Juventus enjoyed a glorious period in the 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s, which came to be known as the Legendary Cycle between 1972 and 1986. It all began in the 1970s when a new president arrived to revolutionise the club. This was Giampiero Boniperti, a former player for the Turin club and its all-time leading scorer, who made key signings that strengthened the team and led it into a period of splendour.

The key signing and figurehead of this era was Giovanni Trapattoni, a former player for AC Milan for thirteen years, where he played as a defensive midfielder and then as coach. He arrived in Turin in 1976 to make history and remained in two separate spells as coach of the Vecchia Signora, between 1976 and 1986, then returned to manage the team between 1991 and 1994. Here is the story of those masterful years. 

Paolo Rossi and Giovanni Trapattoni - Juventus in the 80s

But first, let's take a moment to look at the footballing style employed by Giovanni Trapattoni, who was a key figure during that period. His tactic was to lock the team down in defence with a conservative catenaccio style, which he had learned from Nereo Rocco at Milan and Helenio Herrera. For Trapattoni, it wasn't important to win by the smallest of margins, as long as the match was won. At Juventus, he developed a pragmatic style of football with which he dominated Italian football with unprecedented consistency, working on a clear identity: a pragmatic, competitive Juventus born to win. He created a team that was very strong in defence and very intelligent from a tactical point of view. His football did not need to shine all the time: he knew how to wait, suffer and strike at the right moment.

1976–77 AND 1977–78 SEASONS: UEFA CUP AND TWO CONSECUTIVE CHAMPIONSHIPS

The beginning of the Trapattoni era could not have started better. In the same season he took charge of the team, he won the UEFA Cup in the 1976-77 campaign, in a final against Athletic Bilbao, thus sealing the first major official European trophy for Juventus in its history. His tactics quickly bore fruit, as the team also won the Serie A championship in 1976-77, a success they repeated in the following season, 1977-78. 

Juventus wins UEFA CUP in  1977 vs Athletic Bilbao

The team also ended the 1970s by winning the Coppa Italia in the final against Palermo, after Juventus had gone fourteen seasons without winning this competition.

At the end of the 1970s, the team included some real stars who brought great joy to the fans: Claudio Gentile and Antonio Cabrini, together with Gaetano Scirea, were the brains behind the defence, with the great Dino Zoff guarding the goal. Marco Tardelli and Romeo Benetti ruled the midfield, and the two Robertos, Roberto Bettega and Roberto Boninsegna, were the offensive leaders. 

THE 1980s BEGAN WITH TWO CONSECUTIVE SERIE A TITLES

In the 1980s, the Vecchia Signora won two consecutive Italian league titles in the 1980–81 and 1981–82 seasons, earning the club its second gold star. We remind you that in Serie A, a star is awarded when a team wins 10 championships. 

This was the era when Juventus supplied players to the Italian national team that won the 1982 World Cup in Spain and also to Paolo Rossi, winner of the Ballon d'Or.

It was also the period when Irish midfielder Liam Brady, ‘Chippy’, who had joined Juventus from Arsenal in London and had been voted the best player in the English league in 1979, joined the team. However, his time at the club was short-lived, as a Frenchman was about to arrive who would make his mark on the team. And so, despite Brady's bravery in scoring the goal that gave the Bianconeri the championship title, President Boniperti let the Irishman go and welcomed Michel Platini with open arms.

JUVENTUS IN THE 1982-83 SEASON - EUROPEAN CUP FINAL 

In the 1982-83 season, the club reached the European Cup final, but Hamburg SV prevented them from winning the title thanks to a goal in the 8th minute by Felix Magath and a very close and bitter final for Juventus, which ended 1-0.

It did not help that the Old Lady had the tournament's top scorers in their ranks: Paolo Rossi and Michel Platini—who would win his first Ballon d'Or, and, we remind you, three consecutive ones in 1983, 1984 and 1985—nor that the defence was led by experienced captain Gaetano Scirea, one of the best defenders in Italian history, accompanied by Claudio Gentile, Sergio Brio and Antonio Cabrini. They also finished second in the Serie A table behind AS Roma.

The Coppa Italia, won 3-0 in the final against Verona, somewhat made up for a frustrating campaign. . 

1983-84 SEASON - EUROPEAN CUP WINNERS' CUP AND SCUDETTO

In the following season, 1983-84, Michel Platini, Serie A top scorer with 20 goals, the great Polish striker Zbigniew Boniek, Gaetano Scirea back in defence alongside Antonio Cabrini, and the rest of their teammates formed a compact, dominant, solid and very consistent team that won the 21st Scudetto. They also won their second major international tournament, the European Cup Winners' Cup, thanks to a 2-1 victory over Porto in the final with goals from Beniamino Vignola and Zbigniew Boniek. 

Juventus captain Gaetano Scirea - 1984 European Cup Winners' Cup

It was a preview of what was to come the following season, but it confirmed Juventus as a European football power.

Platini would go on to win his second Ballon d'Or in 1984 thanks to his performances for Juventus, but also to the French national team's victory in the 1984 European Championship, in which he scored no fewer than nine goals. 

It was also the season in which Dino Zoff, the Old Lady's goalkeeper for the previous eleven seasons, retired from football and Stefano Tocconi, an experienced goalkeeper who shone at Juventus during his nine seasons at the club, arrived as the starting goalkeeper. 

Here is a link to the shirt from that season, the famous Juventus 1983-84 away shirt the historic yellow jersey worn by the players in the European Cup Winners' Cup final when they beat Porto. 

JUVENTUS' DREAM SEASON 1984-85 - INTERNATIONAL TRIPLET

The 1984-85 season saw one of the best Juventus teams in history. The team combined offensive talent with a very solid defence, led by Scirea, which allowed them to play with order, tactical intelligence and a great ability to control the pace of the game. 

The team won the European Cup against none other than Liverpool. Giovanni Trapattoni achieved the dream that all the tifosi fans had been hoping for and cherishing for so long. Juventus advanced with authority in the European Cup, eliminating rivals and showing their experience.

It is impossible to talk about this season without remembering the tragedy at Heysel Stadium, when 39 Juventus fans lost their lives. What happened in the stands forever marked the history of European football. Perhaps the most terrible thing today is to think that, despite the chaos and tragedy, the match was played. 

Platini scored the only goal, from a penalty, and Juve won their first European Cup. Among the top scorers in the competition were once again Platini (7 goals), Paolo Rossi (5 goals) and Massimo Briaschi (3 goals).

Platini penalty goal-  1985  European Cup final vs Liverpool

The victory was historic, but it was subdued and solemn. That night changed the way we understand safety in football. The season was remembered as a mixture of sporting glory and human pain.

In addition, earlier that season, the team won the European Super Cup, beating Liverpool in a single match in January 1985 in Turin. To add another victory, the team won the Intercontinental Cup by defeating Argentinos Juniors. 

That year marked a milestone in European football, as the team managed to win the three main European competitions of those years. It is often thought that, had they won Serie A, the campaign would have culminated in something unimaginable; however, Juve finished sixth in the standings and the title went to Verona. 

Giovanii Trapattoni and Michel Platini - Juventus in the 80s

Here is the link to the shirt from that period, when Juventus won its first European Cup,  the famous Juventus 1984-85 Ariston shirt

LAST FIVE YEARS OF THE 1980s

After that brilliant season, Trapattoni won Serie A again in the 1985–86 season with a revamped squad that included Michael Laudrup, Aldo Serena and Massimo Mauro. At the end of 1986, Trapattoni left Juventus, only to return between 1991 and 1994. The coach himself commented that after ten years and such an exceptional track record, it was time for a change. And so he left for Juventus' direct rival, Inter Milan.

The 1980s ended with another impressive campaign in 1989–90, when striker Salvatore Schillaci joined the team. The Bianconeri won the 1989–90 Coppa Italia and the UEFA Cup. To do so, they had to eliminate Paris Saint-Germain, Chemnitzer Fußballclub e.V (formerly FC Karl-Marx-Stadt) from East Germany, Hamburg and Cologne. However, after eliminating three German teams, the final was an all-Italian affair against Fiorentina. 

The coach during those two seasons was none other than an old acquaintance of the Turin fans: their legendary goalkeeper Dino Zoff. However, at the end of that successful campaign, despite Zoff's Juventus winning two major titles, the new board wanted to make the team's football more spectacular and changed the coach for Luigi Maifredi.

THE EARLY 1990s - TRAPATTONI RETURNS !

The 1990s began with a move to the Stadio delle Alpi. This stadium was built to host the 1990 World Cup and was the team's home ground between 1990 and 2006. Being large in size, with an athletics track, visibility was not good and after 16 years the club decided to demolish it and build the recent Juventus Stadium. 

In the 1990s, new players such as Roberto Baggio and Thomas Hässler joined the club. However, results were poor and coach Luigi Maifredi was replaced by Giovanni Trapattoni, who returned to the club in 1991-92 with the aim of adding new titles to the club's trophy cabinet.

Victories arrived in the 1992–93 season when the team won the UEFA Cup with Luca Vialli and Andreas Möller joining the squad. 

Juventus UEFA Cup 1993

However, Juventus had not managed to win another championship since Trapattoni left in 1986, and at the end of the 1993-94 season, with no results to show for their efforts, club officials replaced the coach with the idea of playing a more attacking and attractive style of football. Club officials wanted the team to play more attacking football and maximise performance results. There was no turning back, and the Trapattoni era ended in 1994.

Here is the link to the highly prized 1992-93 Danone Juventus shirt with which Juventus won the UEFA Cup in the 1992-93 season

In 1994, Marcello Lippi took over as manager and led the team to another Scudetto in 1995, but we will save that story for another article. 

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The Giovanni Trapattoni Juventus era reflects a period in which he turned the Turin club into a dominant force in Italy and Europe. Under his leadership, the team won national titles and all the major European competitions. It was a period in which the club's winning identity left an indelible mark on its history.