The rise of Juventus from the ignominy of getting relegated to the second division after being crowned champions is one for the history books. The Serie A giants took their time to establish themselves in the league on their return as Inter and Milan made merry in their absence and subsequent struggles.
However, the Old Lady went about reforming the club, got their very own stadium – a unique achievement among Italy’s top clubs, and signed the right players to take the club back to the top. Five consecutive league titles (with a sixth on the way) is a testament to their progress as the Milanese clubs crumbled.
Though they have spent a considerable amount of money on player transfers, there have been some gems that came for absolutely nothing. We look at five such players that came to Turin on free transfers.
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1) Andrea Pirlo
If you could sum up the 2011/12 Serie A season in one sentence, it would be AC Milan releasing Andrea Pirlo. Arguably the biggest mistake made by the club in recent years, Pirlo moved to Juventus and established himself as one of the greatest deep-lying midfielders of the modern era and introduced the rest of the world to the role of the regista.
“When Andrea told me that he was joining us, the first thing I thought was: ‘God exists’. A player of his level and ability, not to mention that he was free, I think it was the signing of the century!” – Gianluigi Buffon
Buffon was right. With Claudio Marchisio and Arturo Vidal playing alongside him and even protecting him, Pirlo was liberated and he became the pass-master of Serie A in his debut season with Juve; completing more passes than any other player, creating more than 100 chances, grabbing the most assists, and also becoming a potent threat on set-pieces.
Pirlo would help Juve win four consecutive league title and his performances also saw him voted into the Serie A Team of the Year in all four seasons. To rub more salt into Milan’s wounds, Pirlo also won three consecutive Serie A Player of the Year awards between 2012 and 2014.
2) Paul Pogba
Manchester United were not a club that made many mistakes under Sir Alex Ferguson but allowing Paul Pogba to go for free turned out to be a very costly error – one that cost them £89.6m to rectify.
To be fair to the veteran Scottish manager, it was Pogba’s agent that Mino Raiola that made his blood boil. In his own book, Ferguson said he and Raiola were like “oil and water” and his first meeting with Pogba’s agent saw him lose his temper when Pogba’s contract renewal was up for discussion.
Ultimately, Ferguson had the last say and did not agree to pay high wages for a teenager. Pogba was advised not to sign the contract and he was punished by Ferguson. The French midfielder’s mother even spoke about how Pogba cried in Ferguson’s office over the way he was being treated.
Juventus stepped in and signed Pogba on what was effectively a free transfer. But since he was a youngster and had spent a considerable amount of time at the United Academy, they had to pay a compensation fee set by a tribunal which amounted to less than £1m.
Four years later, Pogba returned to Old Trafford after winning the Serie A title four times and making an appearance in the Serie A Team of the Year three years in a row. What endeared him to Juve fans was also the fact that he wore the no.10 shirt previously worn by club legends such as Michel Platini, Roberto Baggio and Alessandro Del Piero.
3) Dani Alves
Juventus always get that one signing right in the transfer window and although they paid a record fee of £75.3m to trigger Gonzalo Higuain’s release clause at Napoli, the Serie A’s top goalscorer in the 2015/16 season was not their best signing of the summer.
In fact, it was the arrival of Dani Alves from Barcelona. The 33-year-old Brazilian, considered one of the greatest right-backs in recent years, had won 23 trophies with the Catalan club and the higher-ups at the Camp Nou had decided his services were no longer required. How wrong they proved to be.
While Juve recognised what they were getting when they realised he was available for free, Barcelona have suffered this season and the lack of a top quality attacking right-back has been one of their biggest weaknesses. In contrast, Alves has been one of Juve’s key players on the right and has played both as a right-back and a wing-back depending on the formation Max Allegri employed in various games this season.
A defining image of the season shows Alves consoling an inconsolable Neymar as Juventus knocked Barcelona out of the Champions League. The Italian club had managed to accomplish a rare feat – keep two clean sheets against Barcelona – and Alves had played a key role in both games.
Even in the semi-finals, it was his two assists for Higuain that saw Juventus score two away goals against Monaco, setting them up to qualify for yet another final. With a two-year deal in place and an option of a third year, Alves could well finish his career in Europe with the Turin club.
4) Fabio Cannavaro
In truth, Fabio Cannavaro cost €10m to sign from Inter but he was signed as part of a player-swap deal that involved reserve goalkeeper Fabian Carini. Technically, Inter signed Carini also for the same price, effectively making both players free transfers. But he did come for free when he joined the club a second time in 2009.
In 2002, Cannavaro was one of Inter’s major signings in the quest to rebuild the club and compete with the Italian giants again. However, the Nerazzurri failed to achieve anything of note and constantly finished second-best to their more illustrious rivals time and again.
When Juventus signed him, he teamed up with former Parma teammate Lilian Thuram in central defence and he had the ever-reliable Gianluigi Buffon behind him to form a formidable defensive wall that saw Juve win two consecutive Serie A titles.
He won the Serie A Defender of the Year award in the two seasons he was with Juve and he also captained Italy to a World Cup triumph in 2006. However, his time at Juve came to an end when the famous Calciopoli scandal relegated the club to Serie B. With no interest in playing in the second division, he moved to Real Madrid – an act that was never forgiven.
Though he initially had a successful career at the Bernabeu, winning two La Liga titles, he had started to decline. At the end of his contract, it was announced that he was moving back to Juventus. But by then he was way past his best and the only memory fans have of him in a Juve shirt that season was the sending off against Fulham that saw his side collapse after being reduced to 10 men.
He never played in Europe again and retired a year later.
5) Sami Khedira
Juventus’ success over the past few years have mostly been credited to their defensive wall of Buffon and their very own BBC (Barzagli, Bonucci and Chiellini). However, their midfield must also get their due – especially because all the midfield personnel were replaced without any hiccups.
The Turin club’s midfield once had the likes of Pirlo, Vidal and Pogba. All three were replaced and players such as Miralem Pjanic, Sami Khedira and the ever-present Claudio Marchisio have stepped into their shoes and elevated the club. Much of the credit must go to Allegri for ensuring that the core of the team remained intact despite the numerous changes.
Khedira was finding games hard to come by at the Bernabeu and the club eventually allowed him to leave on a free transfer in 2015. The 2014 World Cup winner was only 28 when he joined and had a few more years at the top.
Linking the attack and defence while also making off-the-ball runs made Khedira a vital component of Juve’s midfield and it has helped them mount a serious challenge for the treble this season. Having clocked more than 3000 minutes in all competitions, the German midfielder seems to have put his injury concerns behind him.
