04/18/24
April 01, 2007
"Juventus,: giants of Italian and world football, were cut down in Serie A's match-fixing scandal last summer and relegated to the second division for the first time in their 110-year history." This well-written article follows the team and their remaining star players in their year of shame.
Great article from a lifelong Juventus fan. I was very happy to see that many of the great players stayed and want to get back to Serie A to win another scudetto. Hopefully Cannavaro will return next year. Respect and admiration to Del Piero, Nedved, Trezeguet, Camorenasi and the others, especially Buffon, inarguabally the best keeper in the world, for staying at Juventus and getting them back to Serie A.
posted by urall cloolis at 07:10 PM on April 01, 2007
I agree, it's remarkable how many great players stayed with them for the drop. Imagine the Yankees being demoted to a year of Triple AAA -- would the stars stay if they didn't have to? (most Serie A players have get outs in their contracts in the case of demotion, I believe). Demotion (preferably not of the scandalous variety seen here) adds so much interest to European soccer, highlighting how the teams are clubs, not franchises. Look at how former powerhouse Leeds United has fallen, threatening to drop into the third tier (Ok, League [insert meaningless number] One.) It would work really well in Hockey, for example, where the AHL is a solid league. It'll never happen, of course.
posted by rumple at 08:33 PM on April 01, 2007
That was a good read, and I agree about finding loyalty admirable in the stars who stayed. rumple, you're right about the benefits of demotion. My team have always been floating about the lower leagues, and it adds to the drama when there's some flailing giant down there with you. We have multiple European Cup winners Nottingham Forest in our third tier league this season (they've been stuck down there for a bit) and they'd not in the auto promotion spots at the minute. Remember some cracking crowds against Man City when they had their plummet a while back too. I found the bit about supporters of other teams using the Heysel disaster as fuel for taunts reminiscent of, say, Leeds songs about the Munich disaster. Not too big on the wider moral framework, many fans.
posted by Abiezer at 09:26 PM on April 01, 2007
Good article. And nice to see the players showing loyalty to the club. Even if some did leave.
posted by Fence at 02:55 AM on April 02, 2007
Fantastic article. After reading that, I can't see Buffon leaving in the summer.
posted by trox at 10:57 AM on April 02, 2007
Good thing they dont do that stuff in major league baseball. My Pittsburgh Pirates would be in a t-ball league by this point.
posted by Debo270 at 12:29 PM on April 02, 2007
Long interview. 'Le Zebre', I can see the moview now, the Zebras, the nickname of this club, since they have those black and white stripes, showing how the director tries to get the referees that will favor victories, but is that really fixing games? Not fair play, yes, but he should of been removed from the league and the champoinships banished, that would of been enough. This creates an amazing story. They get back to A by winning B and then win A, a perfect movie, or even loose in A, but still a good story.
posted by sap_basis at 12:34 PM on April 02, 2007
Looks like a good read. Cheers!