Marcelo
Lippi, The Rebirth of Juventus
When
Giovanni Trapattoni departed as Juventus Manager (for the second time) in 1994,
Juventus had not won the Scudetto since 1986, an eternity for a team of their
standing.
They
had won a couple of UEFA Cups during that spell, however, the Serie A title
eluded them.
AC
Milan had just won their third straight League Title and were effectively the
best team in Europe.
During
this year, 1994, the Fiat and Juventus owners (Gianni and Umberto Agnelli)
decided for a new change in executive leadership more in tune for the modern
era.
Long
Term President Giampiero Boniperti departed (also for a second time) and a new
triumvirate was formed consisting of former star Roberto Bettega, Antonio
Giraudo and Luciano Moggi.
 |
Photo
From: France Football, May 2, 1995
(Roberto Bettega and the outgoing Boniperti,
Marcelo Lippi and Didier Deschamps) |
The
new Management was very finance oriented and sought to limit costs as much as
possible.
Many
felt the decision to dispense of Trapattoni was a cost saving measure due to
his salary.
In
his place came a relative unknown Manager named Marcello Lippi. He had managed
in successive seasons two teams to creditable showings with limited means,
Atalanta (1992/93) and Napoli (1993/94).
No
one could have foreseen that this appointment would transform Juventus’
fortunes.
In
terms of player transfers, Brazilian defender Julio Cesar and German midfielder
Andreas Moeller were jointly transferred to Germany’s ambitious Borussia
Dortmund.
International
midfielder Dino Baggio was transferred to rivals Parma. At first Baggio
refused, but changed his mind after he saw the Juventus hierarchy had no
confidence in him.
 |
Photo
From: Onze-Mondial, Issue 82, November 1995
(Gianluca Vialli, 1995/96) |
Juventus
nearly lost Alessandro Del Piero to Parma in the process, until Baggio’s
transfer nullified the agreement.
Long
serving Roberto Galia was also transferred out after six seasons.
Lippi
brought with him from Napoli, former International defender Ciro Ferrara, who
had been overlooked by the new National Team Regime of Arrigo Sacchi.
Croatia’s
Robert Jarni and another former International Luca Fusi joined from cross-town
rivals Torino, while future International Alessio Tacchinardi joined from
relegated Atalanta.
Portuguese
midfielder Paulo Sousa was signed from Sporting Lisbon and French International
midfielder Didier Deschamps arrived from Olympique Marseille.
Most
importantly, Lippi brought with him a physical trainer named Giampiero Ventrone
whose training regimen would be credited for strengthening the squad and
playing a key role in winning the League title.
Juventus
started the 1994/95 season at a slow pace, they were picking up wins and points
but were far from looking like potential champions.
 |
Photo
From: Onze-Mondial, Issue 75, April 1995
(Antonio Conte and Alessandro Del Piero,
1994/95) |
Captain
Roberto Baggio was injured in the early parts of the season and would go on to
miss half of the league campaign.
This
gave an opportunity for the young Alessandro Del Piero to show his worth and he
would turn out to be the revelation of the season and go on to be one of
Juventus’ longest serving players.
He
seized his opportunity much like fellow striker Fabrizio Ravanelli (‘La Penna
Bianca’) who had gained valuable playing time the previous season, due to the
long-term injury of Gianluca Vialli.
Both
Del Piero and Ravanelli became catalysts in Juventus’ glorious season.
Gianluca
Vialli (captain in the absence of injured Baggio) was also finally fit after
two injury stained seasons.
He
had his best season at Juventus and finished as its top goalscorer.
Perhaps
the match that underlined Juventus’ credentials and made themselves believe
that they could win the title was the home match vs. Fiorentina on December 4,
1994.
Juventus
fell behind 0-2 in the first half and it looked like they were heading for a
defeat.
However,
Juventus came back galvanized in the second half and scored three unanswered
goals through the back-in-form Gianluca Vialli (two goals) and a beautiful chip
from Alessandro Del Piero.
 |
Photo
From: Onze-Mondial, Issue 76, May 1995
(Fabrizio Ravanelli during the April 1995 UEFA
Cup Semi-Finals series vs. Borussia Dortmund) |
The
following week they defeated title challengers Lazio away by a score of 4 to 3
and overtook the League leading position.
By
now it was apparent that this Juventus could score many goals, but that the
defense may not be as tight.
This
was a Juventus that played to win even in away matches, and not try to tie, as
would have been the customary tactic of many coaches.
By
the turn of the year (1995), the top of the table clash took place at Parma,
with Juventus as League leaders and Parma hot on their heels.
Despite
falling behind in the second half, Juventus did not give up and kept pressing
and scored three times against their nearest challengers away from home.
By
spring time Juventus looked odds on favorites to triumph in the League, they
were winning consistently, though they would lose the occasional match.
This
was the first season that the Italian League was on a three points for a win
system and Juventus benefited greatly form this. The team’s attacking and
winning mentality was tailor made for this system.
 |
Photo
From: World Soccer, August 1995
(Roberto Baggio, April 30, 1995, Fiorentina
1-Juventus 4) |
The
importance of Physical trainer Giampiero Ventrone was also becoming more
obvious as the players seemed fresh and invincible.
A
number of players claimed that they were so fresh at the end of a match that at
times they could play another match right after it.
Gianluca
Vialli had said that in the beginning his training was so grueling that he
would vomit, but he could see the dividends as they were so fit and less tired
in the key late stages of matches.
By
springtime, goalkeeper Angelo Peruzzi had been elevated as Italy’s number one
goalkeeper and Fabrizio Ravanelli and Alessandro Del Piero had earned their
first caps.
By
the end of the season, Ciro Ferrara would also be back in the International
fold, however, despite public clamor Gianluca Vialli was still overlooked by
Arrigo Sacchi.
Juventus
had also advanced in the Coppa Italia and UEFA Cup competitions and reached the
Final of both competitions.
In
May, Juventus were defeated in the Finals of the UEFA Cup to their Italian
rivals Parma, but defeated the same team a few days later (4 to 0) in the
League to claim their first Scudetto in 9 years.
 |
Photo
From: World Soccer, July 1995
(Didier Deschmaps) |
Lippi’s
attack oriented squad had managed to win 23 out of their 34 League matches that
season; eleven of those wins were away from home.
While
not very solid defensively, their offensive punch more than made up for it.
They
also defeated Parma in the Finals of Coppa Italia to claim the double.
 |
World
Soccer, September 1995
(Marcelo Lippi after Juventus clinched the
double, June 11, 1995, Coppa Italia, Parma 0-Juventus 2) |
At
the conclusion of the season, Roberto Baggio found himself the victim of the
austerity measures of this new business oriented Juventus.
He would
not accept a reduction in his salary; therefore he transferred out and joined
AC Milan.
His
loss was not considered critical as Del Piero was seen as the future of
Juventus.
Similarly,
German defender Jurgen Kohler was transferred to Borussia Dortmund after four
solid seasons.
Juventus
raided Sampdoria and acquired a trio of veteran defender Pietro Vierchowod,
International winger Attilio Lombardo and Yugoslav midfielder Vladimir Jugovic.
From
Torino came defender Gianluca Pessotto and Michele Padovano arrived from
Reggiana as an attacking option.
Future
Argentina Captain Juan Pablo Sorin also joined from Argentinos Juniors, though
his stay was short lived and departed after a few months.
For
the 1995/96 season, Juventus concentrated more in the Champions League and were
off the pace in the League and finished runners-up to AC Milan.
However,
they did manage to win the coveted Champions League by defeating defending
Champions Ajax Amsterdam in a penalty kick shoot-out.
This
win ended a cycle for Juventus, as the Management sought to rejuvenate the team
before stagnation had set in place.
Despite
the success of this squad, the managing triumvirate were convinced that in the
past Juventus had not replaced players in time and the squad had suffered and
in the process lost time as well as financial benefits from the transfer of
these players at higher prices.
With
the Bosman Ruling now in effect, many players could leave to other Leagues for
higher fees.
Captain
Gianluca Vialli and Fabrizio Ravanelli departed to the English Premier League
(Chelsea and Middlesbrough respectively).
Veterans
Pietro Vierchowod, Massimo Carrera and Giancarlo Marocchi were all transferred
out to other Italian clubs.
After
a somewhat disappointing second season, Portuguese midfielder Paulo Sousa was
transferred to Borussia Dortmund (a favorite destination of former Serie A and
specially Juventus players).
Young
up and coming stars were acquired to present a much younger and competitive
Juventus.
From
Atalanta arrived young striker Christian Vieri and rugged Uruguayan defender
Paolo Montero.
Croatian
forward Alen Boksic arrived from Lazio and defender Mark Iuliano arrived from
Salernitana.
Italian
striker Nicola Amoruso joined from Padova.
Most
importantly young French playmaker Zinedine Zidane arrived from Bordeaux after
making all of Italy take notice following his starring role in the elimination
of AC Milan from the UEFA Cup in March of 1996.
After
a slow start much like Platini a decade before him, Zidane adapted to the Serie
A and made a significant contribution to Juventus’ winning season.
 |
Photo
From: World Soccer, February 1999
(Juventus’ Zinedine Zidane with the 1998 Ballon
d’Or) |
This
younger squad regained the Scudetto title for the 1996/97 season and also
lifted the UEFA Super Cup (vs. Paris St Germain) and the Intercontinental Cup
(vs. River Plate).
The
highlight of the season was perhaps the demolition of AC Milan by a score of 6
to 1 in April away from home. In a way this match heralded the end of the great
AC Milan generation and a power shift to Juventus.
By
now Christian Vieri had become a full International and was the toast of Italy
and a much sought after player.
Juventus
did manage to reach the Champions League Final once again, however, they lost
to a Borussia Dortmund side containing many former Juventus players by a score
of 3 to 1.
In
the summer of 1997, once again the Management prioritized Fiscal concerns by
selling the very in-demand striker Christian Vieri to Atletico Madrid for a
large fee.
Similarly,
Vladimir Jugovic and Alen Boksic were transferred to Lazio and Attilio Lombardo
joined Crystal Palace and defender Sergio Porrini joined Rangers Glasgow.
Atalanta’s
top goalscorer Fillipo Inzaghi arrived to replace Vieri and AS Roma’s Uruguayan
striker Daniel Fonseca was added as an attacking cover option.
Italians
Alessandro Birindelli and Fabio Pecchia joined from Empoli and Napoli
respectively.
Midway
through the season, AC Milan’s out of favor Dutch midfielder Edgar Davids
joined Juventus to great effect.
 |
Photo
From: World Soccer, March 1998
(Edgar Davids) |
That
season, 1997/98, Brazilian striker Ronaldo had joined Internazionale Milano
amid much fanfare and Inter seemed to be heading to a title triumph in the
early going, however, by the second half of the season Juventus overtook them
and won the Serie A title for the third time in four seasons under Lippi.
Alessandro
Del Piero had an excellent season and had one of his most prolific scoring
seasons and formed a successful striking partnership with Fillipo Inzaghi.
 |
Photo
From: World Soccer, June 1998
(Fillipo Inzaghi) |
The
Champions League was a repeat of the previous season, where Juventus reached
the Final only to lose this time to Real Madrid.
This
defeat seemed to signal the turning point in Lippi’s reign.
The
following season (1998/99) started with AS Roma Manager Zdenek Zeman’s claim
that Juventus had been using banned substances to strengthen their players.
He
remarked the muscular development of Gianluca Vialli and Del Piero in the
previous seasons as examples.
This
prompted the State Prosecutor to investigate and disrupt Juventus’ preparations
as players were summoned for questioning.
The
squad was mainly unchanged; defender Moreno Torricelli had joined Fiorentina.
The
arrivals included little known and uncapped French midfielder Jocelyn Blanchard
from Metz, Yugoslav defender Zoran Mirkovic from Atalanta, Croatian defender
Igor Tudor from Hajduk Split and Italian Simone Perrotta from Reggina, none of
whom would make much of an impression.
After
a solid start to the season, Alessandro Del Piero was lost to a serious injury,
vs. Sampdoria on November 1st that sidelined him for the entire
season.
It
was after this point that Juventus’ season seemed to go downward.
Juventus
suffered four losses in November and December (vs. AS Roma, Bologna, Lazio and
Fiorentina) that essentially ruled them out of the title race.
Juventus
also just barely qualified from their Champions League group after five
consecutive ties, had left them needing to win their very last match to go
through.
Despite
the midseason arrivals of Argentinean Striker Juan Esnaider and young French
Striker Thierry Henry, the results did not improve.
The
breaking point for Lippi was Juventus’ heavy home loss vs. Parma by a score of
2 to 4 on February 7, 1999.
He
resigned following this match after one loss too many.
Carlo
Ancelotti, who was to take over at the end of the season, was appointed with
immediate effect and somewhat salvaged Juventus’ season.
Lippi
managed Internazionale Milano for the following season (1999/2000) and only the
First match of the season after (2000/2001), after a public outburst against
his own squad forced President Massimo Moratti to dismiss him.
During
this time, Juventus under Ancelotti earned two runners-up finishes.
This
was not satisfactory to the Juventus Management, so in the summer of 2001,
Lippi returned to the fold to Manage Juventus once again.
He
won two new Scudettos in 2002 and 2003 and once again losing in the Champions
League Final vs. AC Milan in 2003.
He
left Juventus in 2004, disappointed in not winning the Champions League.
He
was appointed as Italy National Team Manager and lead Italy to World Cup
triumph in 2006.
Upon
taking over he had declared his intent to win the World Cup.
Marcello
Lippi is responsible for placing Juventus in their accustomed position at the
top of the Serie A after many years of disappointment, where Juventus was
playing second fiddle to the Milanese clubs and even Diego Maradona’s Napoli.
He is only one of two Managers (Vicente del
Bosque being the other) of having won the Champions League and the World Cup.
