Juventus: Ranking the 5 best trequartisti of all time

2. Zinedine Zidane

Juventus fans, do you remember those breathless dashes from the centre of the park? Many would claim at that time that they hadn’t seen anyone carrying the ball better than him. He is none other than Zinedine Zidane. A successful footballer and a more successful coach in the modern scenario altogether, Zidane built the foundation of his professional career while playing his trade for Juventus.

Having just finished a stellar 1995-96 campaign in which he was awarded the Ligue 1 Player of the Year, Zidane received quite a few lucrative offers from the top European sides that summer. Juventus came in, and Zidane bade farewell to Bordeaux. The move to Juventus changed everything for Zidane.

Over the five years at Juve, he recorded 212 apps, racking up 31 goals and 38 assists in the process. Even though his numbers are not as inspiring as the others on the list, he was an actual beast on the field. His work rate off the ball and authority on the ball made him one of the best in that particular Juventus side.

Luck was not on his side nevertheless, with Juventus missing out on the Champions League two times on the consecutive seasons in the final stage of the competition in 1996–97 and 1997–98. In both terms, they fought until the last and were crowned as the Serie A champions.

After winning the FIFA World Cup for France in 1998, he was elected as the winner of Ballon d’Or. In the summer of 2001, Real Madrid came knocking at Juve’s door, and the Bianconeri had to let him leave. Zidane signed for Los Blancos for a then record-breaking fee of €77.5 million and continued to march on his chariot of victory there at the Spanish capital.