Juventus History: Italian Champions and European Nights

Juventus are Italy's most successful club, with more Serie A titles than anyone else. Their black-and-white stripes, believe it or not, came from Nottingham. They also have a habit of losing European Cup finals that makes their fans wince. Here's the story of La Vecchia Signora, the Old Lady of Italian football, and why Turin is a seriously underrated football weekend. We're not affiliated with the club.

Founded by students (1897)

Juventus were founded in Turin on 1 November 1897 by a group of students from the Massimo D'Azeglio school. They chose the Latin word "juventus", meaning "youth". The nickname "the Old Lady" is a playful contrast to that name.

Why black and white?

The team originally played in pink shirts. In 1903, so the story goes, an English member of the club, John Savage, asked a contact in Nottingham to send new shirts. The black-and-white stripes of Notts County arrived, and Juventus have worn them ever since. It's why fans call the club "the Bianconeri", the white-and-blacks.

The Agnelli family and the 1930s

Juventus won their first Italian championship in 1905. In 1923 Edoardo Agnelli of the Fiat family became president, beginning a link with the Agnelli family that continues today. Under coach Carlo Carcano, Juventus won five league titles in a row from 1931 to 1935, the "Quinquennio d'Oro" or golden five years.

Building a dynasty

In the late 1950s Juventus won titles with Welsh giant John Charles, Argentine forward Omar Sívori and club icon Giampiero Boniperti. Under Giovanni Trapattoni from 1976 to 1986, Juventus won six Serie A titles. They also won the UEFA Cup in 1977 and the Cup Winners' Cup in 1984. Michel Platini, signed in 1982, won three Ballon d'Ors in a row, from 1983 to 1985.

Juventus in Europe

1985: a final overshadowed

Juventus won their first European Cup in 1985 against Liverpool. Before kick-off at the Heysel Stadium in Brussels, crowd trouble and a wall collapse led to the deaths of 39 people, most of them Juventus supporters. The match went ahead, and Platini scored the only goal from a penalty. The victims are remembered by the club every year.

1996 and the Lippi years

Marcello Lippi's Juventus, with Alessandro Del Piero, Gianluca Vialli, Fabrizio Ravanelli and Didier Deschamps, beat Ajax on penalties in Rome in 1996 to win the Champions League. They reached the next two finals as well, losing to Borussia Dortmund in 1997 and Real Madrid in 1998. Zinedine Zidane was a Juventus player in that period.

The lost finals

Juventus have lost more European Cup and Champions League finals than any other club: 1973, 1983, 1997, 1998, 2003, 2015 and 2017. The 2003 defeat, on penalties to AC Milan, is covered in our Milan vs Juventus rivalry piece.

Calciopoli and the comeback

In 2006 the Calciopoli match-fixing scandal shook Italian football. Juventus were stripped of their 2005 title, had their 2006 title awarded to Inter, and were relegated to Serie B. Del Piero, Buffon, Nedvěd and Trezeguet stayed with the club, and Juventus bounced straight back in 2007.

In 2011 the club moved into its new home, Juventus Stadium. Under Antonio Conte, Massimiliano Allegri and then Maurizio Sarri, Juventus won nine Serie A titles in a row, from 2011–12 to 2019–20, a record in Italy's top flight. Cristiano Ronaldo joined in 2018 and won two of them.

Legends of the Old Lady

• Giampiero Boniperti — star player and later president.
• Michel Platini — three-time Ballon d'Or winner.
• Roberto Baggio — 1993 Ballon d'Or winner.
• Alessandro Del Piero — club record appearance maker and goalscorer; stayed through Serie B.
• Gianluigi Buffon — legendary goalkeeper across two decades.
• Zinedine Zidane and Pavel Nedvěd — both Ballon d'Or winners as Juventus players.
• Giorgio Chiellini — a commanding defender of the nine-in-a-row era.

Juventus timeline

From Delle Alpi to the Allianz

For the 1990 World Cup, Juventus moved from the Stadio Comunale to the Stadio delle Alpi. It was large but unpopular, with a running track that put fans far from the action. In 2011 the club opened Juventus Stadium on the same site: compact, steep and owned by the club. It has been known as Allianz Stadium for sponsorship reasons since 2017.

Turin for a football weekend

Turin is elegant, walkable and full of arcaded streets and cafés. It's the home of vermouth and bicerin (a coffee, chocolate and cream drink), and the Alps are visible on a clear day. You get the Juventus Museum, the Torino derby against Juve's neighbours and some of Italy's best food. Our Juventus trips page and European getaways explain how we can help. There's no promise of tickets until they're confirmed in your written quote, and we don't arrange flights.

Fancy seeing it live? Tickets and packages are subject to availability and confirmation in your written quote. We don't arrange flights.