Juventus XI Who Were Only Great Elsewhere
Juventus have undoubtedly had some truly great players over the years, with many global icons pulling on the famous black-and-white shirts in almost every era.
Names such as John Charles, Michel Platini and Alessandro Del Piero represent the proud history of La Madama, winning countless titles during their respective tenures.
Yet some legendary names failed to perform with the Turin giants, never living up to the reputations they had previously earned or going on to great success after being discarded hastily by Juventus.
What follows is a look at a team of such stars, selected in a 4-3-1-2 formation, who were only truly great for other clubs.
Goalkeeper: Edwin Van Der Sar
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Edwin Van der Sar will be remembered as a commanding goalkeeper who won the European Cup with both Ajax and Manchester United.
Those titles came in 1995 and 2008 respectively, hinting at a player who enjoyed a lengthy career and sustained success, but in between them the Dutchman had a poor two-year stint with Juventus.
Joining in 1999, he became the club’s first foreign goalkeeper, but would make a string of high-profile mistakes which contributed to Juventus finishing as Serie A runners up two years running.
The Bianconeri sold Van der Sar to Fulham, replacing him with Gigi Buffon and ensuring he is one player they did not regret giving up on.
Right-Back: Zoran Mirkovic
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Zoran Mirkovic might not be a name familiar to many, but he was an excellent player both before and after his spell with Juventus.
His career began with Partizan, winning two league titles and the Yugoslav Cup before a brief stint at Atalanta convinced Marcello Lippi to bring him to Turin.
Making 27 appearances in two seasons, Mirkovic would move on once again, winning yet another league title with Turkish giants Fenerbahce before returning to his homeland where he won a third title with Partizan.
Central Defence: Jorge Andrade
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Jorge Andrade joined Juventus from Deportivo La Coruna back in 2007, costing the club a fee of around €10 million.
Impressing in Spain—just as he had with Porto and Portugal—he was expected to shore up the Bianconeri defence after their return to Serie A.
Unfortunately, after just five appearances, he broke his kneecap and was ruled out for the remainder of the season, working his way back to fitness only to suffer a relapse ahead of the following campaign.
He was released on a free transfer and failed to play for anyone else, never living up to the promise he had shown before joining Juventus.
Central Defence: Jean-Alain Boumsong
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No part of the Juventus team was affected as much by the Calciopoli scandal as their defence, losing Gianluca Zambrotta, Fabio Cannavaro and Lilian Thuram in a single summer.
Jean-Alain Boumsong arrived as that trio departed, but struggled to convince anyone in Turin as to why he had been signed.
He had performed admirably for Auxerre and Rangers before struggling at Newcastle, and after leaving Juventus, Boumsong won the Ligue 1 title after returning to France with Lyon.
Left-Back: Fabio Grosso
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Now the Juventus youth team coach, Fabio Grosso’s playing career ended with the Bianconeri, his time there never living up to the incredible highs he enjoyed elsewhere.
Of course, he will be forever associated with Italy’s 2006 World Cup win, netting the winning penalty in the final that delivered the trophy for the Azzurri.
Before that he had impressed with Perugia and Palermo, earning a move to Lyon where he won three more trophies.
Eventually moving to Turin in 2009, he struggled for both form and fitness, joining the club at one of the most-difficult spells in their history.
Midfield: Sunday Oliseh
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An excellent defensive midfielder throughout his career, Sunday Oliseh managed just eight appearances for Juventus in the 1999-2000 season.
During spells with Ajax, Borussia Dortmund and the Nigerian national team, he won the Eredivisie and Bundesliga titles as well as the 1994 African Cup of Nations and an Olympic Gold Medal in 1996.
Midfield: Patrick Vieira
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Juventus director Luciano Moggi spent years chasing Patrick Vieira, eventually landing him in the summer of 2005.
The Frenchman appeared nowhere near his Arsenal best, however, with Cesc Fabregas delighting at being able to get the better of him when the two clubs faced off in the Champions League.
His incredible resume elsewhere needs no explanation, but the Vieira who had been so imperious elsewhere was rarely on show with the Bianconeri.
Midfield: Simone Perrotta
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Arguably not the most famous name on this list, Simone Perrotta began in the youth sector of Reggina before moving to Juventus in 1998.
However, he failed to create space for himself behind Antonio Conte, Didier Deschamps, and Zinedine Zidane, making just 15 appearances for the Bianconeri.
Sold as part of the deal that brought Gianluca Zambrotta to Turin, Perrotta would win trophies with AS Roma and the 2006 World Cup with the Italian national team.
Attacking Midfield: Michael Laudrup
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While there is no denying Michael Laudrup was a phenomenal player, he certainly never showed that on a consistent basis at Juventus.
Tasked with the impossible job of replacing Michel Platini—who had won every conceivable accolade during his tenure with the Bianconeri—the Danish star was destined to fall short.
Before that he suffered with terrible injuries, but in the campaign where Platini vacated the No. 10 role, Laudrup failed to score a single league goal.
He moved on to enjoy incredible success in Spain, but his time in Italy will always be seen as unfulfilled promise and the thoughts of what might have been.
Striker: Marcelo Salas
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The summer of 2001 was huge for Juventus, selling Zinedine Zidane to Real Madrid for a world record fee. The funds from that move—and the sale of Filippo Inzaghi to Milan—allowed the Bianconeri to completely overhaul the team and provide coach Marcello Lippi with a raft of new players.
Pavel Nedved, Gigi Buffon and Lilian Thuram thrived in Turin, but the same cannot be said of Marcelo Salas. The powerful striker had built a huge reputation with Lazio and the Chilean national team, but never settled at Juventus, struggling with injuries and netting just four goals in 26 appearances
However, what makes matters worse for Juventus is that Salas cost the club the chance to sign Cristiano Ronaldo, refusing to move to Portugal in exchange for the future Ballon d’Or winner.
Former Juventus director Luciano Moggi told Sphera Sports (h/t Goal.com): "We had everything signed with Sporting Lisbon. We had agreed a swap deal with Cristiano in exchange for Marcelo Salas, who accepted the move, then went to Portugal for talks, but eventually backed out of the deal and chose to go to Argentina with River Plate instead."
Striker: Thierry Henry
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Having impressed with AS Monaco, Thierry Henry joined Juventus for a fee of £10.5 million in 1998.
Deployed on the wing, he never impressed and would move on after just one season in which he netted three goals in 19 appearances before being sold to Arsenal for £11 million.
“I didn't think I could play Henry in the middle," then coach Carlo Ancelotti said, per Philippe Auclair's book Thierry Henry: Lonely at the Top. "He never told me he could.” After his subsequent success at Arsenal, that must be among the biggest regrets for Juventus.
Alen Boksic was another in consideration here, netting just three league goals as the Croatian struggled to replace Gianluca Vialli and Fabrizio Ravanelli who departed in the summer of 1996.
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