Juve draw with Notts County in stadium inauguration
Juventus inaugurated their ground-breaking new stadium with a 1-1 draw against Notts Countylast night.
The English League One side, the oldest professional club in the world having been founded in 1862, were the guests as a mark of thanks for their historic link with the hosts.
That began back in 1903 when a Juventus player, Englishman John Savage, helped to arrange for the Italian club to wear the Magpies' black and white stripes.
Until then Juve had worn a pink shirt but they were growing frustrated by the kit's habit of losing it's colour and having to be replaced, a costly process back in those days.
The night began with a 114 second countdown, denoting the number of years the Old Lady of Turin has been in existence since it was formed by students from the Liceo D'Azeglio in 1897.
"Welcome home! We're tens of millions around the world, millions in Italy and hundreds of thousands in the city," said an emotional club president Andrea Agnelli, whose family have had a long history with the club.
"We're a people who know how to enjoy ourselves, how to suffer, to grit our teeth, we're the people of Juve.
"We're people who recognise and know how to accept results achieved on a green pitch such as this one, with lines that don't lie because the pitch always tells the truth."
That motivational speech was followed by a defiant unveiling of 29 Serie A titles, including the two Juve were stripped of for match-fixing in 2005 and 2006, something the club refuses to accept.
The 122-million-euro 41,000-seater stadium was packed to the rafters, showcasing the first such ground in Italy to be privately owned by a club.
It's a ground that Juve hope will revolutionise the match-day experience for fans and which the club hopes will also encourage far greater numbers to turn up than has been the case since they moved to the Stadio Delle Alpi from the old Stadio Comunale in 1990.
The occasion was also used to remember the 39 victims of the Heysel Stadium disaster as well as former Juve legend Gaetano Scirea.
There were also appearances from some of the club's oldest living ex-players, such as 91-year-old former goalkeeper Lucidio Sentimenti IV.
There was even an appearance from a figure older still, the bench on which were sitting the students who founded the club.
It descended from the sky with the two greatest goalscorers in Juve's history upon it.
"I'm here after 67 years to give you all a hug. Winning isn't important, it's the only thing that counts," said 83-year-old Giampiero Boniperti, perhaps failing to see the irony of his comments alongside Juve's defiant brandishing of their ill-gotten titles.
He had been Juve's greatest ever goalscorer for 50 years until current club captain Alessandro Del Piero overtook him.
"I'm delighted to have contributed to writing a part of the 114 years of history, of fantastic pages and memories," said Del Piero before the fireworks began.
On the pitch there were far fewer sparks as the most decorated side in Italy -- they have 27 scudetto crowns -- were held to a 1-1 draw by the English minnows.
World Cup winning forward Luca Toni gave Juve a 53rd-minute lead but former West Brom forward scored an equaliser three minutes from time.
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Michelle Pirotta
Sep 10th 2011, 14:19
Kif kien qal wiehed filosofu:
Il mondo e' pieno di colori: perche' sprecarlo in bianco e nero?
Mr Joe Micallef
Sep 10th 2011, 09:38
Sur Aaron Sammut min fejn gibt dik il lista, mil Beano?
Mr Joe Bugelli
Sep 9th 2011, 18:43
@ Aaron Sammut - you say that the level in the English leagues is much higher. Not quite. Spanish football is much more technical. For two consecutive CL finals I thought that Barcelona were playing MANIKATA UTD. Not a very long time ago great players used to join Italian Clubs and undoubtedly everybody used to talk about Milan. Juventus also had their good spell in Europe. Only a few years ago Manchester hosted an all Italian CL final. Today English clubs are being owned by foreign billionaires ( for some reason or other ). And players like Aguero, Toure', Dzeko, etc are definitely not like we say in Maltese " cwiec ". Money. When it comes to England or Italia then it is a whole different story. What happened to ITALIA in the WC 2010 is considered for them to be a disaster. Very rare. What happened to England in the same World Cup is just the ORDER OF THE DAY. No wonder Gary Neville considers the England career as a massive waste of time ! No wonder he cannot see England competing seriously for a major trophy for at least the next 10 years !
M Borg
Sep 9th 2011, 20:13
Well said my friend!
Peter Paul Cassar
Sep 9th 2011, 16:36
@steve cassar....taf min jisthi???....min hu preskritt u ma jridx inehhi il-oreskrizzjoni...jekk intom vera onesti kif tghidu nehhuwha u iddefendu ruhkom.....btw tinsiex tim-tronchetti prover-intermerd
SOLO LA JUVE...SON SEMPRE 29
Emmanuel Curmi
Sep 9th 2011, 15:10
Everyone can say what he/she wants but no one can deny the fact that Juventus have won 29 Leagues. All the farce around Calciopoli has shown the true "sportmanship" of those who think that they are pure...but facts have shown otherwise. As we say in Maltese: "iz-zejt jitla' f'wicc l-ilma"
As regards yesterday's spectacular ceremony and the new stadium nothing to say except: Fantastic! Seeing all those football glories again parading on the pitch, together with the incredible coreography offered, sent shivers down my spine!
PS: I don't support Juve!
Mr Edward Muscat
Sep 9th 2011, 13:38
That part of the article "they have 27 scudetto crowns" was definitely written in bad taste to spark controversy knowing the recent events around it.
Only few people know the truth, and these are those who are following in detail the process taking place against Moggi & the others in a Naples court. No one else could speak about this subject without the risk of saying a lot of inaccuracies.
In a couple of weeks, we will have the sentence, and many of those accusing Moggi of any wrongdoing will have to invent another excuse because all accusations against him have fallen into pieces. Calciopoli, or as is better known Farsopoli, will have to be re-written. And I accept bets that both scudetti will some time have to be returned to Juventus.
Matthew Mamo
Sep 9th 2011, 12:46
@Steve Cassar
Habib tidher li minn dak li qed jigri gewwa l-Qorti ta' Napli dwar Calciopoli ghadek ma segwejt xejn. Intik parir issegwi dak li qed jigri u ntik parir ukoll taqra sew ir-rapport li hareg Palazzi dwar l-inter u tkun taf kif l-Inter ghamlu affarijiet sahansitra iktar gravi minn dawk li qed j'akkuzaw bihom lil Juventus. Jekk l-Inter huma daqsekk PURI, NODFA u QADDISIN imissom jitolbu li titnehha l-preskrizzjoni pero naf cert l-Inter mhux se jaghmlu dan ghax jafu bizzejjed kemm jahraq ir-Rapport ta' Palazzi. Niggarantilek jien li fi zmien ftit xhur ohra mintix se tibqa tithaq bil-President tal-Juve. Sa dak inhar nawgura lil kullhadd sabiex jiehu gost jammira l-Stadium Gdid u Sabih li bnejna, mghandniex xi Emirates jew Wembley imma meta tqis l-Ekonomija taljana fil-mument, tista tghid li l-Juventus ghamlu miraklu.
R. Gauci
Sep 9th 2011, 13:19
Habib il-Juventus Arena hu l-isbah stadium fid-dinja fejn jikkoncerna football, kollox state of the art sal-lighting system apposta ghal 3D transmission. L-EMirates anqas jibda mieghu, Wemblwy biss forsi jaghtih glieda imma dak stadium nazzjonali.
R. Gauci
Sep 9th 2011, 12:34
Nissuggerixxi lil kullhadd, Juventin u mhux biex jara l-opening ceremony tal-bierah, kienet spettaklu kbir denju ta` kwalunkwe Olimpjadi. L-loghba ta` wara kienet naqra medjokri biz-zewg teams aktar mohhom biex ma jweggawx milli biex jiskorjaw.
Mr Aaron Sammut
Sep 9th 2011, 14:43
Habib, jekk il-Juventus Arena hu l-isbah Stadium fid-dinja, mela zgur ma tghix fl-istess dinja li nghix fiha jien. Il-Juve Arena sewa 105 miljun Euro. B'dawk il-flus taghmel stadium medjokri. Ifhem ghal pajjiz bhall-Italja ghandek ragun issejahlu state of the art.
Wembley sewa 990 miljun Euro, Emirates sewa 460 miljun Euro. Jekk il-Juventus Arena impressjonak daqshekk, nissugerilek taghmel check up ta' qalbek qabel tmur Wembley.
Gol-Gran Brittanja biss, il-Juventus Arena jigi fit-18 -il post bhala kwalita' ta' Stadium wara:
Wembley - London
Twickenham - London
Emirates - London
Olympic Stadium (new)- London
Stamford Bridge - London
White Heart Lane - London
St.James' Park - Newcastle
Old Trafford - Manchester
City of Manchester - Manchester
Anfield - Liverpool
Goodison Park - Liverpool
Villa Park - Birmingham
Elland Road - Leeds
Millenium Stadium - Cardiff
Murrayfield - Edinburgh
Celtic Park - Glasgow
Ibrox - Glasgow
Hampden Park - Glasgow
Stadium of Light Sunderland jesa 55,000 imma bhala kwalita huwa inferjuri ghall-Juve Arena allura 18th Place huwa adewkwat.
Issa fl-ahhar it-Taljani taghllmu jibnu stadium stil Ingliz u jiswa erbgha centezmi u se jghidu li l-ahjar fid-dinja. Din ic-cajta mur ghidha lil xi hadd li qatt ma hareg mid-dar.......habib!!
Mr Mark Demicoli
Sep 9th 2011, 15:49
Mr. Sammut, fuq il fatt li Juventus STADIUM (u mux arena) mhux l-isbah ground fid-dinja naqbel mieghek perfettament. Nou camp is magestic, wembley the same, old trafford fantastic for it's story, emirates and Etihad Stadium amazing, I've visited the Allianz Arena, another state of the art.
On one thing I don't agree with you......that the highest cost justifies the best ground, i'm sorry it's not true. The allianz cost around 350million and it has no reason to envy the emirates stadium. Cost does not classify the best stadium. The juventus stadium is the same a piece of art and a state of the art stadium, especially compared to the rest of the italian stadiums and even the many of the other european ones, evey stadium has it's special characteristics, and surely the juventus stadium doesn't lack this!
R. Gauci
Sep 10th 2011, 01:46
Aaron kemm jiswa ground jew kemm jesa spettaturi ma jfissirx li jkun isbah, l-istadium Juventin hu uniku fid-Dinja ghax gie mibni kollox bi hsieb, sahansitra dwal li huma apposta ghal 3D transmissions, kollox bl-ambjent in mind u ddisinjat mill-aqwa artisti Taljani sal-vitien tas-sinkijiet, ezatt bhal wirja tal-bierah. Naf li fl-Ingilterra hemm stadiums sbieh u moderni imma bl-eccezjoni ta` Wembley difficli hafna li huma isbah minnu. Issa naf li tmur is-Sawdi u ssib stadium bit-toilets tad-deheb imma dan iservu biss biex jghollu l-valur. U l-valur ta` dan il-ground hu baxx ghax il-kunsill ta` Turin ghadda l-art lil Juve kwazi bix-xejn, ma nefqux xi 100 miljun biex xtrawha. Bhall-Emirates bilfors jigi jiswa hekk, taf daqsi l-art fic-centru ta` Londra kemm tiswa, hemmekk flat jaf jiswik anke 10 miljuni ahseb w'ara stadium.
Michelle Pirotta
Sep 9th 2011, 11:12
Congratulations to 'glorious' Juventus, 27, er 29, Scudetto winners, for holding THIRD-Division Side Notts County, at Home, to a draw.
Ok ok, issa tghidu li kienet 'just friendly'. But as you know, a stadium opener is never just a friendly.
Mr M Mamo
Sep 9th 2011, 12:22
lol so 10 subs, including the 3 goalkeepers and half the primavera was not a friendly?
M Borg
Sep 9th 2011, 14:27
Hahahaha!! You really know how to joke. Yes they drew with Notts County in the friendly and they also beat Man. Utd in a friendly. But I think for you the one with Man. Utd was a useless friendly but yesterday's was a real game. Hahahahah very nice!!!
Mr Aaron Sammut
Sep 9th 2011, 14:46
It was no surprise.... good THIRD-Division clubs in England can survive in Italy's Serie A. The level in the English Leagues is much higher.
Mr Mark Demicoli
Sep 9th 2011, 15:45
Well said M.Borg, friendlies meta jaqblilhom u loghba veru meta jaqblilhom ukoll. Michelle int jidirlek li il-players tal juve ha jirriskjaw jweggaw meta qed jilghabu friendly jumejn qabel jibda il-league? Mela qed niggennu jew.
Michelle Pirotta
Sep 9th 2011, 17:02
tinsix li opening matches jibqghu mnizzla fl-istorja.
ovvja li tal-united importanti wkoll imma 20 sena ohra hadd mhu se jiftakarha. Mentri tal bierah, tibqa mfakkra bhala l-loghba li inawgurat stadium il-gdid.
Mr M Mamo
Sep 9th 2011, 23:36
kemm ghageb ... fiha xi dizunur li fl-openin ma tijm glorjuz bhan-notts - l-eqdem tijm professjonali li jezisti llum- u t-tijm li lill-juve tahhom il-kuluri tant mahbuba tigi draw?
Albert Spiteri
Sep 9th 2011, 10:46
My dear Mr. Aquilina, as you probably know there has always been many different shades of truth. In this calciopoli business there are the Lega truth, the Milan truth, the Inter truth, the Juve truth - all of them swearing by their death, dear and hated ones, that their truth is the true truth. As for me, I think football, all over and wherever, is nothing more than a chimera.
Mr Joseph Aquilina
Sep 9th 2011, 10:10
"La vicenda, nota con il nome di “Calciopoli”, porta profondi mutamenti all’interno del club, ai cui vertici vengono nominati presidente Giovanni Cobolli Gigli e amministratore delegato Jean-Claude Blanc. La Juventus è condannata dalla giustizia sportiva a disputare il campionato di serie B con nove punti di penalizzazione e si vede revocati gli scudetti vinti sul campo negli ultimi due anni."
- www.juventus.com
One can try as much as he wants to change the truth ... but the truth can never be changed!!
Mr James Micallef
Sep 9th 2011, 12:03
Quite true... and the TRUTH, is that the only thing Juve were proven guilty of were ethical irregularities that according to FIGC's own statutes could at most be punished with fines. But the decision to destroy Juve had already been made, so FIGC INVENTED a new rule of the street football type 3 corners = penalty to be able to relegate Juve.
Bottom line, Juve only ever talked with disegnatori, never with referees, and never asked any favours. Milan and Inter talked directly with refs / linesmen, and directly asked for favours. Milan escaped because Meani acted as Galliani's condom (additional layer to prevent 'contagion'), and Inter's phone calls "mysteriously" disappeared - which is the REAL scandal of calciopoli
Mr Joe Micallef
Sep 9th 2011, 12:17
Aquilina Prosit - to those wise words you may add "iz-zejt dejjem jitla f'wicc l'ilma" and brace yourself.
M Borg
Sep 9th 2011, 09:46
The guy who wrote this article wants to forget the number of scudetti won by Juventus. So let's remind him how much. Scudetti won by Juventus are 29. Those won on the pitch are the ones that count. Those won on tables are ridiculous!!!!
Mr Steve Cassar
Sep 9th 2011, 11:02
ovvjament ridikoli ghalikom ... ghax tisthu mil-passat taghkom u tibqaw tghidu li intom l-angli li qatt ma ghamiltu xejn hazin!
ISTHU!!! Gbajtu iddahku nies bil-president taghkom!
Chris Fenech
Sep 9th 2011, 09:26
"On the pitch there were far fewer sparks as the most decorated side in Italy -- they have 27 scudetto crowns" - someone obviously didn't see Andrea Agnelli's speech ... "i nostri scudetto sono VENTINOVE - e vinti sul campo" .... like the 29 scudetti placed right opposite the entrance of the "away" dressing rooms ... lest you all forget :-)