History of Juventus F.C. - Pre-World War I

Pre-World War I

By the start of the 20th century, Juventus had built up a strong squad, but soon after securing their first championship, president Alfredo Dick left the club after a large argument, taking with him several prominent players. Some of the staff at Juventus were considering moving the club out of Turin, so Dick left to form Foot-Ball Club Torino, also taking with him the lease for Velodromo Umberto I. The first ever Turin derby between the two clubs was played the next season on 13 January 1907 and has been an intense rivalry ever since. In 1911 they reached the final of the Sir Thomas Lipton Trophy but were beaten 6-1 by previous champions, lowly West Auckland FC from County Durham, England.

From this period until the First World War, Italian football was dominated largely by other clubs, such as fellow Piedmont clubs Pro Vercelli and Casale. The Juventus squad was steadily re-built after the war under the presidency of Corradino Corradini, and several players were called up to the Italian national team for the first time. Around this period goalkeeper Giampiero Combi debuted, he would go on to become a club hero.