4/5/2005 12:09:00 PM
In 2003, l’avvocato Gianni Agnelli, passed away at the age of 80 years. His death left a legacy. He was the head of Juventus for many years; however, he was a firm believer in delegation and many great names aided in the club’s prominence. Under his reign Juve won 18 Scudetti, 2 Champions Leagues, 3 UFEA Cups, a Cup Winners Cup, 2 Intercontinental Cups, 9 Coppa Italia’s (now called the Coppa del nonno, for nobody really cares about it anymore), 4 Italian Super Cups and 2 European Super cups.
Apart from the loss of Agnelli, 2003 was good for Juve, as they won their 27th Scudetto and reached the Champions League final. 2004 was not a good year but 2005 is turning out to be interesting thus far and a new coach, Capello, is plotting success.
Of course, to the astute Juve and Serie A fan it is common knowledge, just like 2 + 2 = 4; hence, I will not bore you with history (as there will be other articles). With Agnelli’s death, a new chairman had to be chosen. The Juve board delivered. John Elkann, Agnelli’s grandson, gained control, thus securing a family legacy that has lasted for 80 years. A new era has come without much fanfare compared to other chairmen such as Massimo Moratti’s assuming control of Inter in 1995. To Juve, it was just another day at the office. This organization has a knack of keeping business inside the office and giving the media little to write about in terms of dissension, unlike other teams such as Roma.
However, you cannot judge a book by its cover. To the cautious observer, this is no Leave it to Beaver family. This year there has been bitter infighting, mainly over the club’s affairs and where they want to go. Elkann has his own ideas and the old board consisting of Bettega, Giraudo and Moggi have another. These three figures came to prominence in 1994 as they became the new management of the club, with Caissotti as the chairman and Agnelli as the President. It was a highly successful era as a Champions League, and 5 Scudetti were won. Moggi was shopping around for another striker and Mutu was his first choice. After much politics (which I will not explain in this article), Mutu finally arrived on a free transfer and is currently on loan at Livorno. So the question must be asked why?
Juve is not the team to splash the cash but they set the record for transfer fees when Baggio was lured away from Fiorentina. Other than that, they are not like Real Madrid or Inter, who spend like there is no tomorrow. But on closer examination, there is something different. As mentioned before, Elkann has his own ideas. He rates Cassano highly and would love to have him wear the black and white. In order to achieve this one needs cash and the ability to part with it. Bettega even stated that the team needs finances in order to achieve its objectives. The current management has done well, but apart from Nedved, Del Piero, Buffon and Trezeguet, this team has no big names like Milan or Real; however, it has not hurt them as they have won stressing unity and the team before anything.
Juve to lure Cassano to Turin would be to many a coup de etat. Real, Milan and Inter would love to have him. They can afford Cassano, as they can offer Mutu to Roma in exchange for him. However, with his temper and antics will he thrive in a team atmosphere and would Juve tolerate a Cassano-gate like syndrome in which the player is written about not for his skill but for his antics? Juve had Edgar Davids and eventually they had enough of him. Or to the astute eye, is this just an advertising ploy or a new era forming? I believe that a new era has come for Juve.
Moggi knows talent, but it is unlike him to roll out the Euros. He will sell as he did with Zidane but to take the risk of acquiring a temperamental player is unlike him. To Elkann, the risk is an acceptable one and what better way to start his reign than by acquiring talented players that will be sure to please Juve fans the world over. Secondly, with the new era coming to fruition can we see history repeating itself? I can and I will give you a hint: Roberto Baggio. Baggio was the man at Juve for many years but as Moggi and company entered the fray he was sold in preference of new blood: Del Piero. Could Cassano be the 1st move by Elkann to create a new team? Could Antonio be the one to finally end Alex’s career at Juve? Could this be the new era that I am talking about? Well it happened to Baggio and there is no reason why it cannot happen to Del Piero. As Del Piero replaced Roberto as Juve’s symbol so too can Cassano. Would this be for the better? Nobody knows. Time will tell.
One thing in life for sure is constant: change (along with death and taxes). A new era has arrived at Juve and the fans have a choice to join the bandwagon or to stay home. Anyway, the worst that could happen is that Juve become (I dare not say it but I must) Inter Milan and we have to suffer a Scudetto syndrome. At least we will have the good old days to talk about.
In 2003, l’avvocato Gianni Agnelli, passed away at the age of 80 years. His death left a legacy. He was the head of Juventus for many years; however, he was a firm believer in delegation and many great names aided in the club’s prominence. Under his reign Juve won 18 Scudetti, 2 Champions Leagues, 3 UFEA Cups, a Cup Winners Cup, 2 Intercontinental Cups, 9 Coppa Italia’s (now called the Coppa del nonno, for nobody really cares about it anymore), 4 Italian Super Cups and 2 European Super cups.
Apart from the loss of Agnelli, 2003 was good for Juve, as they won their 27th Scudetto and reached the Champions League final. 2004 was not a good year but 2005 is turning out to be interesting thus far and a new coach, Capello, is plotting success.
Of course, to the astute Juve and Serie A fan it is common knowledge, just like 2 + 2 = 4; hence, I will not bore you with history (as there will be other articles). With Agnelli’s death, a new chairman had to be chosen. The Juve board delivered. John Elkann, Agnelli’s grandson, gained control, thus securing a family legacy that has lasted for 80 years. A new era has come without much fanfare compared to other chairmen such as Massimo Moratti’s assuming control of Inter in 1995. To Juve, it was just another day at the office. This organization has a knack of keeping business inside the office and giving the media little to write about in terms of dissension, unlike other teams such as Roma.
However, you cannot judge a book by its cover. To the cautious observer, this is no Leave it to Beaver family. This year there has been bitter infighting, mainly over the club’s affairs and where they want to go. Elkann has his own ideas and the old board consisting of Bettega, Giraudo and Moggi have another. These three figures came to prominence in 1994 as they became the new management of the club, with Caissotti as the chairman and Agnelli as the President. It was a highly successful era as a Champions League, and 5 Scudetti were won. Moggi was shopping around for another striker and Mutu was his first choice. After much politics (which I will not explain in this article), Mutu finally arrived on a free transfer and is currently on loan at Livorno. So the question must be asked why?
Juve is not the team to splash the cash but they set the record for transfer fees when Baggio was lured away from Fiorentina. Other than that, they are not like Real Madrid or Inter, who spend like there is no tomorrow. But on closer examination, there is something different. As mentioned before, Elkann has his own ideas. He rates Cassano highly and would love to have him wear the black and white. In order to achieve this one needs cash and the ability to part with it. Bettega even stated that the team needs finances in order to achieve its objectives. The current management has done well, but apart from Nedved, Del Piero, Buffon and Trezeguet, this team has no big names like Milan or Real; however, it has not hurt them as they have won stressing unity and the team before anything.
Juve to lure Cassano to Turin would be to many a coup de etat. Real, Milan and Inter would love to have him. They can afford Cassano, as they can offer Mutu to Roma in exchange for him. However, with his temper and antics will he thrive in a team atmosphere and would Juve tolerate a Cassano-gate like syndrome in which the player is written about not for his skill but for his antics? Juve had Edgar Davids and eventually they had enough of him. Or to the astute eye, is this just an advertising ploy or a new era forming? I believe that a new era has come for Juve.
Moggi knows talent, but it is unlike him to roll out the Euros. He will sell as he did with Zidane but to take the risk of acquiring a temperamental player is unlike him. To Elkann, the risk is an acceptable one and what better way to start his reign than by acquiring talented players that will be sure to please Juve fans the world over. Secondly, with the new era coming to fruition can we see history repeating itself? I can and I will give you a hint: Roberto Baggio. Baggio was the man at Juve for many years but as Moggi and company entered the fray he was sold in preference of new blood: Del Piero. Could Cassano be the 1st move by Elkann to create a new team? Could Antonio be the one to finally end Alex’s career at Juve? Could this be the new era that I am talking about? Well it happened to Baggio and there is no reason why it cannot happen to Del Piero. As Del Piero replaced Roberto as Juve’s symbol so too can Cassano. Would this be for the better? Nobody knows. Time will tell.
One thing in life for sure is constant: change (along with death and taxes). A new era has arrived at Juve and the fans have a choice to join the bandwagon or to stay home. Anyway, the worst that could happen is that Juve become (I dare not say it but I must) Inter Milan and we have to suffer a Scudetto syndrome. At least we will have the good old days to talk about.
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