Juventus' best ever XI ... The team in full 🦓 | OneFootball

With the football on hold at the moment, we’ve been thinking about who gets in Juventus’ all-time XI.

We are now proud to reveal the team in full …

Goalkeeper – Gianluigi Buffon

Was it ever really going to be anyone else? There is hardly a goalkeeping record related to Juventus or even Serie A that he doesn’t hold.

That aforementioned longest league streak without conceding a goal? His. Joint-most Serie A appearances and most Italy caps? Him. Most clean sheets in a single season? That was Buffon too and he managed a record 21 on two separate occasions.

The list goes on and on as honour after honour continues to come his way as he extends his career and defies nature and belief.

Buffon is even back at the club after a brief departure for Paris Saint-Germain but deserves great credit for refusing to jump ship when they were demoted to Serie B.

You think of Juventus, you think of Buffon.

Right-back – Lilian Thuram

Another of those incredible Juventus defenders of the noughties who was so talented in a variety of positions that even he slotted in at centre-back when required (particularly under Fabio Capello).

But the Frenchman was best when utilised in his role at right-back, combining power and pace with excellent use of the ball and an almost unmatched versatility.

Thuram has blotted his copybook somewhat with the Juventus faithful as his eagerness to depart after Calciopoli and insist the club deserved every punishment meted out to them means he is now persona non grata somewhat in Turin.

If you are talking solely about the defender in a footballing sense, though, there are few better.

Left-back – Antonio Cabrini

It was never going to be anyone else other that the man who starred for the golden era Old Lady outfit of the ’80s and did it with a style and swagger for a defender that was ahead of his time.

His defensive quality was never in doubt, be it in a three or four-man backline, but it was as a devastating, overlapping presence on the wing that he made his name.

The crossing ability with his left foot was up there with the best of them and he had a keen eye for goal too, ending up with an impressive 33 strikes in his 297 games for Juventus.

He ended his career in Turin having won every single honour available to him! An all-time great.

Centre-back – Gaetano Scirea

This should be no surprise to anyone. Scirea was quite simply the greatest defender ever to play for Juventus, perfecting the now outdated libero role.

He was an artist at the back and the field his canvas, one of those players who made the unglamorous act of defending a joy to watch – no mean feat.

Scirea was known as a gentleman off the pitch but that attitude extended to his attitude in action too, the elegant Italian was never sent off his career and averaged considerably less than a yellow card for every two seasons he played!

Such is his influence over the club even to this day, over 30 years after his tragic death in a car crash while scouting for the club, the Curva Sud at the Allianz Stadium bears his name.

Centre-back – Claudio Gentile

It is something of a chalk and cheese partnership at the heart of this dream Juve defence as there is no better foil for the elegance of Scirea than one of football’s great hard men, Gentile.

His name may sound like gentle but the Italian international was far from it, with his ruthless, aggressive and uncompromising style of defending – all of which was incredibly effective in nullifying opposition attacks.

Also capable of playing at full-back when required, there was perhaps no greater man-marker in the history of the club, sometimes his intimidating reputation alone enough to keep attackers in check.

He won multiple domestic and continental honours across his 11-years in Turin and for anyone who wondered if he felt the perception of him was a little harsh, the man himself had this to say …

“Football is not for ballerinas!”

Midfield – Michel Platini

Not only one of the greatest players in Juventus history, Platini is one of the best every to pull on a pair of boots.

The Frenchman had magic in his boots and was at times an unplayable presence at the peak of his powers with the Bianconeri in the 1980s.

“Michel could play with his eyes shut,” international team-mate Alain Giresse said of him. “I’ve never seen a player with such vision. He had panoramic vision.”

Nicknamed ‘The King’, it was a moniker well-earned. He won it all with Juve, including scoring the winner in their first European Cup triumph, and was a three-time Serie A top scorer and Ballon d’Or winner.

Midfield – Roberto Baggio

‘The Divine Ponytail’ is one of, it not the, most naturally gifted and greatest technical players Italy ever produced who gave perhaps the best years of his career to Juventus.

He moved to Turin in controversial fashion from Fiorentina in 1990 and stayed for five years, oozing class and quality with every evaded tackle or pinpoint strike beyond a goalkeeper’s grasp.

The word genius can often be thrown around when describing players but if you are familiar with Baggio’s work at the Stadio delle Alpi, you’ll be aware it is no exaggeration.

In total during his period with the Old Lady, he played 200 games and scored 115 goals in all competitions, winning a sole Scudetto, Coppa Italia and Uefa Cup along with the 1993 Ballon d’Or.

Midfield – Zinedine Zidane

A man who was worth the price on the ticket alone, there are few who brought greater joy to the public with their dazzling talents than Zidane.

He ended up at Juve on a recommendation from fellow French club legend Michel Platini and it proved to be a very wise move as he established himself as a fan favourite quickly in Turin.

When the likes of Platini, Pele and Johan Cruyff all wax lyrical about your skills with a ball at your feet, then it is clear we are talking about a very rare talent indeed.

At Juventus, he was a Ballon d’Or winner in addition to so many other deserved individual awards and it took a world record fee to finally prise him away from Italian football.

Forward – Giampiero Boniperti

One of the most important figures in Juventus history – Boniperti was a star player, board member, president and honorary president at the club that he loves.

But it was as a devastating striker that he did his best work and was Juventus’ all-time top scorer for almost 40 years before he was eventually knocked off his pedestal.

He is famed for a simple quote that sums up both his attitude and what it takes to be a success at Juve: “Winning is not important,” he said. “It is the only thing that matters.”

In total, Boniperti scored 179 goals across all competitions for the Old Lady, helping his side to five league titles and two Coppa Italia triumphs in his 15 years at the club.

Forward – David Trezeguet

There aren’t many strikers, even at the highest level for a club like Juventus, who have that envy-inducing ability to be gifted the ball in the box and you know before they have pulled the trigger where it will end up.

Juve’s French forward was one such player though, simply deadly when he found himself a yard of space to shoot and whether it was right the right foot, left foot or head, Trezeguet was ruthless.

His partnership with Alessandro Del Piero was the stuff of dreams and remains the most prolific attacking duo in the club’s history.

Trezeguet certainly played his part in that, ending his time in Turin with 171 goals in 320 appearances in all competitions.

Forward – Alessandro Del Piero

Mr Juventus. Ask any football fan which player comes to mind when they think of the Old Lady and chances are the majority will respond with the man who has found the net more times for the club than anyone else.

He was also one of the best players Italy ever produced, proving himself not just a great goalscorer but a scorer of great goals too, pulling off some outrageous volleys and fantastic free-kicks.

Already a legend, his iconic status was assured in 2006 when he was one of the first to commit his future to Juve upon their Serie B demotion but it was never in doubt that he’d refuse to abandon the club he loves.

His list of achievements is much too long to list, winding up with 290 goals, winning multiple Serie A titles, the Champions League and endless individual honours.