Can Juventus redeem themselves and be placed at the helm of Italy once again?
April 25, 2012
Post created by Jordan
Stefano Palazzi, almost six years ago, was responsible for the biggest story in Italian football of this century. The Calciopoli scandal. A thick web of lies that linked managers and referees from the top leagues in the country. Some of the largest names in European football were implicated. AC Milan, Lazio, Fiorentina and of course, Juventus. On the fourth of July 2006 Palazzi prosecuted all the sides involved, but it was the back to back champions in 2005 and 2006 that were relegated to Serie C1 as punishment for their role in the plot.
They appealed and only toppled as far as Serie B, but were made to hand over their two previous league titles.
Starting their first ever season in the second tier of Italian football, it seemed the northern giants had collapsed and would never return to previous heights. World renowned names such as Lillian Thuram, Fabio Cannavaro and Zlatan Ibrahimovich all left the club, with only a handful of faithfuls remaining. Ibrahimovich now faces an uphill struggle to try and usurp his former club almost six years on.
Williamhill Italian Serie A outright; Juventus: 1/7 | Milan: 4/1
Williamhill for Copa Italia- Juventus: 23/20 | Napoli: 21/10
Those faithfuls, in the form of Alessandro Del Piero and Gianuigi Buffon may now be able to end their illustrious careers by leading their side to a full redemption in winning the scudetto this year. With five matches remaining in Serie A, the Turin side are still unbeaten this season, with thoughts of emulating the emphatic triumphs of the Arsenal Invincibles and Porto last campaign. Milan were four points ahead of their rivals just a few weeks ago, but with Juve winning their last five in the league they look set to take the driving seat in the closing weeks.
At the beginning of the season few would have predicted that a side that haven’t seen a league title for over half a decade would be challenging; but if Juventus are able to cling on to their form, they will truly be able to put their past demons behind them in one of the greatest stories European football has seen in recent times.
And if all that wasn’t enough, they have the Copa Italia final to play in too.
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