The Sports Legends

They Create history

Football

Updated on April 17th 2024, 1:18:19 pm

Calciopoli's Scandal: The season that saw Juventus in Serie B

In the wake of the Calciopoli scandal, Juventus was relegated to Serie B for the first time in their history. This article explores the Bianconeri's fall from grace, their struggles in Serie B, and their eventual return to Serie A dominance.

Key Takeaways:


  • Juventus faced a dark period after the Calciopoli scandal, resulting in relegation to Serie B.

  • Despite losing key players, Juventus won Serie B and returned to Serie A.

  • The appointment of Antonio Conte sparked Juventus' resurgence, leading to a decade of dominance.


The last decade in Serie A was an era of domination, as Juventus went on to win the League a staggering 9 times in a row. As the saying goes however, nothing lasts forever. Due to numerous mistakes in terms of transfers and hiring of coaches, the Bianconeri slowly started to struggle in the league and are now in a position where they have to rebuild the squad. Even the reappointment of Max Allegri couldn't get Juventus back to their winning ways. Major work is needed in Turin, and it could take a long time before they come back to their glory days. This is not the first time in the club's history that they have come back from a dark phase, and we will be looking at such a dark period of Juventus. Let us go back to the 2006–07 season of Juventus, which saw the club play in Serie B for the first time in their history.


The 2005–06 season


Juventus had one of the most Influential individuals in Italian football history as their coach at the time in Fabio Capello. After leading them to the League title in the 2004–05 season, Capello was looking to clinch his second consecutive League title with the Bianconeri. He managed to do so as well, as Juventus ended up winning the 2005-06 season of Serie A. Everything seemed to be going right for the club, and the Old Lady was expected to dominate Italian football for the seasons to come. However, all those hopes came to a crashing holt. One of the biggest scandals in Italian football history got exposed, and Juventus went on to suffer the major consequences of it.


The 2006 Italian football scandal


Popularly known as the Calciopoli, the scandal got exposed, as it was revealed a number of telephone tappings showed relations between clubs' executives and referee organizations during the football seasons of 2004–05 and 2005–06, being accused of selecting favorable referees. These had immense implications on the past 2 seasons of Serie A. All of this eventually resulted in Juventus being stripped of their League title win in the 2004-05 season, and Inter Milan replacing them as League champions of the 2005-06 season. To make matters worse, Juventus were relegated to Serie B. It was the first time in the club's history that they were going to play in the second-division of Italian football.


The immense effect it had on Juve


Soon after it was known that the club would be playing in Serie B, a mass exodus followed. Juventus saw some of their best players leave the team, in what was a heartbreaking and helpless moment for the Juve fans. The likes of  Zlatan Ibrahimović, Patrick Vieira, Fabio Cannavaro, Lilian Thuram, and Gianluca Zambrotta had all left the club.

Some of their star players decided to stay due to their loyalty though, which included Gianluigi Buffon, Pavel Nedvěd, David Trezeguet, and Alessandro Del Piero.


2006-07 season in Serie B


Despite being forced to sell several of their star players, the Bianconeri still had some of their best players stay with them and it was only a matter of time before they get back to the Italian top-flight. Juventus was managed by current France coach Didier Deschamps and later by Giancarlo Corradini during their stint in Serie B. The Bianconeri ended up winning the Serie B title, and they were once again going back to Serie A.



The aftermath


Juventus struggled in Serie A for the initial few seasons after getting promoted back. However, the appointment of Antonio Conte in the 2011-12 changed everything for the club.What followed was the Bianconeri turning Serie A into a one-horse race, which saw the club in one of their greatest ever periods of success. Conte's work was continued by Allegri after he left, as Juventus went on to dominate Serie A that entire decade.


Must Read | 1982-85 Juventus: The Trapattoni Era