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Juventus might’ve started the 2010’s with a whimper rather than a bang – they finished seventh in Serie A under coach Luigi Delneri in the 2010/11 season – but the appointment of Antonio Conte and some tactical switches the following season saw something change, and since then The Old Lady have thoroughly dominated Italian football.
Under Conte – and his successor Max Allegri, who took over at the Allianz Stadium in 2014 – Juve have won the Serie A title (Scudetto) in the last eight seasons, and have also reached the UEFA Champions League final on two occasions, coming up short both times.
Over the decade they’ve been home to some genuine greats of the game, and it was actually hard to whittle their team of the 2010’s down to 11 men.
Here, we take a look at the best players to have represented Juventus over the last 10 years and create a team of the decade for the Italian giants.
Defence
Goalkeeper: Gianluigi Buffon
Considered one of the greatest goalkeepers in the history of the sport, Gianluigi Buffon became a genuine Juventus legend during his incredible 17 years at the club, and while he won plenty of trophies in the 2000’s, his most successful moments undoubtedly came in the 2010’s.
Not only did Buffon contribute heavily to seven of Juventus’ consecutive Serie A victories – from 2011/12 to 2017/18 – but he also set numerous records during that period, including the most consecutive clean sheets (10 in 2015/16), and the longest time without conceding a single goal (974 minutes in 2015/16).
At the age of 40, the Italian legend moved to Paris St. Germain for the 2018/19, but after one season away he returned to Juventus in the summer and now looks set to end his career there as one of their most decorated players.
Centre-Back: Andrea Barzagli
One of the defensive trio famously known as ‘BBC’, Italy’s Andrea Barzagli joined Juventus as a 30-year old journeyman in 2011 for a fee of just €300,000. But after struggling in his initial season under Luigi Delneri, things soon changed for him.
When Antonio Conte took over the reins at Juve in the summer of 2011, Barzagli was transformed into an integral part of the Old Lady’s defence – and soon gained recognition as one of the best bargain signings of all time. He helped the club to concede just 20 goals in their 38 league games in 2011/12, and was practically an ever-present for the following seven seasons, all of which saw Juve win the Scudetto.
Barzagli retired at the end of last season with a total of 281 appearances for Juventus and easily takes his spot in their best team of the decade.
Centre-Back: Giorgio Chiellini
Tough-tackling defender Giorgio Chiellini joined Juventus back in 2005, but while he was always a first teamer at the club, it took until this decade for him to really prove himself as a world-class player. Capable of playing at left-back as well as a central defender, the Italian international came into his own when Antonio Conte switched Juventus’ system to a three-man defence in 2011/12; alongside Andrea Barzagli and Leonardo Bonucci, the trio known as ‘BBC’ was formed.
For the rest of the decade, Chiellini was one of Juventus’s best and most consistent performers, playing in the majority of their games and putting together a total of 339 appearances across 9 seasons. In that time he won 16 trophies with the club and was also named in the Champions League’s Squad of the Season on two occasions.
Currently out of action due to an ACL tear, how much longer the now-35 year old Chiellini can continue is anyone’s guess, but there’s no doubt that he’ll be remembered as a Juventus legend.
Centre-Back: Leonardo Bonucci
Renowned as one of the world’s best defenders over the past decade, Leonardo Bonucci joined up with teammates Barzagli and Chiellini in the 2011/12 season to create one of Europe’s strongest three-man defences. Arguably the strongest ball-player of the three, Bonucci barely missed a game as Juventus began their dominant run, and the Italian won six consecutive Scudettos with the club.
Over that period, Bonucci was named in the Serie A Team of the Year on three occasions, from 2014/15 to 2016/17, and was even named Serie A Footballer of the Year in 2015/16 as The Old Lady conceded just 20 goals in their 38 league games.
A move to AC Milan in 2017 took many by surprise, but after a lone season at the San Siro that saw him struggle for his usual form, Bonucci was back at Juventus just one year later in a swap deal that saw Mattia Caldara head the other way. And basically, it was like he’d never been away; the Italian international made 29 appearances and picked up another Scudetto – confirming himself as one of Juventus’ players of the decade.
Also check out:Seria A table Champions League table Champions league top scorers
Midfield
Right Wing-Back: Stephan Lichtsteiner
Switzerland’s Stephan Lichtsteiner moved to Juventus in the summer of 2011, and immediately made an impact – scoring the first league goal in the new Allianz Stadium. That season saw him complete 35 of Juve’s 38 league games, helping them to win the first Scudetto in a run of seven with the Swiss international at the club.
Lichtsteiner’s ability to fire accurate crosses and balls into the box from the right flank, as well as drop back into a more defensive system made him the perfect man to fill the right wing-back slot when Antonio Conte switched to a 3-5-2 system, and 2013/14 saw him finish as the Old Lady’s top assist maker with eight.
During his time at the club Lichtsteiner was almost an ever-present – even battling with the famed Dani Alves for the right wing-back slot when the Brazilian arrived at the club in 2016. When he departed in 2018, the Swiss defender had made a total of 257 appearances for Juve, scoring 15 goals.
Central Midfield: Arturo Vidal
Given the nickname Il Guerriero – meaning ‘the Warrior’ – by the Italian press, Chile’s Arturo Vidal joined Juventus in 2011 for a relatively small fee of €10.5m. To say he ended up repaying that fee would be an understatement, as the combative midfielder became an integral part of Antonio Conte’s first Scudetto winning squad and never looked back.
Deployed by Conte as a box-to-box man, Vidal’s job was largely to do the hard running while his midfield partner Andrea Pirlo pulled the strings, and the system suited him perfectly; he scored seven league goals and made three assists in his debut season, and missed just five league games along the way.
In his later days at Juventus he was deployed by Max Allegri as a more attacking midfielder, and it was in 2014/15 that he arguably produced his best football for Juve; he scored eight goals and made four assists, and helped his side make it to the Champions League final before departing for Bayern Munich that summer.
Central Midfield: Andrea Pirlo
Usually considered the greatest free transfer signing of all time, Andrea Pirlo moved to Juventus in the summer of 2011 following the expiration of his contract at AC Milan, and the veteran had an almost instant impact on his new team. Boss Antonio Conte deployed him as a deep-lying playmaker with two box-to-box men supporting him, and he pulled the strings as Juve marched to the Scudetto, ending the season by being named seventh in that year’s Ballon d’Or voting.
Considering he was already 32 when he joined the club, Pirlo’s standard at the Allianz Stadium was simply phenomenal. His first season alone saw him create over 100 chances and complete 2643 passes with an 87% accuracy, and he largely stayed at that level throughout his time at the club, which lasted for four seasons.
He finished his time with the Old Lady having won four successive Scudettos, and was named in Serie A’s Team of the Year for every season he spent at the club, also picking up Footballer of the Year awards in 2012, 2013 and 2014 too.
Left Wing-Back: Alex Sandro
A €26m signing in the summer of 2015, Brazil’s Alex Sandro is one of the few players in this team to have been signed by Max Allegri rather than Antonio Conte. Slotting into the left wing-back slot in Juventus’ favoured 3-5-2 formation, Sandro hit the ground running at the Allianz Stadium, scoring two goals and making three assists in 22 appearances in his debut season as he won his first Scudetto at the club.
Capable of playing anywhere on the left flank, it’s this versatility that has made Sandro such an important piece of Juventus’ jigsaw over the past few seasons. Strong and quick, the Brazilian is tough in the tackle but can also dribble, beat opponents and make excellent crosses into the box – as evidenced by his 18 assists since joining the club.
Still just 28-years old, it’s likely that Sandro will remain a key part of the club moving into the next decade, too.
Attack
Attacking Midfield: Paulo Dybala
The Juventus future of Argentina’s Paulo Dybala might supposedly be up in the air right now – he narrowly missed out on a summer move to Tottenham, according to reports – but there’s no denying that he’s easily been one of their most effective attacking outlets over the last decade since joining the club from Palermo in the summer of 2015.
Used primarily as a supporting forward in his debut season, Dybala scored 6 goals in his first 16 games for the club, meaning the Argentine was second only to the great Roberto Baggio in terms of his goalscoring rate: a goal every 151 minutes. He ended that season as the Old Lady’s top goalscorer, with a total of 23 in all competitions.
Dybala has since dropped into a slightly deeper role as a forward-lying playmaker – the role which I’d have him play in this team – with his most productive season coming in 2017/18 with a total of 22 league goals as well as five assists. The Argentine was named in Serie A’s Team of the Year for three seasons running, too.
Forward: Cristiano Ronaldo
The legend that is Cristiano Ronaldo has only played for Juventus for one full season following his dramatic €100m move from Real Madrid, but how do you not put him into their team of the decade? Sure, the Portuguese superstar failed in his attempt to help Juve to a Champions League victory, but in practically every other area, he delivered the goods.
‘CR7’ ended the 2018/19 campaign with a total of 28 goals in 43 appearances across all competitions – averaging a goal every 1.5 games. Belying the theory that he was past his prime, the Portuguese showed no issue adjusting to Serie A, as he was named the league’s Most Valuable Player and was also name in the Champions League’s Squad of the Season.
It didn’t come as a surprise to see Ronaldo win his first Scudetto either, given Juventus’ general domestic dominance, but given his previous form and his continuing goalscoring exploits, to see him lead The Old Lady to that elusive Champions League trophy in the future wouldn’t shock anyone.
Forward: Gonzalo Higuain
Juventus have had numerous world-class forwards playing for them over the past decade, and there could definitely be an argument for naming Mario Mandzukic or Carlos Tevez in this team. But how do you look past a man who plundered 32 goals in all competitions in his debut season for the club – the highest total of any Juve player in a single season this decade?
Argentina’s Gonzalo Higuain was brought to the Allianz Stadium by Max Allegri in the summer of 2016, after his ridiculous goalscoring exploits for Napoli in the previous season saw him score 36 goals in just 35 league games. The club did pay a huge fee for him - €90m – but with a return of 32 goals, it was largely paid back.
Higuain not only led Juventus to another Scudetto that season, but he also took them all the way to the Champions League final – scoring five goals in his 12 appearances – as they were narrowly defeated by Real Madrid. He’s never quite hit the heights of that first season at the Allianz – loan moves to Milan and Chelsea followed before he returned to Juve this summer – but for such an outstanding debut season he deserves a spot in this team.
