Juventus coaches and players' opinions on Calciopoli
Calciopoli was a match-fixing scandal that took Serie A by storm in the summer of 2006, with several clubs involved and receiving a lot of sanctions. Juventus were the ones affected the most since they were confirmed to have paid referees and pressed them to help them, which resulted in the Italian giants getting their two most recent Serie A titles removed and got relegated to Serie B.This was a major scandal that took over football back in 2006, with several high-profile players, such as Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Fabio Cannavaro, Lilian Thuram, and Patrick Vieira, as well as manager Fabio Capello, leaving as a result. However, several major figures associated with the club at the time have shared their thoughts on the matter, reflecting on the legacy of this event.
Alessandro Del Piero
Speaking to Gazzetta dello Sport in 2017, Alessandro Del Piero, Italian striker and then-captain of Juventus when Calciopoli happened, stated that this event was "like an atomic bomb" that affected not only their club but Italian football as a whole."It was like an atomic bomb: our football broke down," the former Bianconeri said. "I'm not just talking about Juve. After that, the great champions went abroad and the other countries have grown exponentially. The Premier League has exploded thanks to its skill in managing its various brands around the world, as well as the shrewd distribution of its TV rights."
"Real and Barcelona have also moved forward with their respective corporate policies, Germany has completed the route it begun, when it was awarded the 2006 World Cup, and even big foreign investors have arrived in France to transform clubs like PSG and Monaco."
Gianluigi Buffon
Much like Del Piero, Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon was one of the main figures of that Juventus team and, much like his captain, chose to stay with the club in Serie B and carry on with the club despite the scandal. However, Buffon, speaking to Calciomercato in 2024, was quite adamant about how him and his teammates won those league titles on the pitch."I have always concentrated on what the pitch proved. I experienced those campaigns that were the subject of discussion as a protagonist and with my teammates,we were the team to beat," Buffon said. "I still have those medals, I smile when I see them. I know what happened on the pitch and who deserved it and who was the better side."
"For me, it was a humiliation, to be called into question. You can say anything about me, sometimes I do extraordinary things, but some things cannot be up for discussion. Those facts hurt me, I felt humiliated and exploited by a justice system that didn't want to do justice but only to gratuitously smear."
However, he also states that he doesn't regret staying to play in Serie B.
"Serie B was a very special and beautiful experience, one of the reasons that made me make a choice that influenced my career. I was 28 years old, it was the best time for a professional goalkeeper, I did it because I felt it was the right choice and that looking at myself in the mirror I would have respected myself. I understood that Juve needed me, and so it was a pleasure"
Fabio Capello
Capello was Juventus' manager during the 2004-06 period, which is when the club won the two Serie A titles that were taken from them because of Calciopoli. The legendary manager has been quite vocal throughout the years that he doesn't think the titles should have been removed and one of them shouldn't have been given to Inter Milan."It was a joke and clearly unfair to have assigned that Scudetto to Inter. The timing wasn't respected and the rules didn't allow for sporting justice to operate properly. Guido Rossi acted too hastily," he told Radio Anch'io Sport in 2019.
He also said, when speaking to Telegrafi in 2010, that he wouldn't have become England manager without the scandal:
"I would not go to Real, I would not remain unemployed for six months and I would not be free for the English national team. This shows that negative things can be seen as positive."
When celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Agnelli family taking control of the club, he said in 2023 that:
"Juventus won 38 titles, as we dominated together".
©
Pavel Nedved
The legendary Czech and Juventus midfielder Pavel Nedved was part of the club's 2016 anniversary documentary, Juventus Story, which covers the institution's history. When speaking of his time playing with the club in Serie A, despite his status as a Ballon D'Or winner, he felt a lot of pride for that decision to stay."Looking back, I am very happy to have faced this experience, because we have earned respect, not only as footballers but as men," Nedved said. "This was great because we appreciated everything about it, not only our fans, but also the others."
"People pointed out that some of us were World Champions who were playing in the stadiums of Serie B. We were playing for Juve and it did not matter much, when you wear that shirt you go to fight."
The Czech, along with several other players who chose to stay, was considered as one of the club's legends not only because of what they did before and after but also because they decided to stay during a dire circumstance. This is something that made the likes of Del Piero, Buffon, and Nedved so special to the fans.