It’s incredible, but it’s true. In 2005, nine Juventus players were nominated for the Ballon d’Or. Namely, Gianluigi Buffon, Mauro Camoranesi, Fabio Cannavaro, Emerson, Zlatan Ibrahimović, Pavel Nedvěd, Lilian Thuram, Patrick Vieira and David Trezeguet.
In the 2005/06 season, Juventus won nine consecutive Serie A matches, setting a Serie A record.
In May 2006, 56,000 people attended the match between Juventus and Palermo. It was the first and only time in the history of the Delle Alpi stadium that all tickets were sold out. Incidentally, on that day, the club bid farewell to the stadium and moved to the Stadio Olimpico.
For the 2006 World Cup final, Italy’s head coach Marcello Lippi called up five Juventus players: Gianluigi Buffon, Fabio Cannavaro, Gianluca Zambrotta, Mauro Camoranesi and Alessandro Del Piero.
Six years later, in the final match of the 2012 European Championship, Italy’s head coach Cesare Prandelli selected six Bianconeri players for the starting line-up: Gianluigi Buffon, Andrea Barzagli, Leonardo Bonucci, Giorgio Chiellini, Andrea Pirlo and Claudio Marchisio.
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- In May 2005, Juventus took an unusual step, which became known as the ‘Silence of the Press’. Before the game against Milan, the Bianconeri not only did not announce the line-up for the game, but also prohibited their players and coaching staff from communicating with the press. This decision was made after TV reports about Zlatan Ibrahimović’s false three-match suspension and the publication of Fabio Cannavaro’s home video. After that, Juventus announced a boycott of the press. The only person who made a statement before the match was Luciano Moggi, who condemned Sky Sports, owned by Berlusconi, for its provocative activities.
- In March 2005, Juventus and Tamoil signed an agreement that added £74 million to Juve’s coffers. This deal became the largest title sponsorship deal for a football club. Thus, Juventus received €15.2 million per season from the sponsor. For comparison, Bayern Munich received £11.7 million, Real Madrid had to settle for £9.7 million, and Manchester United and Vodaphone agreed on only £9 million.
Juventus Primavera made history after winning the Viareggio Cup for the third time in a row – the most popular and prestigious cup among youth teams from clubs around the world. No one else in the 57-year history of the tournament has been so successful.
Gianluca Zambrotta was one of several Italian players vacationing in the Maldives in December 2004. At that time, a large tsunami struck the island, but Zambrotta managed to leave the danger zone. What’s more, it all happened on the very day that Zambrotta was leaving the Maldives. Alessandro Nesta and Paolo Maldini also left the island in a hurry. Over the next few days, Marco Materazzi, Pippo Inzaghi, Cristiano Lucarelli and Alessandro Gaucci also left the island.