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Extended Clip - Juventus Greatest XI Of All Time, Starring Del Piero, Platini & Buffon (Ep. 367)
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After Juventus celebrate 100 years of being owned by the Agnelli family, Carlo Garganese and Nima Tavallaey name their all time Juventus starting XI.
This is a clip from the weekly Thursday episode of the Italian Football Podcast.
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Transcript
Introduction to Juventus' 100th Anniversary and XI Creation
00:00:02
Speaker
Welcome to the Italian football podcast. Let's talk about Juventus because I want to put together a best Juventus XI in history of all time. And the reason for that is Juventus have celebrated 100 years of the Aniellis, 100th anniversary of the Anielli family takeover.
Legends Game and Celebrations
00:00:28
Speaker
which there was a big celebration on Tuesday with all the legends turning up Zinedine Zidane, Alessandro Del Piero.
00:00:37
Speaker
They did a Legends game. On one side, there was Peruzzi, Toricelli, Juliano, Antonio Conte, Matri, Monteiro, Bazzali, Marquesio, Zidane. The coach was Platini. And then on the other side, there was Storari. I'm going to guess they had to probably fill up the numbers. Carrera,
00:01:00
Speaker
D'Olivio, Simone Pepe, they're definitely filling up the numbers, Ravanelli, Filala, Evra, Mansukic, Edgedaviz, Del Piero, and then Lippi and Passotto as the coach.
Tribute to Gianluca Vialli
00:01:11
Speaker
It was a really, really nice event, and they also did a really lovely tribute, remembering Gianluca Vialli.
00:01:20
Speaker
And so, yeah, it was a really, really nice evening. What I want to do, though, is I want to put together, to remember these 100 years, that the greatest 11 of Juventus' history.
Criteria for Selecting Juventus' Greatest XI
00:01:34
Speaker
And I've picked a... First of all, I have to say that I'm only selecting players
00:01:39
Speaker
that came after the late 1950s, that were playing from the late 1950s onwards. So no John Charles then, yeah? Well, John Charles, no, I have included John Charles in my discussion because I have seen lots of John Charles because there is lots of footage of him playing from the late 50s onwards is where basically there is available footage in terms of matches of these players.
00:02:04
Speaker
If you before the fifties is virtually there's nothing at all you get the odd kind of you know video here and there which is not very good quality but is you know it's impossible to when you went to have the dominant team in the 1930s they had all that a lot of the world cup 1934 team who are loads of school debt in the 1930s but
00:02:22
Speaker
I can't tell you anything about how good those players are. I haven't seen any of them actually play. So it's pointless me including players like Luis Monti and these kind of players. So I've only chosen from players that were played in the late 1950s onwards till today. And I picked the 4312 formation. The reason being that traditionally Italian football always had the number 10 playing behind the attackers, the traditional number 10. So I wanted to have one of those.
00:02:50
Speaker
in my team, and I wanted to have a two-man attack, none of this kind of wingers stuff, which Italian Fit was never really used wingers or even really produced many wingers until recently, the last decade. So I haven't gone for a winger system, I've gone for a 4-3-1-2.
00:03:10
Speaker
So first of all, I'll start with the goalkeeper. It's out of two goalkeepers for me, really. Stefano Tacconi was also probably third best goalkeeper Juventus have had, but it's really out of two men. It's out of Gigi Buffon and Dino Zoff. Buffon, of course, at Juventus for the best part of 20 years and Dino Zoff at Juventus for a decade and a half as well.
00:03:39
Speaker
both of them winning so many, so many Scudetti, legends for club and country, both the longevity of both of them.
Goalkeeper Debate: Buffon vs. Zoff
00:03:49
Speaker
Both of them, not only for Juventus, but competing against each other for best ever Italy, national team goalkeeper, and even for best ever goalkeeper in football history. So it is a very, very difficult, but I mean, I think I'm gonna go for, I think I'm gonna go for Buffon.
00:04:10
Speaker
Ah, Dino Zoff. He is an institution in Italian football. He's an institution in in at Uwe. If you look at what he won when he was at Uwe, look, I can't go past him. I mean, we're talking about someone who
00:04:34
Speaker
won the Euros and the World Cup with Italy. He was the last defender, if you will, of the Juva goal ahead of him, probably the greatest defence the Juventus have ever had, which we're going to get to in a moment. So I can't go past Dino Zoff. For me, Dino Zoff leads. If Zoff had won a Champions League, I probably would have gone for him, but he left
00:05:01
Speaker
just before a couple of years before they won that first European Cup. And then obviously one of the fun didn't win the Champions League either, unfortunately, but but but yeah, I mean, it's very close. It's very close. You can go for either right back. So
00:05:17
Speaker
My short list was Claudio Gentile, Lillian Saram, Antonello, Guccoredo, and Stefan Liechsteiner.
Defensive Legends: Gentile and Cabrini
00:05:28
Speaker
And if we want to throw in another more recent one, Juan Quadrado. I've gone for Claudio Gentile because he was, I mean, he was again, he was there for over a decade. The, you know, one of the most feared hard men
00:05:46
Speaker
that we've ever seen in football. Just have a look at his man marking jobs that he did on Zico and Diego Maradona and the 1982 World Cup. But I mean, some of the legendary stories of his tackling at Juventus and his man marking and his fouls from behind and his shirt pulling and his, I mean, he was one of the best man markers
00:06:13
Speaker
there's been tough as nails. But any of those other names, Turram, he's up there, but he didn't play for Juventus. He played for Juventus for five years, whereas Gentile was there for a bit longer. Turram also had it sent back for the last two or three years of his time at Juventus. I go for Gentile.
00:06:33
Speaker
No, it's Claudio Gentile who was anything but Gentile when he played. He was unbelievably tough. He was nicknamed Gaddafi, if I'm not mistaken. Well, he was born in Libya and he didn't look a bit like Gaddafi. Yeah, he was unbelievable as a player. And I remember, I think how many times did he found Maradona in 1982, in that, I think that's the record.
00:07:03
Speaker
Mario Kempis famously said of Claudia Gintile, he followed you everywhere even to the toilet at half time. He was everywhere. My favorite story of Claudia Gintile was there was an award ceremony for the Ballon d'Or and Kevin Keegan won the Ballon d'Or and so he went up to go and collect his story
00:07:27
Speaker
to collect his trophy, and as he passed the aisle, he passed where Gentile was sitting, and Gentile stuck at his foot and tripped up Keegan as he was walking past, and he whispered in the ear of Kevin Keegan, said, if I'd have marked you, you wouldn't have won any Ballon d'Or. It's a bit of an urban legend, but it's my favorite kind of Gentile story.
00:07:54
Speaker
Magnificent. Let's go to the left back now. Now, there's three options for Juventus. There's Antonio Capparini, there's Gianluca Zambrata and then probably as a far away third Gianluca Pessoto. So it's really out of Capparini and Zambrata. And I think you can choose either for them, but I'm going for Capparini because for the same reason for Torram Zambrata played as a wide midfielder and then probably only maybe
00:08:23
Speaker
three or four years maybe at Juventus, he played as a wingback, whereas Cabrini again, well over a decade at Juventus, an absolute legend. Modern, one of the first kind of modern Italian fullbacks as well, kind of getting forward overlapping, great crosser and great defender one-on-one as well. So Cabrini for me.
00:08:50
Speaker
has to be Cabrini. Again, that is the greatest back line, probably ever, Gentilla, Cabrini, Shirea. I mean, it's unbelievable what they did. No, no, it's coming. Yeah, part of the 1982 team as well. Yeah. So, Censorbacks.
Scirea and Center-back Decisions
00:09:07
Speaker
Now, I think there's one Censorback, and unless you massively object, I think there's one Censorback who's an absolute guarantee in this, and there's no debate over him, and that's Gaetano Shirea. There's no discussion. There's no discussion. There's no discussion. He's one of the best
00:09:20
Speaker
center backs of all time. The probably after Franz Beckenbauer, the best sweeper or Libra, as we would say, that there's been, I mean, unless you call me Michael Franco Parisi.
00:09:32
Speaker
a Libra, but I wouldn't personally, I would call him more of an attack, like a more of an aggressive kind of censor back than that. But yeah, after Beckenbauer, him and Bérezio, you know, in that, you know, for the Libra, in the Libra equation, if we're talking about just as a Libra, Chirer was just perfect the way that he read the game, his elegance. He was the good cop, the bad cop of Gentile, like he read. Exactly.
00:09:59
Speaker
Rarely got booked. I think he only got booked once in his career, if I'm not mistaken. Never got sent off. He was a true gentleman. A true gentleman. On and off the pitch. Yeah, on and off the pitch. He was the captain. And it was just tragic. And he won everything as well. Like Cabrini, he won every single trophy in club football. He won all three of the major European trophies. He won, goodness knows how many, Serie A titles. He won the World Cup.
00:10:28
Speaker
And he was magnificent bringing the ball out of the fence starting the attacks He joined as an extra midfielder. So it's quite modern in that sense. He became an extra midfielder as well Have a look at the way that he set up the the goal for Marco Tardelli He brought the ball out for my heart said it Tardelli second goal in the 1982 World Cup final he was a magnificent and it was just so trade one of the Italian football's biggest tragedies when he died in a car crash at the age of
00:10:58
Speaker
was 36, I think he was. Yeah, massive tragedy. So yeah, Shirea, definitely. No, Shirea goes without saying again, one of the greatest defensive lines of all time. And he won everything. So no, Shirea.
00:11:14
Speaker
Yeah, fantastic. And then the other sense of back, I think, is a little bit more difficult. There's a few players you could maybe, or maybe two, I would say. So I'm going to read out who I've got as my shortlist. I hope I haven't missed anyone. So we've got Georgia Killini, Chilo Ferrara, Leonardo Bonucci, Bazzali, Paolo Montero, Sergio Brillo,
00:11:36
Speaker
Fabio Cannavaro, there was only there for two years, Sandro Sanvadori, who was in the 60s, great defender in the 60s, and then Jurgen Kola. I guess we could probably add Turan there as well, although I guess, again, he swapped between right back and center back, which kind of penalizes him in both positions, I guess. So I'm torn here between Quilini and Ciro Ferrara.
00:12:01
Speaker
No, he has to be Chiro Ferrara for me. If you look again, the career, what he did for you, for how important he was. And also before that at Napoli, look, if you, I think you have... Yeah, but we're judging him on his Juventus. Yeah, but I mean, I can't go past Ferrara, Chiro Ferrara. I just can't. I think he was unbelievable. I think what he actually did at Juventus was truly, truly remarkable.
00:12:26
Speaker
Yeah, it's really, really tough for me. It's really, really tough. I mean, I think they're both equally brilliant, both world-class defenders, world-class centre-backs, both incredible longevity with Ferrara. I remember him in the Champions League final at 37, I think, in 2006, 2003, and he was still world-class in that game.
00:12:49
Speaker
and you know Keilini of course we saw how good he was into his late 30s winning the Euros at nearly 37 being brilliant there so you know the appearances Ferrara was there 11 years Keilini was there even longer the trophies they're both on same trophies I mean Ferrara the advantage Ferrara has on Keilini is he won the Champions League and he was reinvented as his best defender in that Champions League as well in 96 and got to two other finals as well so
00:13:18
Speaker
Yeah, I could, I could, it's toss a coin, it's toss a coin. I'll go for Kehlini just to, just to counter you, but honestly, I think they deserve to share that position. Okay, let's move on to the midfield now. So three, we're going with three central midfielders here.
Midfield Marvels: Tardelli, Davids, and Nedved
00:13:40
Speaker
I'll read out all the shortlist first. We can't discuss all of them because it will take us too long. Marco Tardelli, Edgar Davids, Pavel Nedved, Dedia Deschamps, Andrea Pirlo, Zinedine. I'm going to leave out Zinedine Zidane. I'm going to put him in the number 10 role. Giuseppe Furino, Arturo Vidal, Paul Pogba, Markisio, Antonio Conte, Romeo Benetti,
00:14:06
Speaker
Let's leave it at that. Let's leave it at that and we'll come on to the number 10s in a bit. So I'll tell you who my three are. My three are Marco Tardelli, Edgar Davids and Pavel Nedvid. Those are my three. I think you have to have Tardelli. I think that goes without debate.
00:14:26
Speaker
And then such a complete midfielder, please, and he could do everything like really magnificent defensively hard man put in tackles, covered every blade of grass so fit the stamina up and down, but also goal threat, aggressive.
00:14:42
Speaker
competitive, a winner. He was scored goals. I mean, yeah, he won everything as well, like these other guys we said, part of the great Trappitani team. So, Tardelli, definitely for me. Now, without a doubt, Tardelli, then I think it's up there.
00:15:04
Speaker
I loved Antonio Conte, Deschamps. I hated Antonio Conte with a passion when he played.
00:15:15
Speaker
I think Bonjek, you know, louder. I mean, there's so many players. It's so difficult. Pirlo was unplayable. Marchese was a club legend. Vidal was unbelievable. It's so difficult. I think it's so difficult, but I think I have to go with Pavel Nedved and Tardelly for sure. Yeah, I mean, Nedved I'm being a bit cheeky putting him in field. He was really a left midfielder.
00:15:40
Speaker
Yeah, but at the same time, you know, he can play there and I'm just, and he won a Ballon d'Or, didn't he? We were playing for you. He won a Ballon d'Or, yeah. Unbelievable. I know Arsenal fans are still really annoyed because they think he's spoiled from Thierry Henry, but I think that,
00:15:56
Speaker
For me, the reason why I think Medved deserved that Ballon d'Or was that semi-final against Real Madrid. I think he's... Ah, magnificent. The whole season is magnificent. Yeah, but that was the Chile-Gina Solatorta. That cost Juventus the final, him being suspended. Yeah, no, he did. I don't think Milan win that game if Medved plays. For me, he was the best player in the world then. On that year, he was unbelievable.
00:16:21
Speaker
I mean, Edgar Davids was just insane. He was incredible, but I can't not have Andrea Pirlo there. I think Pirlo did it.
00:16:31
Speaker
the last, I mean, he was already a legend when he came to you, but then to extend his world class career by three, four years, playing at a ridiculously high level. Yeah, it's difficult to even peer low out, but again, I guess you've also got to look at the, I always look at the era as well, and I just think Italian football was so much, was at its peak, it was the best league in the world when these,
00:16:56
Speaker
Tyler Lee, David, Ned Fedde was playing, or one of the best when Ned Fedde was playing. And the level with PLO dropped a lot. So, you know. Yeah, but then again, PLO won so many things. And also... Well, he won four titles. But yeah, I mean, yeah, you can't play. And he also took them to two Champions League fights. I mean, I think it's also hard to even deshamp out because he was magnificent. He was unbelievable. He was so important. Five years as well. So important.
00:17:25
Speaker
He also won the Champions League, didn't he? For me, I'm going to go with Tardelly-Nedvert-Pielo. I'm going with Tardelly-Nedvert-Davids. Davids was just a force of nature and he was just unbelievable. He won everything. He was everywhere.
00:17:44
Speaker
tackles. I mean, he was so far, so aggressive. I mean, he was insane. Scary to play against. The kind of player I would hate to play against, someone like David, to be on you all the time. Before we get to the number 10, I mean, like I said, because this is a 4-3-1-2, we can't include wingers. Franco Calzio, if we were playing a winger system, would be in it. He's the best right winger I think Italy have had, maybe him or Don Adoni. He was absolutely well-classed. Yeah, Calzio was insane.
00:18:13
Speaker
And then, you know, you've got others like D'Olivio coming on air saying, I mean, these guys can't consider and they wouldn't get in. But, you know, so those are those are the those are the others, the wingers, the number 10, the number 10 position. So these are the number 10s that are up there.
Platini as Number 10: The Zidane Challenge
00:18:27
Speaker
Michelle Platini, then we have Zinedine Zidane, we have Michael Laudrup, Bonniak, possibly, and then
00:18:37
Speaker
Andreas Mola and Liam Brady, or those two weren't at Juventus for particularly long, but they were still excellent there. For me, it's Plattini. No, it has to be Plattini. If we're going just off of what he did at Juve,
00:18:52
Speaker
Platini won everything with Juva. I mean, he was unplayable at Juva. The level that he played at, I don't think any Juventus player in the attacking phases have reached. No, not over that course of...
00:19:08
Speaker
Certainly, three to four years, he was insane. In every possible way. I mean, the height, the high level that he played at, I don't think anyone in an attacking position has played for you, but under that, such a long time.
00:19:24
Speaker
and that was Trappatoni's Juve that literally won every single title available. He was Serie A top scorer from the number 10 position, Zentakim and Felder. Serie A top scorer three years in a row. He won the Ballon d'Or three years in a row, 1982-83, 1983-84, 1984-85. He won the Cup Winners' Cup and of course the European Cup. He scored the winner in the final of the European Cup. Obviously it was a
00:19:49
Speaker
overshadowed by the tragedy. And it's something that you kind of don't even really want to celebrate. But you know, just show what incredible the goals he scored, the free kicks, the vision,
00:20:01
Speaker
He's the best player of all time for vision, for long range vision, for free balls, for chipped free balls. There's never been anyone better than him. His long range, medium range passing, absolutely insane. Insane in his long shot for a right foot, one of the best long shots, one of the best shots.
00:20:21
Speaker
absolutely out of this world. So he's there. I mean, Zidane, of course, Zidane. No, Zidane was unbelievable, but you can't- Zidane was unbelievable for about the first two years, 96, 97, 97, 98, and then actually three so-so years at Juventus, if we honest, but the Juventus team was bad in those three latter seasons.
00:20:44
Speaker
So the first two seasons purely world-class and an incredible team. And then, yeah, like I said, the others, Lao Jap Bonyek, Mola, Olaf Mola, Liam Brady was fantastic for two years and they sold him in order to sign Plattiny. Not because he was bad, he was brilliant, it was because the foreign rule, you could only have two foreigners, so they had to get rid of him to make way for him.
00:21:07
Speaker
OK, let's go to the
Forwards Focus: Del Piero and Baggio
00:21:09
Speaker
attack now. This is going to be really, really difficult. Now, so I'll read out the shortlist first.
00:21:29
Speaker
Mario Mandzukic, Pietro Anastasi, Fabrizio Raveneri, Jaluka Biale, and Cristiano Ronaldo. How the hell do you possibly pick two players from that? Well, the first one is again what they did at JUVA.
00:21:44
Speaker
Pinturicchio has to be there. Del Piero has to be there. Like he can't not pick Del Piero. Because he's as a symbol as well. Again, what did he win at you?
00:21:59
Speaker
He's got the most goals, most appearances, six area titles, stuck with them through and through, more than just what was on the pitch, just everything around that, which I don't always like including when valuing the best player for a team, but I think is still important. And yeah, won the Champions League as well. I mean, yeah, amazing. And to be fair, he was
00:22:28
Speaker
in the big games, Del Piero always performed for Juventus. Look at his stats in big games, look at what he won, look at what he did, look at, no, Del Piero has to be here, has to be here. And he always assured Real Madrid as well. He loved playing against Real Madrid.
00:22:48
Speaker
If you get a standing ovation at the Santiago Bernabeu after you've scored 2-3 goals at the twilight of your career in the Champions League, as an away player, it's just no. I think we're agreed on top here, right? I don't know who to pick, thanks. The second one is really difficult.
00:23:13
Speaker
I love Roberto Baggio. For me, he's the best Italian football player that I've ever seen play. And he was magical at Juve, no doubt. But if you compare to Ravanelli and Viali and what they actually did at Juve in terms of what they won or Tevez, what they won, that's when it gets a bit difficult. Well, listen, the only reason why Baggio is penalized
00:23:39
Speaker
at Juventus because he, well, he didn't win. He did win the Scudetti. He won in his last season. He didn't win the Champions League and didn't even play in the Champions League for Juventus. That's why he's penalised. But at the same time, people forget that until, well, while Badjo was at Juventus,
00:24:00
Speaker
the UEFA Cup was just as strong as the Champions League. In fact, it was many years. It was actually stronger because back then you'd only have the winners of the Champions League in there and the winners of their league. Whereas the UEFA Cup, you would have the second, third, fourth and fifth in some countries in there. So it was much, much tougher. It was basically like the Champions League today, but in straight two-legged format, just missing the winners. And what Badjo did in winning the UEFA Cup
00:24:30
Speaker
in 92-93 which was his best season of his career was insane. He scored 30 goals that year and he scored six goals in nine and he absolutely destroyed Borussia Dortmund. I was going to say the Dortmund game away. Have a look at the goals he scored. The free kick, the free kick I think it is and I can't remember if it's that game away at the Vestfallenstadion is one of the most insane free kicks I've seen.
00:24:56
Speaker
It's truly a work of art. I don't know if it's that year or a season after that or before that, but it's just- In the five seasons he was there, he got to the semi-finals of the Cupman's Cup.
00:25:13
Speaker
He got to the, he won the UEFA Cup and then he got to another final when they lost to Parma. I don't remember if that was the Cup Men's Cup or the UEFA Cup, I'm forgetting now. I think it was the UEFA Cup, I think Parma won the BT Juventus and the UEFA Cup. Yeah, they did, they did. So yeah, and obviously Serie A, absolutely insane and he won the Ballon d'Or as well in 1992. I mean, I'll be honest,
00:25:37
Speaker
I'm picking with my heart, I go with Bad Joe, with my heart because he was my idol growing up. I'm going with my heart. But it doesn't mean he doesn't deserve to be picked as well because he was insane at Juventus. And for those five years, he was an insane level. But there's so many other
00:25:57
Speaker
so many other greats that you can. People in Zaghi was unplayable at Yova with Del Pier on XM. Carlos Tevez was ridiculous. Carlos Tevez was ridiculous, but he was there for two years. So it's a very, very short, short time there. I mean, to be honest with you, the ones that I would I would debate picking ahead of Badjo are Omar Sivori.
00:26:26
Speaker
John Charles, who actually up until the time of Maradona was voted the greatest ever foreigner in Syria. That just goes to show how good.
00:26:39
Speaker
In fact, even after Maradona, he was still voted in one of the newspapers. And I don't think it was Tuto Sport, by the way. It was one of the others, which I find surprising. I don't think about anyone above Maradona. But yeah, that goes to show how great he was. So I think it's out of John Charles Niemos Sivre, who had an incredible partnership in the late 50s and early 60s, and also together with Boni Perti, who died recently. So Sivre was like a little messy, a little
00:27:08
Speaker
de bala of the fifties and sixties he was really short temporary temperamental and amazing dribbling and skills and school so many calls he was magical and so i think it's out civil re john charles.
00:27:24
Speaker
I think, or maybe Bettega, because Bettega was there for over a decade and he scored so many goals during that dominant era as well. So I actually think it's one of the oldies that I would probably debate over. But also, I mean, if you look at what Vialy did at U of O when they won the Champions League, I mean, I don't know, I can't.
00:27:43
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, I love the alley. I absolutely love him. But I wouldn't have him because he was injured for a long time. But like had two years where he basically didn't play his gold record. Didn't score that many goals. He was important those years when they when they
00:28:00
Speaker
When they won, yeah, he was very important for his leadership. But no, I'm going to go with my heart to eye. I love Badger. He's my favorite Italian player of all time. So I can't. I can't. I think probably John Charles or Sivory probably deserves it, to be honest with you. But I'm going to say this, like I have seen quite a lot of Sivory and John Charles, but only, you know, nowhere near enough to come out and say, you know,
00:28:27
Speaker
you know, compared to bad Joe, who I grew up with, and I saw so much of, you know, I haven't, maybe haven't seen enough of Syveri or Charles to, you know, I've seen enough of them to know they were amazing players, but it was obviously can't weren't able to see them week in, week out. I haven't seen the big games they played. So it's yeah, for that reason, I'm gonna, gonna say I haven't seen enough of them. I'm going for bad Joe.
00:28:49
Speaker
Yeah, so there you go. That's the team. Let us know in the comments who you would have as your greatest Juventus XI of all time. This will be on our YouTube page. So let us know in the YouTube comments as well, or let us know on Twitter. And yeah, that's mine.