the world peaked at the start of the decade. It’s also no accident that this coincided with Juventus’s reign as Italy’s top team.
For Zidane, it wasn’t simple from the start. He essentially needed the full season to adjust and become familiar with Serie A. It was full steam ahead after that. Zizou was a powerful entity. Observing Zidane’s performance felt like witnessing poetry unfold. Every time he took the field, he was genuinely an artist, producing a work of art.
David Trezeguet
Seldom did Trezeguet achieve his objectives by the traditional means of coming up with them himself. He was renowned for his lack of effort anywhere but in front of the net, whether it was clearing a loose ball in the box or using his head. Trez has scored 171 goals in 318 appearances throughout his Juventus career. That sort of goal-to-game ratio is astounding and demonstrates how steady he was over his ten years with the Old Lady.
Trezeguet is remarkably still going strong, having played for River Plate in Argentina. Despite the fact that he was initially anticipated to be a glorified substitute, his five goals in his first seven games swiftly changed the strategy and earned him a starting position on his squad. Trezeguet, for you, is one who steals objectives and surpasses anticipations.
Pavel Nedved
What Juventus would do at this moment for a winger such as Nedved? Some people in Turin felt that Nedved’s €41 million transfer from a fierce rival was far too much for a 29-year-old player. Nedved’s arrival to take the place of the Great Zidane only served to reinforce that feeling. Even before he put on the Juventus jersey, Nedved had a great deal of pressure to live up to. For you, we have two words: The goal was achieved. Nedved won the Ballon d’Or, Serie A Footballer of the Year, and Serie A Foreigner of the Year in 2003.
Nedved would just keep running, running, running, and running. Goldilocks had the stamina of a child who was still striving to establish he belonged with the big boys and the conditioning of a marathon runner. Nedved went out there even when he wasn’t feeling his best. The Czech legend would often take it as hard as he could and continue racing along the left wing. Nedved served as the embodiment of the ideal Bianconero. He remained with the team through its lowest point in 2006–07, when Juventus was relegated to Serie B, much like the two guys who came before him on this list.
Gianluigi Buffon
With the keeper the Bianconeri faithful call Superman, where to start? Young goalkeepers have started modeling their play after Buffon. He is perhaps the best of his generation and, come to think of it, the greatest goalkeeper of all time. Buffon is the goalkeeper you would construct if you could. He is large, instinctive, well-positioned, agile, and has the safest hands in the area. In addition, he is among the classiest players of all time, as demonstrated by the fact that, unlike some of his teammates (Fabio Cannavaro, for example), he stayed with the squad during the team’s year-long banishment in Serie B.
Similar to Nedved, he moved to Turin prior to the 2001 campaign after Juventus paid Parma €51.5 million, which is the highest amount ever paid for a goalie. In the summer of 2001, he was only twenty-three years old, already ranked first in Italy, and still in the early stages of the top league. Buffon hasn’t taken any action to reduce this transfer fee. He has made save after spectacular save, most of which appear mundane. Buffon’s saves have allowed him to win several games.
In his eight-year career, he has been crowned Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year, and at the end of this season, he very well may win it again. While guarding the Juventus goal, Buffon also won the Yashin Award for best goalkeeper at the 2006 World Cup, the Onze d’Or (2003, 2006), and the IFFHS Best Goalkeeper (2003, 2004, 2006, 2007). If you consider his entire career, there’s not a finer one. And at 34 years old, based on his performance this season, Buffon will likely be around for a very long time. He just misses out on the top spot of the Top 10 Juventus Players of All Time.
Alessandro Del Piero
There aren’t many words to adequately express the impact Alessandro Del Piero has had over his 19 years in black and white at Juventus. He has led Juventus for most of the previous ten years as well as the current one. Whatever it is, he’s most likely done it. He transferred from Padova to Juventus in 1993, much like all the players on this list. And while donning the Juventus jersey, he developed into the person he is now, much like many of the athletes on the list.
Del Piero has never been a speed demon, but he more than makes up for it with incredible talent. He is the archetypal supplementary striker—someone who will almost certainly assist in a goal as well as score one himself. Del Piero has progressed to become Juve’s all-time leader in goals (288) and appearances (697). In addition to winning two Capocannoniere championships after turning thirty (in 2007 and 2008), he was voted Serie A Footballer of the Year twice (1998 and 2008). And Del Piero is the epitome of class, much like the man who came before him on this list. During his lowest point, Del Piero stuck with the club that he loved so much, much like Trezeguet, Nedved, and Buffon did. All these qualities have ensured he tops the list of The Top 10 Juventus Players of All Time.
For more football features, click here