Remembering Juventus’ 1996 Intercontinental Cup Triumph

Overcoming injuries and poor performances, the current Juventus side can reflect on a superb result against Sevilla a few days ago. The Bianconeri won their Champions League clash 3-0 at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium, snatching back first place in Group H and securing qualification to the round of 16.

Yet this week also marks the 20th anniversary of an event that many of the club’s supporters rightly still cherish—the last time Juventus were truly able to call themselves the best team in the world.

To tell that story, one must first explain the Serie A landscape of the early 1990s. The Old Lady had shaken off a few years of malaise but struggled to compete in a league dominated by the wealth and power Silvio Berlusconi delivered to AC Milan, as well as the magical genius of Diego Maradona’s Napoli.

A REMINDER:Ballon d’Or 19881- Marco Van Basten 129 (AC Milan)2- Ruud Gullit 88 (AC Milan)3- Frank Rijkaard 45 (AC Milan)#DutchTrio pic.twitter.com/lBl8zYMFnu

— footballreminder (@footballremind) November 19, 2016

That Rossoneri team was perhaps the greatest club side of the modern era, drilled by coach Arrigo Sacchi and containing iconic names such as Franco Baresi, Ruud Gullit, Frank Rijkaard and Marco van Basten.

Juve were always heavy underdogs against a team who had not only won back-to-back European Cups but claimed them in emphatic, all-conquering fashion. Slowly, however, the Turin side would emerge from their Milanese shadow, clinching the 1993 UEFA Cup and restoring the self-belief that had always been synonymous with the Old Lady.

Eventually, she would get back on top, overcoming the San Siro giants thanks to a remarkable forward line of Gianluca Vialli, Fabrizio Ravanelli and the 1993 World Player of the Year Roberto Baggio.

Baggio, Ravanelli, Vialli #Juventus pic.twitter.com/wmv75ziXPG

— Footballer’s Pasts (@LegendsOfFutbol) November 3, 2013

The latter was the catalyst for the Turin side supplanting Milan as the dominant force in Italian football, helping them win the 1994/95 Scudetto to finally end a nine-year wait, the longest post-war title drought in the club’s history.

Yet no sooner had Juve stitched the shield on to their shirt, Baggio was sold to Milan and the iconic No. 10 shirt was passed on to his heir apparent, Alessandro Del Piero. Then just 22 years old, the striker had already begun to shine; a remarkable volley against Fiorentina in 1994 was followed by a string of fantastic strikes as the team conquered Europe.

That Champions League triumph was secured 12 months later, Rome’s Stadio …

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