Innocent as a lamb

Antonio Conte

The Italian soccer is known for its never ending scandals and controversies.  Since the beginning of soccer, scandals and disturbance have occurred spontaneously in Italy; therefore, some would argue that this is the beauty of Italian soccer.  The most recent scandal in the Italian soccer is the Calcioscommesse . Calcioscommesse is an Italian investigation that started in the prosecution of Bari and Cermone and periodically, would devour to Genoa and Napoli.  This investigation was about soccer players who collaborates with organized crimes for match fixing.  Many professional Italian players in the Seria A/B were found guilty (Lim, 2012) In February of this year (2012),  Juventus manager, Antonio Conte, was linked to the investigation. 

Filippo Carobbio

The devastating news struck the young manger, as his successful career had just started (not conceding a whole loss in a single season after Juventus's known losing streaks in the past few seasons).  Stefano Palazzi, a prosecutor, failed to find a link between Conte and any scandal of any kind, so he accused him of knowing about an attempt of game fixing, and failing to report it.  Stefano Palazzi claimed that when Conte was the manger of Siena FC in 2011, a game fixing event happened in the team and Conte was held accountant of it; therefore, the young manger faced a one year ban maximum (Giambattista, 2021).  His accusation was based on two evidence, the first evidence was Filippo Carobbio statements, the former Siena player, claimed that Conte have said in a team meeting "don’t worry about the game, it's fixed " on the other hand, the entire Siena players and managers denied such claims . 

The second evidence is the most ridiculous evidence in the history of prosecution. Stefano Palazzi said in his indictment that Antonio Conte has a strong personality, he's the kind of man that likes to be in control, in another words he is a central figure; therefore, there is no way he wouldn’t know that one of his players were involved in game fixing.  Although both evidences were weak and cannot withstand in any trail, Conte was seen guilty and charged with a 4 months sport ban.

The controversy carried on when Conte held a press conference to defend his case, he claimed that Plazzi and Carobbio had concur to show Conte guilty.  Conte said, "Today I find that Mr. Carobbio… Mr. “Pippo” (because it is “Pippo” for the prosecution, not Filippo Carobbio… it’s PIPPO, because they now go together like peanut butter and jelly) is considered a “collaborator of justice”.  Seeing that he was questioned 5 times, seeing that he was last questioned on July 10, before *I* was questioned, I would consider him more a “handyman” of a *supposed* justice" (Conte, 2012)  these words shocked Palazzi leading him to press charges. 

Stefano Palazzi

After what happened to Antonio Conte, one would ask himself, "Is Juventus surrounded by conspirators who wants to see this club fall in any possible way?"  I always did not like the conspiracy theory or support it, but let's be honest, who is a fan of watching their own team tormented for sketchy reasons?  After the event of 2012 this summer, I started to be skeptical by seeking these controversies more in depth, by visualizing "outside the box".  Does Palazzi has something against Juventus?  Solely, he was the reason of the infamous regulation in 2006 and now this.  Is justice truly served?  Or is corruption playing an ideal role behind favoritism?   

         

Lim, Jeremy "Calcio Scommesse: The first spanner thrown into the Juventus works" forzaitalianfootball. Posted Jul 27, 2012. http://forzaitalianfootball.com/2012/07/calcio-scommesse-the-first-spanner-thrown-into-the-juventus-works/

Conte, Antonio "Antonio CONTE’s Calcioscommesse PRESS CONFERENCE" juventiknows. Posted August 23, 2012. http://juventiknows.com/antonio-contes-calcioscommesse-press-conference-23-08-2012-english/

Giambattista, Aaron  "Conte, Pepe, Bonucci & CALCIOSCOMMESSE: Just WHAT Is Going On?" juventiknows. Posted August 2, 2012. http://juventiknows.com/conte-and-calcioscommesse-just-what-is-going-on/

The Faithful Five

It has been said that when a ship sinks, the captain sinks with his ship, but in 2006, when Juventus was accused of match fixing, former Juventus manager and player, Fabio Capello, was the first to abandon the ship to seek survival.  The aftermath of the Calciopoli conspiracy in 2006 were catastrophic (Al-Hendy, 2012).  Many talented players transferred to other clubs, costing Juventus hundreds of million of  euros (Voakes, 2012).  In the darkness and chaotic condition of the club, a candle flame sparkled.  Five warriors took it upon themselves to stay loyal to the castle and either build it again or die trying.

Alessandro Del Piero

Alessandro Del Piero, a loyal son to his "Old lady" promised the fans, "I will never abandon the club, especially when it needed me the most."  The 38 year old Italian was born in Conegliano Veneto, Italy.  Alessandro, or as the fans like to call him, Alex, was born with a passion for soccer and played it regularly in the streets of Conegliano.  At the age of 17, scouts noticed his talent when he was playing for a small local club called Padova.  Without any hesitations, the recruitment management of Juventus paid two million euros for the 17 years old.  Alessandro had conquered the Italian league (Seria A) by his own hands (or in this case, his feet) after winning numerous individual awards such as the golden foot (for best player of the year after  the age of 30) and top scorer in Seria A, not to mention group awards with Juventus such as winning the league with more points than any other Italian team several times, and held a fierce competition in the Champions League.  At the age of 39 the renewal upon his contract had çollapsed, but that surely doesn't mean that the "Juventinos" will not remember and love him because of his sacrifice in 2006, and overall his beloved contribution to the club.

Pavel Nedved

The second warrior is Pavel Nedved, a Czech player who pledged loyalty to Juventus when the club was forced to be regulated and play in a lower division league (Seria B).  Nedved was one of the most talent players in the world, many top elite European clubs tried persuading him and lure him to their club but failed.  Even at the age of 37, Nedved was in exceptional form and didn't lose his fitness.  The Blond Arrow, as the fans like to call him, was asked about his decision to remain in the club, after the accused of  scandaling, and he responded, "What will I say to a young child in Turin streets if he asked me why I have abandoned us?"  This sacrifice was valued highly by the administration of Juventus, when Pavel's contract came to an end, a new agreement was made by both parties to appoint him as Member of the Board of Directors in the club.

Gianluigi Buffon

Gianluigi "Gigi" Buffon, the goalkeeper of the decade, one of the best goalkeepers not only in the club's history, but in history in general. The current captain of the club, was in his best shape of his life upon the Calicopoli conspiracy.  In 2006, Buffon won the world club with Italy and was chosen as the best goalkeeper of the year.  A talented goalkeeper such as Buffon could have gone to any elite European club, but he chose to stay and never let the fans down.  Buffon transferred to Juventus in 2001 with an astonishing record fee of 41 million euro.  This goalkeeper showed a legendary performance in his career, many critics consider him as the best goalkeeper in history. Legendary figures like Buffon who crowned his successful career with not only good performance, but also high-minded manners and rare loyalty.

Mauro Camoranesi

Mauro Camoranesi "The Musician",the Argentinean Italian, who was known of  his belligerent action and short temper, showed a great sacrifice by deciding to remain in the club after being regulated to a lower division league.  After winning the world cup, in just two weeks Mauro pledged his loyalty to the club by renewing his contract and sticking with the club.  The talented player have carved his name with gold after playing with Juventus for only eight years. Camoranesi was named as one of the 50 legends in the club history. 

David Trazeguet

Last but not least, is the Frenchman striker David Trezeguet a.k.a "Trezegoal". David came to Juventus in the summer of 1999 and quickly crowned himself with the love of Juventus fans.  David formed a magical duet with Del Piero in scoring goals. After 10 successful years with Juventus, he became the most foreigner player to score goals in the club by scoring 170 goals.  With no hesitation, David stayed with the club and became one of "The Faithful Five"

The most remarkable thing, is that these five players could have gone to any elite European club and won more trophies and recognition.  But they chose to remain loyal to the club and the fans.  When a player's career ends, no matter how successful they are, sooner or later they will be forgotten, but "The Faithful Five" will always be stored in the heart of every Juventino fan to acknowledge their loyalty and sacrifice. (Machay, 2012).  As a "Juventino" I'm really proud to say that Juventus is not only a club, but an inspiration.  

Al-Hendy, Mohamed. "Why the Old Lady of Turin Is Stubbornly Clinging to 3 Stars" Posted on May 22, 2012 http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1190939-juventus-why-the-old-lady-of-turin-is-stubbornly-clinging-to-3-stars

Voakes, Kris. "The end of a long, dark road: A timeline of Juventus' recovery from Calciopoli relegation to Serie A champions" Posted on May 7, 2012 http://www.goal.com/en-sg/news/3985/editorial/2012/05/07/3086545/the-end-of-a-long-dark-road-a-timeline-of-juventus-recovery-from-

Mackay, Hamish. "When did footballers realise it is their divine right to win" Posted on September 16, 2012 http://www.footballfancast.com/premiership/when-did-footballers-realise-it-is-their-divine-right-to-win