Big games mean big names, and Juventus aren’t holding back.
The record 29-time Serie A champions confirmed a star-studded 27-man roster on Monday that will be showcased in the 2011 Herbalife World Football Challenge. Their participation kicks off against Portuguese power Sporting Clube de Portugal (July 23) followed by matches against Mexican opponents Club América (July 26) and CD Guadalajara (July 28).
La Vecchia Signora feature a bevy of names from Italy’s 2006 World Cup-winning squad, including strikers Alessandro Del Piero, Luca Toni, newly acquired midfielder Andrea Pirlo, defender Andrea Barzagli and star goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon.
Manager Antonio Conte, in his first season at the helm of his former club, will count on a variety of current Italian national team regulars such as Leonardo Bonucci, Giorgio Chiellini, Claudio Marchisio, Simone Pepe, Fabio Quagliarella and Alessandro Matri, along with new Juventus signings Reto Ziegler, Stefan Lichtsteiner and Michele Pazienza.
The Turin-based club was founded in 1897 and have a storied history. Named the best Italian club of the 20th century by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS), Juventus have won 53 official competitions, including a record 42 domestic trophies and 11 in UEFA and international competitions.
JUVENTUS FC ROSTER
GOALKEEPERS (3): Gianluigi Buffon, Alexander Manninger, Marco Storari
DEFENDERS (9): Marco Motta, Giorgio Chiellini, Paolo De Ceglie, Zdenek Grygera, Leonardo Bonucci, Frederik Sorensen, Andrea Barzagli, Reto Ziegler, Stephan Lichtsteiner
MIDFIELDERS (9): Claudio Marchisio, Manuel Giandonato, Simone Pepe, Milos Krasic, Cristian Pasquato, Luca Marrone, Elio De Silvestro, Michele Pazienza, Andrea Pirlo
FORWARDS (6): Alessandro Del Piero, Jorge Martinez, Luca Toni, Fabio Quagliarella, Alessandro Matri, Ciro Immobile
