Juventus Football Club S.p.A. (from Latin: iuventūs, “youth”; Italian pronunciation: [juˈvɛntus]), colloquially known as Juve (pronounced [ˈjuːve]),[5] is a professional Italian football club in Turin, Piedmont. Founded in 1897 by some Torinese students, the club has worn a black and white striped home kit since 1903 and has played home matches in different grounds around its city, the latest being the 41,507-capacity Allianz Stadium. Nicknamed Vecchia Signora (“the Old Lady”), the club has won a thirty-three official league titles, twelve Coppa Italia titles and seven national Super Cups titles, being the record holder for all these competitions; two Intercontinental Cups, two European Champion Clubs’ Cup and UEFA Champions Leagues, one European Cup Winners’ Cup, a national record of three UEFA Cups, two UEFA Super Cups and one UEFA Intertoto Cup.[6][7] Consequently, the side leads the historical Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio (FIGC) ranking[8] whilst on the international stage occupies the 4th position in Europe and the eight in the world for most confederation titles won with eleven trophies,[9] having led the UEFA rankings during seven seasons since its inception in 1979, the most for an Italian team.
Founded with the name of Sport-Club Juventus, initially as an athletics club,[10] it is the second oldest of its kind still active in the country after Genoa’s football section (1893) and has competed uninterruptedly in the top flight league (reformulated as Serie A from 1929) since its debut in 1900 after changing its name to Foot-Ball Club Juventus, with the exception of the 2006–07 season, being managed by the industrial Agnelli family almost continuously since 1923.[11] The relationship between the club and that dynasty is the oldest and longest in national sports, making Juventus the first professional sporting club in the country,[12] having established itself as a major force in the national stage since the 1930s and at confederation level since the mid-1970s[13] and becoming one of the first ten wealthiest in world football in terms of value, revenue and profit since the mid-1990s,[14] being stocked in Borsa italiana since 2001.[15]
Under the management of Giovanni Trapattoni, the club won thirteen trophies in the ten years before 1986, including six league titles and five international titles, and became the first to win all three competitions organised by the Union of European Football Associations: the European Champions’ Cup, Cup Winners’ Cup and UEFA Cup.[16] With successive triumphs in the 1984 European Super Cup and 1985 Intercontinental Cup, it become the first and thus far only in the world to complete a clean sweep of all confederation trophies;[17] an achievement that they revalidated with the title won in the 1999 UEFA Intertoto Cup after another successful era led by Marcello Lippi,[18] becoming in addition the only professional Italian club to have won every ongoing honour available to the first team and organised by a national or international football association. In December 2000, Juventus was ranked seventh in the FIFA’s historic ranking of the best clubs in the world[19] and nine years later was ranked second best club in Europe during the 20th Century based on a statistical study series by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS), the highest for an Italian club in both.[20]
The club’s fan base is the largest at national level and one of the largest worldwide.[21][22] Unlike most European sporting supporters’ groups, which are often concentrated around their own club’s city of origin,[23] it is widespread throughout the whole country and the Italian diaspora, making Juventus a symbol of anticampanilismo (“Anti-parochialism”) and italianità (“Italianness”).[24][25] The club has also provided the most players to the Italy national team, and different groups of its players have led the Azzurri squad to international success, most importantly in the 1934, 1982 and 2006 FIFA World Cups.
Juventus were founded as Sport-Club Juventus in late 1897 by pupils from the Massimo D’Azeglio Lyceum school in Turin,[28] but were renamed as Foot-Ball Club Juventus two years later.[2] The club joined the Italian Football Championship during 1900. In 1904, the businessman Ajmone-Marsan revived the finances of the football club Juventus, making it also possible to transfer the training field from piazza d’armi to the more appropriate Velodrome Umberto I. During this period, the team wore a pink and black kit. Juventus first won the league championship in 1905 while playing at their Velodrome Umberto I ground. By this time the club colours had changed to black and white stripes, inspired by English side Notts County.[29]
There was a split at the club in 1906, after some of the staff considered moving Juve out of Turin.[2] President Alfred Dick[30] was unhappy with this and left with some prominent players to found FBC Torino which in turn spawned the Derby della Mole.[31] Juventus spent much of this period steadily rebuilding after the split, surviving the First World War.
FIAT owner Edoardo Agnelli gained control of the club in 1923 and built a new stadium.[2] This helped the club to its second scudetto (league championship) in the 1925–26 season, after beating Alba Roma with an aggregate score of 12–1 (Antonio Vojak’s goals were essential that season).[29] The club established itself as a major force in Italian football since the 1930s, becoming the country’s first professional club and the first with a decentralised fan base,[32] which led it to win a record of five consecutive Italian championships (the first four under the management of Carlo Carcano) and form the core of the Italy national team during the Vittorio Pozzo’s era, including the 1934 world champion squad,[33] with star players such as Raimundo Orsi, Luigi Bertolini, Giovanni Ferrari and Luis Monti amongst others.
Sívori, Charles and Boniperti: the Magical Trio
Juventus moved to the Stadio Comunale, but for the rest of the 1930s and the majority of the 1940s they were unable to recapture championship dominance. After the Second World War, Gianni Agnelli was appointed honorary president.[2] The club added two more league championships to its name in the 1949–50 and 1951–52 seasons, the latter of which was under the management of Englishman Jesse Carver. Two new strikers were signed during 1957–58: Welshman John Charles and Italian Argentine Omar Sívori, playing alongside longtime member Giampiero Boniperti. That season saw Juventus awarded with the Golden Star for Sport Excellence to wear on their shirts after becoming the first Italian side to win ten league titles. In the same season, Sívori became the first ever player at the club to win the European Footballer of the Year.[34] The following season, they beat Fiorentina to complete their first league and cup double, winning Serie A and Coppa Italia. Boniperti retired in 1961 as the all-time top scorer at the club, with 182 goals in all competitions, a club record which stood for 45 years.[35]
During the rest of the decade, the club won the league just once more in 1966–67.[29] However, the 1970s saw Juventus further solidify their strong position in Italian football. Under former player Čestmír Vycpálek, they won the scudetto in 1971–72 and 1972–73,[29] with players such as Roberto Bettega, Franco Causio and José Altafini breaking through. During the rest of the decade, they won the league twice more, with defender Gaetano Scirea contributing significantly. The later win was under Giovanni Trapattoni, who also led the club to their first ever major European title (the UEFA Cup) in 1977 and helped the club’s domination continue on into the early part of the 1980s.[36] During Trapattoni’s tenure, many Juventus players also formed the backbone of the Italy national team during Enzo Bearzot’s successful managerial era, including the 1978 World Cup, UEFA Euro 1980 and 1982 world champion squads.[37][38]
European stage
Soccer Field Transparant.svg
Tacconi
Scirea ©
Favero
Brio
Cabrini
Bonini
Tardelli
Briaschi
Platini
Rossi
Boniek
1985 European Cup Final starting lineup
Michel Platini holding the Ballon d’Or in bianconeri (black and white) colours
The Trapattoni era was highly successful in the 1980s and the club started the decade off well, winning the league title three more times by 1984.[29] This meant Juventus had won 20 Italian league titles and were allowed to add a second golden star to their shirt, thus becoming the only Italian club to achieve this.[36] Around this time, the club’s players were attracting considerable attention and Paolo Rossi was named European Footballer of the Year following his contribution to Italy’s victory in the 1982 World Cup, where he was named Player of the Tournament.[39]
Frenchman Michel Platini was also awarded the European Footballer of the Year title for three years in a row in 1983, 1984 and 1985, which is a record.[34] Juventus are the only club to have players from their club winning the award in four consecutive years.[34] It was Platini who scored the winning goal in the 1985 European Cup final against Liverpool, but this was marred by a tragedy which changed European football.[40] That year, Juventus became the first club in the history of European football to have won all three major UEFA competitions[16][41] and, after their triumph in the Intercontinental Cup, the club also became the first in association football history — and remain the world’s only one at present — to have won all possible confederation competitions and the club world title.[42]
With the exception of winning the closely contested Italian Championship of 1985–86, the rest of the 1980s were not very successful for the club. As well as having to contend with Diego Maradona’s Napoli, both of the Milanese clubs, Milan and Internazionale, won Italian championships. However, Juventus did win a Coppa Italia-UEFA Cup double in 1990 under the guidance of former club legend Dino Zoff.[29] In 1990, Juventus also moved into their new home, the Stadio delle Alpi, which was built for the 1990 World Cup.[43] Despite the arrival of Italian star Roberto Baggio later that year for a world record transfer fee, the early 1990s under Luigi Maifredi and subsequently Trapattoni once again also saw little success for Juventus, as they only managed to win the UEFA Cup in 1993.[44]
Second Champions League and first Supercoppa Italiana titles
Soccer Field Transparant.svg
Peruzzi
Ferrara
Vierchowod
Torricelli
Pessotto
Sousa
Conte
Deschamps
Vialli ©
Ravanelli
Del Piero
1996 Champions League Final starting lineup
Marcello Lippi took over as Juventus manager at the start of the 1994–95 campaign.[2] His first season at the helm of the club was a successful one, as Juventus recorded their first Serie A championship title since the mid-1980s, as well as the Coppa Italia.[29] The crop of players during this period featured Ciro Ferrara, Roberto Baggio, Gianluca Vialli and a young Alessandro Del Piero. Lippi led Juventus to their first Supercoppa Italiana and the Champions League the following season, beating Ajax on penalties after a 1–1 draw in which Fabrizio Ravanelli scored for Juventus.[45]
Alessandro Del Piero lifting the European Cup after Juventus’ victory in the 1995–96 UEFA Champions League
The club did not rest long after winning the European Cup: more highly regarded players were brought into the fold in the form of Zinedine Zidane, Filippo Inzaghi and Edgar Davids. At home, Juventus won the 1996–97 and 1997–98 Serie A titles, as well as the 1996 UEFA Super Cup[46] and the 1996 Intercontinental Cup.[47] Juventus reached the 1997 and 1998 Champions League finals during this period, but lost out to Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid respectively.[48][49]
After a two-and-a-half-season absence, Lippi returned to the club in 2001, following his replacement Carlo Ancelotti’s dismissal, signing big name players such as Gianluigi Buffon, David Trezeguet, Pavel Nedvěd and Lilian Thuram, helping the team to two more scudetto titles during the 2001–02 and 2002–03 seasons.[29] Juventus were also part of an all Italian Champions League final in 2003, but lost out to Milan on penalties after the game ended in a 0–0 draw. At the conclusion of the following season, Lippi was appointed as the Italy national team’s head coach, bringing an end to one of the most fruitful managerial spells in Juventus’ history.[36]
Calciopoli scandal
Fabio Capello was appointed as Juventus’ coach in 2004 and led the club to two more consecutive Serie A titles. In May 2006, Juventus became one of the five clubs linked to a 2006 Italian football scandal, the result of which saw the club relegated to Serie B for the first time in its history. The club was also stripped of the two titles won under Capello in 2005 and 2006.[50]
Many key players left following the demotion to Serie B, including Lillian Thuram, star striker Zlatan Ibrahimović and defensive stalwart Fabio Cannavaro. However, other big name players such as Alessandro Del Piero, Gianluigi Buffon, David Trezeguet and Pavel Nedvěd remained to help the club return to Serie A, while youngsters from the Primavera (youth team), such as Sebastian Giovinco and Claudio Marchisio, were integrated into the first team. Juventus won the Cadetti (Serie B championship) and gained promotion straight back up to the top division as league winners after the 2006–07 season,[51] as captain Del Piero claimed the top scorer award with 21 goals.
As early as 2010, Juventus considered challenging the stripping of their scudetti from 2005 and 2006, dependent on the results of trials connected to the 2006 scandal.[52] Subsequent investigations found in 2011 that Juventus’ relegation in 2006 was without merit.[53] When former general manager Luciano Moggi’s conviction in criminal court in connection with the scandal was thrown out by an appeals court in 2015, the club sued the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) for €443 million for damages caused by their 2006 relegation. FIGC president Carlo Tavecchio offered to discuss reinstatement of the lost scudetti in exchange for Juventus dropping the lawsuit.[53]
Return to Serie A
After returning to Serie A in the 2007–08 season, Juventus appointed Claudio Ranieri as manager.[54] They finished in third place in their first season back in the top flight and qualified for the Champions League third qualifying round in the preliminary stages. Juventus reached the group stages, where they beat Real Madrid in both home and away legs, before losing in the knockout round to Chelsea. Ranieri was sacked following a string of unsuccessful results and Ciro Ferrara was appointed as manager on a temporary basis for the last two games of the 2008–09 season,[55] before being subsequently appointed as the manager for the 2009–10 season.[56]
Ferrara’s stint as Juventus manager, however, proved to be unsuccessful, with Juventus knocked out of Champions League and Coppa Italia, as well as just lying on the sixth place in the league table at the end of January 2010, leading to the dismissal of Ferrara and the naming of Alberto Zaccheroni as caretaker manager. Zaccheroni could not help the side improve, as Juventus finished the season in seventh place in Serie A. For the 2010–11 season, Jean-Claude Blanc was replaced by Andrea Agnelli as the club’s president. Agnelli’s first action was to replace Zaccheroni and director of sport Alessio Secco with Sampdoria manager Luigi Delneri and director of sport Giuseppe Marotta.[57] However, Delneri failed to improve their fortunes and was dismissed. Former player and fan favourite Antonio Conte, fresh after winning promotion with Siena, was named as Delneri’s replacement.[58] In September 2011, Juventus relocated to the new Juventus Stadium.[59]
Historic three consecutive doubles and sixth consecutive league title
Juventus captain Giorgio Chiellini is handed the Coppa Italia by the President of the Republic
With Conte as manager, Juventus went unbeaten for the entire 2011–12 Serie A season. Towards the second half of the season, the team was mostly competing with northern rivals Milan for first place in a tight contest. Juventus won the title on the 37th matchday after beating Cagliari 2–0 and Milan losing to Internazionale 4–2. After a 3–1 win in the final matchday against Atalanta, Juventus became the first team to go the season unbeaten in the current 38-game format.[60] Other noteworthy achievements included the biggest away win (5–0 at Fiorentina), best defensive record (20 goals conceded, fewest ever in the current league format) in Serie A and second best in the top six European leagues that year.[61] In 2013–14, Juventus won a third consecutive scudetto with a record 102 points and 33 wins.[62][63] The title was the 30th official league championship in the club’s history.[64] They also achieved the semi-finals of Europa League, where they were eliminated at home against ten-man Benfica’s catenaccio, missing the final at the Juventus Stadium.[65][66]
In 2014–15, Massimiliano Allegri was appointed as manager, with whom Juventus won their 31st official title, making it a fourth-straight, as well as achieving a record tenth Coppa Italia for the double.[67] The club also beat Real Madrid in the semi finals of the Champions League 3–2 on aggregate to face Barcelona in the final in Berlin for the first time since the 2002–03 Champions League.[68] Juventus lost the final to Barcelona 3–1 after an early fourth-minute goal from Ivan Rakitić, followed by an Álvaro Morata equalizer in the 55th minute. Then Barcelona took the lead again with a goal from Luis Suárez in the 70th minute, followed by a final minute goal by Neymar as Juventus were caught out on the counterattack.[69] On 14 December 2015, Juventus won the Serie A Football Club of the Year award for the 2014–15 season, the fourth time in succession.[70] On 25 April 2016, the club won their fifth-straight title (and 32nd overall) since last winning five-straight between 1930–31 and 1934–35, after second place Napoli lost to Roma to give Juventus mathematical certainty of the title with three games to spare; last losing to Sassuolo on 25 October 2015, which left them in 12th place, before taking 73 points of a possible 75.[71] On 21 May, the club then won the Coppa Italia for the 11th time and their second-straight title, becoming the first team in Italy’s history to complete Serie A and Coppa Italia doubles in back-to-back seasons.[72][73][74] On 17 May 2017, Juventus won their 12th Coppa Italia title in a 2–0 win over Lazio (the first team to win three consecutive championships).[75] Four days later on 21 May, Juventus became the first team to win six consecutive Serie A titles.[76] On 3 June 2017, Juventus entered a second Champions League Final in three years, but were defeated 1–4 by defending champions Real Madrid — a tragedy in Turin followed.[77][78]
Colours, badge, nicknames and symbols
Juventus have played in black and white striped shirts, with white shorts, sometimes black shorts since 1903. Originally, they played in pink shirts with a black tie. The father of one of the players made the earliest shirts, but continual washing faded the colour so much that in 1903 the club sought to replace them.[79] Juventus asked one of their team members, Englishman John Savage, if he had any contacts in England who could supply new shirts in a colour that would better withstand the elements. He had a friend who lived in Nottingham, who being a Notts County supporter, shipped out the black and white striped shirts to Turin.[79] Juventus have worn the shirts ever since, considering the colours to be aggressive and powerful.[79]
The Juventus badge used between 1990 and 2004
The Juventus badge used between 2004 and 2017
The Juventus logo since 2017–18 season
Juventus’s official emblem has undergone different and small modifications since the 1920s. The previous modification of the Juventus badge took place in 2004, when the emblem of the team changed to a black-and-white oval shield of a type used by Italian ecclesiastics. It is divided in five vertical stripes: two white stripes and three black stripes, inside which are the following elements, while in its upper section the name of the society superimposed on a white convex section, over golden curvature (gold for honour). The white silhouette of a charging bull is in the lower section of the oval shield, superimposed on a black old French shield and the charging bull is a symbol of the comune of Turin. There is also a black silhouette of a mural crown above the black spherical triangle’s base. This is a reminiscence to Augusta Tourinorum, the old city of the Roman era which the present capital of Piedmont region is its cultural heiress. In January 2017, president Andrea Agnelli announced the most recent change to the Juventus badge, revealing a video showing the introduction of the new badge. The badge shows the word Juventus on top, with two capital Js shown together in different fonts with a small opening between them to almost make a bigger J. Agnelli said that the badge reflects “the Juventus way of living”.[80] Juventus was the first team in association football history to adopt a star who added one above their badge in 1958 to represent their tenth Italian Football Championship and Serie A title, at the time and has since become popularized with other clubs as well.[81]
In the past, the convex section of the emblem had a blue colour (another symbol of Turin) and, furthermore, its shape was concave. The old French shield and the mural crown, also in the lower section of the emblem, had a considerably greater size with respect to the present. The two “Golden Stars for Sport Excellence” were located above the convex and concave section of Juventus’ emblem. During the 1980s, the club emblem was the silhouette of a zebra, to both sides of the equide’s head, the two golden stars and, above this badge, forming an arc, the club’s name.
Juventus unofficially won their 30th league title in 2011–12, but a dispute with the FIGC, who stripped Juventus of their 2004–05 and 2005–06 titles due to their involvement in a 2006 Italian football scandal, left their official total at 28. However, they elected to wear no stars at all the following season.[82] Juventus won their 30th title in 2013–14 and thus earned the right to wear their third star, but club president Andrea Agnelli stated that the club suspended the use of the stars until another team wins their 20th championship, thus having the right to wear two stars, “to emphasise Juventus’ superiority”.[83] However, for the 2015–16 season, Juventus reintroduced the stars and added the third star to their jersey as well with new kit manufacturers Adidas, in addition to the Coppa Italia badge for winning their tenth Coppa Italia the previous season.[84][85] For the 2016–17 season, Juventus re-designed their kit with a different take on the trademark black and white stripes.[86] For the 2017–18 season, Juventus introduced the J shaped logo onto the kits.[87]
The Juventus F.C. mascot J, introduced in 2015
In September 2015, Juventus officially announced a new project called JKids for its junior supporters on its website. Along with this project, Juventus also introduced a new mascot to all its fans which is called J. J is a cartoon-designed zebra, black and white stripes with golden edge piping on its body, golden shining eyes, and three golden stars on the front of its neck.[88] J made its debut at Juventus Stadium on 12 September 2015.[89]
During its history, the club has acquired a number of nicknames, la Vecchia Signora (the Old Lady) being the best example. The “old” part of the nickname is a pun on Juventus which means “youth” in Latin. It was derived from the age of the Juventus star players towards the middle of the 1930s. The “lady” part of the nickname is how fans of the club affectionately referred to it before the 1930s. The club is also nicknamed la Fidanzata d’Italia (the Girlfriend of Italy), because over the years it has received a high level of support from Southern Italian immigrant workers (particularly from Naples and Palermo), who arrived in Turin to work for FIAT since the 1930s. Other nicknames include; [La] Madama (Piedmontese for: Madam), i bianconeri (the black-and-whites), le zebre (the zebras)[90] in reference to Juventus’ colours. I gobbi (the hunchbacks) is the nickname that is used to define Juventus supporters, but is also used sometimes for team’s players. The most widely accepted origin of gobbi dates to the fifties, when the bianconeri wore a large jersey. When players ran on the field, the jersey, which had a laced opening at the chest, generated a bulge over the back (a sort of parachute effect), making the players look hunchbacked.[91]
The official anthem of Juventus is Juve (storia di un grande amore), or Juve (story of a great love) in English, written by Alessandra Torre and Claudio Guidetti, in the version of the singer and musician Paolo Belli composed in 2007.[92] On 16 February 2018, a three episode docu-series called First Team: Juventus FC, which followed the club throughout the 2017–18 season by spending time with the players behind the scenes both on and off the field, will be released on Netflix.[93]
Stadiums
Allianz Stadium Juventus v Real Madrid, Champions League, Stadium, Turin, 2013.jpg
Location Corso Gaetano Scirea,
5010151 Turin, Italy
Owner Juventus F.C.
Operator Juventus F.C.
Capacity 41,507 seated
Construction
Broke ground 1 March 2009
Opened 8 September 2011
Construction cost €155,000,000[94]
Architect Hernando Suarez, Gino Zavanella, Giorgetto Giugiaro
Main articles: Juventus Stadium, Stadio Olimpico di Torino, Stadio delle Alpi, Stadio di Corso Marsiglia, and Stadio Motovelodromo Umberto I
After the first two years (1897 and 1898), during which Juventus played in the Parco del Valentino and Parco Cittadella, their matches were held in the Piazza d’Armi Stadium until 1908, except in 1905 (the first year of the scudetto) and in 1906, years in which it played at the Corso Re Umberto.
From 1909 to 1922, Juventus played their internal competitions at Corso Sebastopoli Camp before moving the following year to Corso Marsiglia Camp, where they remained until 1933, winning four league titles. At the end of 1933, they began to play at the new Stadio Mussolini stadium inaugurated for the 1934 World Championships. After the Second World War, the stadium was renamed as Stadio Comunale Vittorio Pozzo. Juventus played home matches at the ground for 57 years, a total of 890 league matches.[95] The team continued to host training sessions at the stadium until July 2003.[96]
From 1990 until the 2005–06 season, the Torinese side contested their home matches at Stadio delle Alpi, built for the 1990 FIFA World Cup, although in very rare circumstances the club played some home games in other stadia such as Renzo Barbera at Palermo, Dino Manuzzi at Cesena and the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza at Milan.[96]
In August 2006, Juventus returned to play in the Stadio Comunale, then known as Stadio Olimpico, after the restructuring of the stadium for the 2006 Winter Olympics onward. In November 2008, Juventus announced that they would invest around €120 million to build a new ground, the Juventus Stadium, on the site of delle Alpi.[97] Unlike the old ground, there is not a running track and instead the pitch is only 7.5 metres away from the stands.[3] The capacity is 41,507.[3] Work began during spring 2009 and the stadium was opened on 8 September 2011, ahead of the start of the 2011–12 season.[59]
Since 1 July 2017, the Juventus Stadium is known commercially as the Allianz Stadium of Turin for six seasons until 30 June 2023.[98]
Supporters
See also: Juventus F.C. ultras
Juventus are the best-supported football club in Italy, with over 12 million fans or tifosi, which represent approximately 34% of the total Italian football fans according to a research published in September 2016 by Italian research agency Demos & Pi,[21] as well as one of the most supported football clubs in the world, with over 300 million supporters (41 million in Europe alone),[22] particularly in the Mediterranean countries to which a large number of Italian diaspora have emigrated.[99] The Torinese side has fan clubs branches across the globe.[100]
Demand for Juventus tickets in occasional home games held away from Turin is high, suggesting that Juventus have stronger support in other parts of the country. Juventus is widely and especially popular throughout mainland Southern Italy, Sicily and Malta, leading the team to have one of the largest followings in its away matches,[101] more than in Turin itself.
Club rivalries
Main articles: Derby della Mole, Derby d’Italia, and Juventus F.C. — A.C. Milan rivalry
Scene from the Derby d’Italia in 1930
Juventus have significant rivalries with two clubs. Their traditional rivals are fellow Turin club Torino and matches between the two side are known as the Derby della Mole (Turin Derby). The rivalry dates back to 1906 as Torino was founded by break-away Juventus players and staff. Their most high-profile rivalry is with Internazionale, another big Serie A club located in Milan, the capital of the neighbouring region of Lombardy. Matches between these two clubs are referred to as the Derby d’Italia (Derby of Italy) and the two regularly challenge each other at the top of the league table, hence the intense rivalry.[102] Until the Calciopoli scandal which saw Juventus forcibly relegated, the two were the only Italian clubs to have never played below Serie A. Notably, the two sides are the first and the second most supported clubs in Italy and the rivalry has intensified since the later part of the 1990s; reaching its highest levels ever post-Calciopoli, with the return of Juventus to Serie A.[102] They also have rivalries with Milan,[103] Roma,[104] Fiorentina[105] and Napoli.
