Juve-Milan: All Time Best XI

Prior to reviewing this line-up, please be clear that the eleven players selected had to have played for both Juventus and Milan at some stage in their career.

Goalkeeper

Pietro Carmignani: The most difficult decision in this line-up was selecting a goalkeeper, as there haven’t been many. Carmignani was one of the few standouts, despite the fact that he never actually played with Milan. The keeper made 25 appearances for Juventus in 1971/72, and later went on to become a goalkeeping coach at Milan from 1989-1993. Despite winning the Scudetto in his only season with the Bianconeri, and a Coppa Italia in 1976 at Fiorentina, Carmignani made a name for himself at Napoli, where he played 144 times. Nowadays he is the boss of Serie C2/A side Varese.

Defence

Luciano Spinosi: The first of the three defenders spent an impressive nine years at Juventus from 1970-1979, in a period where he managed to claim five Scudetti and a Uefa Cup with the club. He later went on to play for Milan, where he managed to win another Scudetto, however his time with the Rossoneri was hampered by injuries. It was at Juventus where he made his mark on Italian football, and as a result he was selected for the Italian 1974 World Cup team. Since his retirement from the game, he has had several roles at varying Italian clubs, including a year at AS Roma as their head coach.

Sandro Salvadore: At the age of just 15, Sandro Salvadore was destined to be a great, as he was identified by Milan scouts as a player with real potential. After a few years with the Rossoneri youth squad, Salvadore finally made his debut with the main team in 1958, and he later went on to win two Scudetti with the club, in a career that spanned from 1958-1962. The defender was then sold to rivals Juventus, and it didn’t take long for him to become an integral part of the club. He went on to win another three Scudetti with the Bianconeri, as well as an Italian Cup in 1965. He made 36 appearances for the Italian national team throughout his career, and was part of the 1962 and 1966 World Cup squads. His time with the Azzurri was brought to a grinding halt in 1970 however, when his coach Ferruccio Valcareggi judged him no longer reliable, following two unfortunate own goals against Spain in a 2-2 draw. Salvadore unfortunately passed away as a result of a heart attack on January 4, 2007. He was 67 years of age.

Pietro Vierchowod: The player better known as the ‘Czar’, due to the fact that he was the son of a Ukrainian Red Army soldier, made just 21 appearances for the Bianconeri at the tender age of 35 in the 1995/96 season. That particular campaign proved to be a fairly successful one, as the club managed a respectable second place finish in the league and its second ever Champions League triumph, with the Czar performing brilliantly in the final against Ajax. The next season he joined the defending champions Milan, however it was a disappointing one for him and the club, as they could only manage an eleventh place finish, whilst Juve claimed the Scudetto. Vierchowod made his name at Sampdoria, where he spent 12 years at, between 1983-1995, and his career lasted some 24 years, before he eventually finished up at Piacenza in 2000. Throughout his career he made 45 appearances for Italy, and was selected in the successful 1982, 1986 and 1990 World Cup squads. At 41 years of age, the defender retired from the game as fourth on the list of Serie A matches played, behind Paolo Maldini, Gianluca Pagliuca and Dino Zoff.

Midfield

Edgar Davids: One of the most recognizable footballers of all time kicked off his career with Ajax in Holland, before joining Milan in 1996. He endured a tough time with the Rossoneri, as he could only manage 19 appearances and one goal in his only season with the club. The next season he was sold to Juventus, for a fee of around £5.3, and it was in his seven year stint at the club whereby he made a name for himself. He was triumphant in the league with the Bianconeri on three occasions, and managed to win a Supercup with the club as well. He is currently a free agent, having just parted company with Ajax, and at this stage his career seems all but over.

Romeo Benetti: The central midfielder did take a few years to find his feet in Serie A, however when he eventually did so, he became one of the most influential players in the competition. He started his career with Juventus in 1968, where he failed to hold a spot in the starting eleven, and so was loaned to Sampdoria for a season. His breakthrough came in the 1970/71 season when he was sold to Milan, and began to make his mark. He remained with the Rossoneri until 1976, before returning to Juve and winning two Scudetti in 1977 and 1978. He made his debut for the Azzurri in 1971, and would go on to play at the 1974 and 1978 World Cups.

Fabio Capello: Better known for his managerial skills, Capello was actually an outstanding player in his day, with three of Italy’s biggest clubs. The midfielder burst onto the scene at Roma, following a three year spell with SPAL, before making his mark at Juventus, where he made 165 appearances and scored 27 goals. Over this time he won three Scudetti with the club, and became one of the best Italian midfielders, despite only eventually making 36 appearances for the Azzurri. He was involved in a straight swap for the Milan midfielder Romeo Benetti in 1976, at a club where he managed to win an Italian Cup and his fourth Scudetto in three years. He retired from the game in 1979, and 12 years later he took charge of the club he once played at, winning four Scudetti in his first five seasons with the club. At present, he is the coach of the English national team.

Roberto Baggio: This man is undoubtedly one of the greatest Italian footballers of all time. To prove this point, Baggio signed for Juventus from Fiorentina in 1990, for a world record fee at the time of €12 million.     In his five years at Juventus, the superstar of Italian football managed to win the Ballon D’Or, the FIFA World Player of the Year, and the Uefa Cup in 1993, as well as a Scudetto and an Italian Cup in 1995. At the completion of that championship winning season, the Juve star was sold to the Rossoneri after strong pressure from the Milanese President Silvio Berlusconi. In his first of two seasons he managed to win his second Scudetto, and he became the first player to win back-to-back Scudetto with two different clubs in the process. He made his mark for the Azzurri at the 1990, 1994 and 1998 World Cups, before bringing his career to a close with Brescia in 2004. Since then, Baggio has made a return to the playing field on just one occasion, and that was earlier this year on October 8, when he featured in a charity match between Milan and Fiorentina that was played in honour of Stefano Borgonovo.

Forwards

Jose Altafini: The Brazilian turned Italian international, landed in Italy in 1958 after winning the World Cup with Brazil in Sweden. He signed for Milan in 1958, and in his first season with the club he scored an impressive 28 goals in 32 matches, as the Rossoneri claimed their seventh ever Scudetto. He also won the European Cup against Benfica in 1963, as his second half brace led the club to their first ever title. He went on to make 205 appearances for the Milanese club, and scored 120 times, before eventually parting ways with them in 1965 for Napoli. Following a seven year stint at Napoli, he joined Juventus in 1972, where he would go on to win two more Scudetti in 1973 and 1975. Through his career he made a name for himself as being a decisive player in the closing stages of matches, as he often scored goals in the final 10 minutes.

Pietro Paolo Virdis: Preferred to the incomparable Pippo Inzaghi, due to the fact Superpippo is still playing for the Rossoneri. Virdis initially spent four seasons at Juventus in the early 1980s, to kick-start his playing career. He managed to win two Scudetti in his time with the Bianconeri, before being sold to Milan, to make room for Paolo Rossi, who was set to join the club from Perugia. Things improved whilst at Milan however, as he would go on to make 135 appearances, score 53 goals, and win another Scudetto, to make it three in his career. He was also a member of the Rossoneri squad that was triumphant in Europe in 1989, when they defeated Steaua Bucharest 4-0 in the European Cup final. He was Serie A’s top scorer in 1986/87, with 17 goals to his name, and his playing days ended in the late 80s, following the club’s European triumph.

Paolo Rossi: This striker is one of the most talented players in this incredible line-up. He joined the Bianconeri in 1982, following an infamous betting scandal that saw him suspended for two years. These accusations were declared to be inventive recently; however the striker was still forced to miss two years of football. In his three seasons at the club, from 1982-1985, Rossi managed to win a Scudetto, an Italian Cup and the 1985 European Cup, following a 1-0 triumph over Liverpool. Following this, he moved to Milan for one season, where he would make 20 appearances and score just two goals – a brace against bitter rivals Inter Milan. At international level, Rossi became the first player to ever win the World Cup, the Golden Boot, and the Golden Shoe for the best player of the 1982 FIFA World Cup. In that corresponding year, he also received the Ballon D’Or and the FIFA World Player of the Year, to cap off one of the most successful individual years in the history of the game.



Adrian Del Monte