History of Juventus F.C. - The Trapattoni Era

The Trapattoni Era

Although Juventus were successful in Italy, European success eluded them until they won the UEFA Cup 1976-77. This was achieved against Spanish opposition in the form of Athletic Bilbao with goals from Marco Tardelli and Bettega. The UEFA Cup was won under the management of Giovanni Trapattoni, who continued on with Juventus through the 1980s, breaking club longevity records.

Under Trapattoni, Juventus dominated the early part of the 1980s in Serie A, the club won the league in 1980-81, 1981–82 and 1983-84. The second title of which allowed the club to add another golden star above their badge (the only Italian club to achieve this), marking 20 scudetto titles. The club's players were also achieving a lot of notability in the wider scheme of football, Paolo Rossi who had led Italy to victory in the 1982 FIFA World Cup was awarded the European Footballer of the Year in 1982. Juve's French midfielder, Michel Platini was awarded the same title for three years in a row; 1983, 1984 and 1985, a record. Juventus is the only club to have players from their club winning the award in four consecutive years. Juventus again reached the European Cup Final in 1983, but lost against Hamburger SV.

The height of European success was not reached until the mid-1980s, when Juventus won the 1985 European Cup by beating Liverpool 1-0, with a penalty scored by Platini. However, the final match was marred by a tragedy which would change European football; the Heysel Stadium disaster, in which 39 people (mostly Juventus fans) were killed by the stadium collapsing, it has been named "the darkest hour in the history of the UEFA competitions."

With the exception of winning the closely contested Italian Championship of 1985-86 over Roma and Napoli, the rest of the 1980s were not very successful for the club. As well as having to content with Diego Maradona's Napoli, both of the Milanese clubs Milan and Inter were picking up Italian championships. In 1990, Juventus moved into their new home; Stadio delle Alpi, this was built for the 1990 World Cup and also because Juventus' old ground which they shared with Torino, Stadio Comunale had been reduced in size.