Remembering Juventus' 1996 Intercontinental Cup Triumph

Overcoming injuries and poor performances, the current Juventus side can reflect on a superb result against Sevilla a few days ago. The Bianconeri won their Champions League clash 3-0 at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium, snatching back first place in Group H and securing qualification to the round of 16.

Yet this week also marks the 20th anniversary of an event that many of the club’s supporters rightly still cherish—the last time Juventus were truly able to call themselves the best team in the world.

To tell that story, one must first explain the Serie A landscape of the early 1990s. The Old Lady had shaken off a few years of malaise but struggled to compete in a league dominated by the wealth and power Silvio Berlusconi delivered to AC Milan, as well as the magical genius of Diego Maradona’s Napoli.

That Rossoneri team was perhaps the greatest club side of the modern era, drilled by coach Arrigo Sacchi and containing iconic names such as Franco Baresi, Ruud Gullit, Frank Rijkaard and Marco van Basten.

Juve were always heavy underdogs against a team who had not only won back-to-back European Cups but claimed them in emphatic, all-conquering fashion. Slowly, however, the Turin side would emerge from their Milanese shadow, clinching the 1993 UEFA Cup and restoring the self-belief that had always been synonymous with the Old Lady.

Eventually, she would get back on top, overcoming the San Siro giants thanks to a remarkable forward line of Gianluca Vialli, Fabrizio Ravanelli and the 1993 World Player of the Year Roberto Baggio.

The latter was the catalyst for the Turin side supplanting Milan as the dominant force in Italian football, helping them win the 1994/95 Scudetto to finally end a nine-year wait, the longest post-war title drought in the club's history.

Yet no sooner had Juve stitched the shield on to their shirt, Baggio was sold to Milan and the iconic No. 10 shirt was passed on to his heir apparent, Alessandro Del Piero. Then just 22 years old, the striker had already begun to shine; a remarkable volley against Fiorentina in 1994 was followed by a string of fantastic strikes as the team conquered Europe.

That Champions League triumph was secured 12 months later, Rome’s Stadio Olimpico erupting with joy as Vialli held the trophy aloft. Yet this was another victory that was followed by departures, Juve’s then-director general Luciano Moggi shaking a dominant team its core.

Vialli—tired of arguing with the club over a new contract—left for Chelsea, and Ravanelli was sold to Middlesbrough. Pietro Vierchowod, Massimo Carrera, and Paulo Sousa followed them through the exit door, but arriving in Turin were some equally familiar names as Moggi revolutionised the squad.

Zinedine Zidane, Alen Boksic, and a young Christian Vieri were all signed, but the following season was perhaps the single best campaign of Del Piero’s career as Juventus celebrated their centenary year in spectacular fashion.

Having already been crowned champions of Italy and Europe, the Bianconeri headed to Tokyo for an edition of the Intercontinental Cup that would be a truly memorable event, as Italy's grandest club prepared to face Argentinian giants River Plate.

That Los Millonarios side contained some famous names who would go on to grace European football over the next decade; Juan Pablo Sorin, Marcelo Salas, Julio Cruz and Ariel Ortega lined up with the classy Enzo Francescoli.

But while Del Piero had already started on the path to stardom, this game would crown his arrival as a star of world football. On November 26, 1996, 48,305 fans packed the stands at the National Stadium in Tokyo hoping to witness history. They would not be disappointed.

Juve controlled the game from start to finish, their relentless pressing and power in midfield overwhelming their opponents as Marcello Lippi’s side created a seemingly endless number of chances for Boksic.

Yet while the striker repeatedly fluffed his lines and the game remained delicately balanced and scoreless, there was no frustration on show by the Bianconeri, who seemed to always believe that victory would be theirs.

It would be worth the wait. With nine minutes left on the clock, a corner from Angelo Di Livio was headed across the six-yard box by Zidane, falling to an inexplicably unmarked Del Piero.

The striker swivelled and fired an unstoppable shot high into the roof of the net, a goal that not only ended River Plate's hopes of winning but eventually proved to be the catalyst for the young striker to embark on his path to greatness.

The game ended a short while later, the Bianconeri collecting the trophy, and Del Piero—who was named man of the match—explained to World Soccer in 2013 that he considered it to be his best performance for the club:

If I had to choose one with Juventus, I would say the 1996 World Club Cup final played in Tokyo against River Plate. That was the icing on the cake for a team that had won, in two years, the Scudetto, the Italian Cup and Super Cup, the UEFA Super Cup and the Champions League.

It was a tough match, very difficult for both teams, and I scored the decisive goal minutes from the end. Absolutely unbelievable.

Given that the striker retired as Juve’s record appearance-maker and goalscorer, it says much that he picked out this fixture as his most memorable. The winning was far from over, though.

They would go on to win numerous more trophies together, starting with the European Super Cup that saw the Old Lady record an emphatic 9-2 aggregate win over Paris Saint-Germain.

It would not end perfectly in Europe however, Borussia Dortmund inflicting an agonising 3-1 Champions League final defeat on Juventus, who were unable to lift the crown for a second successive year.

At home, however, their superiority was again evident. They would claim another Serie A title, with an incredible 6-1 win over Baggio and Milan at the San Siro underlining their dominance.

It was a period in history where Juventus, much like the current side, were head and shoulders above the rest of Italy, and on that wonderful evening in Tokyo the world saw just how good this team could be.

It was a remarkable victory, one that was a joy to witness and incredible to remember. It was 20 years ago, however, and fans of the club would love to see the current team go on to replicate that success.