Juventus: Italy’s most decorated club.
Despite having fallen on hard times in recent years, the Turin titans are still the nation’s domestic kings, winning a record number of Serie A, Coppa Italia and Supercoppa Italiana titles.
A trophy-laden history that dates all the way back to 1897, soccer clubs don’t come much grander than Juventus.
As a result, not only have the Old Lady boasted some of Italy’s greatest competitors, they have also seen world superstars travel with regularity to the northwest of the country to don the fabled black and white jersey.
Here are the 25 greatest players to have ever represented Juventus.
25. Alessio Tacchinardi
Juventus supporters appreciate work rate above anything else and Alessio Tacchinardi provided it in abundance.
The defensive midfielder ran the club’s engine room for 13 years, but was also well accustomed to a screamer or two.
Tacchinardi is one of 50 Juventus legends to have his name written on the wall of the Allianz Stadium, highlighting just how adored he is by the club’s faithful.
24. Franco Causio
With a mustache that puts former Juventus man Ian Rush to shame, Franco Causio enjoyed two spells in Turin.
The first spanned just two years in the late 1960s, but he returned to the club between 1970 and 1981. He won six Serie A titles, a Coppa Italia and UEFA Cup during his days in black and white, also lifting the World Cup in 1982 shortly after his exit from the club.
23. Ciro Ferrera
Ciro Ferrara represented two clubs during his career: Napoli and Juventus. Both sets of supporters adore the full back, who very briefly took charge of Juventus in 2009.
Only five players have won more trophies over the course of Juventus’s illustrious history, with the tough-tackling defender arguably the club’s greatest full back.
22. Andrea Barzagli
Andrea Barzagli doesn’t always receive the same plaudits as some of his central defensive partners, but the Italian proved his immense quality during eight years at Juventus at the end of his career.
The centre back made up for his lack of speed and athleticism with wonderful intelligence and great physicality, winning a league title in all eight of his full seasons.
21. Marco Tardelli
Players like Marco Tardelli walked so the likes of Rodri could run, with the defensive midfielder possessing all the skills required to dictate matches in a deep-lying position.
Tardelli was a real all-rounder famed for his tireless displays, lifting the 1985 European Cup with Juventus and 1982 World Cup with Italy—scoring in the final of the latter against West Germany.
20. Claudio Marchisio
Another box-to-box king in the centre of the pitch for the Old Lady, Claudio Marchisio is one of the club’s modern legends.
His supreme technical quality kept him at the club for 13 years having come through the youth setup. The local lad really could do anything with a football at his feet, from pin-point passes to crunching tackles to excellent long-range strikes.
Few midfielders have had such an impact on Italian soccer in the 21st century.
19. David Trezeguet
While injuries hampered David Trezeguet reaching his absolute peak, the fantastic number nine was a relentless goalscorer for Juventus.
He sits fourth in the club’s all-time rankings for goals, with 171 to his name.
The prolific Frenchman spent a decade in Italy and stuck with Juventus during the 2006 Calciopoli scandal that saw the club relegated to Serie B. For that, as much as his efficiency in front of goal, he is a club icon.
18. Paolo Rossi
Another 1982 World Cup final goalscorer, Paolo Rossi didn’t spend too long with Juventus.
Having come through the club’s academy, the striker left for Vicenza to find regular first-team action before returning for a four-year stint in Turin in the early 1980s.
The diminutive centre forward dazzled during his time at Juventus, however, winning the Ballon d’Or in 1982 and stunning supporters with his agility, speed and eye for goal.
17. Andrea Pirlo
Calmness personified, Andrea Pirlo was the classiest of operators.
The Italian maestro is one of the greatest passers of all time and, despite also spending just four years at Juventus, is easily one of the club’s all-time legends.
Nothing fazed the effortless midfielder, who really defined the role of a deep-lying playmaker. Forgetting his short stint as the club’s manager, his time in Turin really was flawless.
16. Giuseppe Furino
Only four players have represented Juve more frequently than Giuseppe Furino, who finished up with 528 appearances to his name in all competitions.
Fifteen years and 12 trophies after his arrival, the midfielder eventually called time on his career in 1984.
Furino, rather aptly, was nicknamed "Fury" by Juventus’s fans for his aggressive approach in the middle of the pitch.
15. Roberto Bettega
Strikers don’t come much more prolific than Bettega, who scored 178 times over a 13-year spell with Juventus. The Turin-born star fired the club to glory and lifted seven Serie A titles over the years.
Bettega remains one of Italy’s great centre forwards and was a striker who possessed a range of skills when leading the line, blending physicality with a great poacher’s instinct.
14. John Charles
You may have expected Rush to be the first sharpshooting Welshman to represent Juventus, but that’s not true. John Charles preceded him, forging a path as one of Juventus’s greatest ever stars during the late 1950s and early 1960s.
The Swansea-born trailblazer cost a then British record £65,000 when moving to Juve, finishing with 105 goals in just 179 appearances.
13. Roberto Baggio
While one of his most famous moments may be that penalty miss in the 1994 World Cup final, nothing can detract from the genius of the electric Italian centre forward.
The 1993 Ballon d’Or winner also donned the shirts of AC Milan, Inter and Fiorentina over the course of a brilliant career, but it's at Juventus where he is most revered.
12. Antonio Cabrini
Part of the famous 1985 European Cup-winning Juventus side—one of only two times the Italian club have lifted the trophy—Antonio Cabrini is another full back to have written his name into club folklore.
He played in the club’s triumph over Liverpool and also won six league titles and two Coppa Italia trophies during a 13-year career in black and white.
11. Zinedine Zidane
While most closely associated with Real Madrid, Zinedine Zidane is also a legendary figure at Juventus.
Another Ballon d’Or winner at the Turin club, the midfielder spent five years in Italy and won his fair share of silverware—although he twice finished runner-up in the Champions League.
The graceful No.21 swiftly endeared himself to Italian crowds with his lung-busting runs, gliding dribbles and powerful strikes, with his headbutt in the 2006 World Cup final for France also helping Italy win the World Cup.
10. Gianluca Vialli
If you were looking for a forward in the 1980s and 1990s who oozed class, composure and positiona versatility, you’d have done well to find many better than Gianluca Vialli.
Vialli forged his reputation at Sampdoria, winning six trophies that included Serie A and the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup, but it’s his four-year stint at Juventus that is perhaps the most memorable of his storied career.
Signed for a world record fee in the region of £12.5 million, Vialli was tasked with taking the Old Lady to the very top of the game. He was an instant success, lifting the UEFA Cup in his first season in Turin, and Serie A and Coppa Italia triumphs followed. But it was in 1995–96 that Vialli, captaining the side, established himself as a Juventus legend.
Ajax were beaten in the Champions League final, with Vialli, alongside Fabrizio Ravanelli and Alessandro Del Piero up front, the heartbeat of a fearsome trio up front.
9. Antonio Conte
Antonio Conte’s grit and determination in the center of the park quickly resonated with Juventus fans after his 1991 move from Lecce and the Italian general would spend 13 years lifting trophy after trophy in Turin.
Just as impressive as the recovery of his hairline was his Juventus comeback in 2011, taking over as the club’s manager for three years and guiding the giants to three successive Serie A titles.
8. Pavel Nedved
Speaking of the Ballon d’Or, Pavel Nedved was crowned the world’s best in 2003 after some immense performances with Juventus.
The Czech legend guided the Old Lady to two Serie A titles and helped them to the 2003 Champions League final.
The tricky wide midfielder often left defenders in a haze, desperately trying to catch up to his long blonde hair waving in the wind, and was also a regular goalscorer and provider.
7. Giorgio Chiellini
A modern day legend at the club, Giorgio Chiellini was the leader of one of the best backlines in European soccer.
Alongside his famous partners Leonardo Bonucci and Barzagli, Chiellini made Juve damn near impenetrable during the heyday of Conte and Massimiliano Allegri’s spells in charge.
By the time he left the club in 2022, the towering defender had 19 medals to his name, including nine Scudettos. That’s pretty damn impressive.
6. Dino Zoff
Juventus have had some pretty remarkable goalkeepers over the years, with Dino Zoff among the best to have ever stood between the sticks.
He won the UEFA Cup as both a player and a manager at the club, while also twice reaching the European Cup final during his playing days.
Zoff finished as runner-up in the 1973 Ballon d’Or vote—a pretty incredible achievement for a goalkeeper.
5. Gaetano Scirea
Gaetano Scirea is the most aspirational figure in Juventus’s history. The player who embodies the good that the club aim to project out to the world.
He was the personification of Lo Stile Juve, the model pro and a natural-born winner.
4. Giampiero Boniperti
Before Alessandro Del Piero, there was Giampiero Boniperti.
The No. 10 joined the club on VE Day in 1945 and instantly became the club’s prized asset.
His performances for the glorious team of the 1950s have gone down in club history, as were his contributions as the club’s honorary president for 30 years after his retirement from the game.
3. Michel Platini
The three seasons in which Michel Platini won the Ballon d’Or and the Capocannoniere are probably the three best seasons any footballer has ever played in a Juventus shirt.
Platini was simply unstoppably good.
As well as earning himself plenty of individual prizes, he also helped Juventus win two Serie A titles, a Coppa Italia and a European Cup in that period.
2. Gianluigi Buffon
Arguably the greatest goalkeeper of all time, Gianluigi Buffon turned out for Juventus 685 times across two spells and won a club-record 21 trophies in that time.
What’s perhaps more remarkable than the number of appearances and trophies was how consistently brilliant Buffon was from the moment he joined for a then-record fee in 2001 before his departure 20 years later.
1. Alessandro Del Piero
Juventus’s all-time appearance record holder? Check. Juventus’s all-time record goalscorer? Check.
Alessandro Del Piero is expectedly top of this list of all-time Juventus greats.
The legendary Italian was the cornerstone of the club for the best part of two decades, leading the team through more than one golden era.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as The 25 Best Juventus Players of All Time—Ranked.
