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·Player ratings for the season
The following is an overall rating for all Juventus players for the 1999 – 2000 season, according to their performances. Comments are included, although these might divide opinions. The ratings are out of 5, each unit represented by a *.
# 1 Edwin Van Der Sar:
Rating: ***
Comments: Juve made no mistake in buying him. He prevented Juve from many goals, and saved the team many times. The amount of goals scored against him shows his effectiveness. However, he did have his bad days, as in Vigo, where Juventus lost 4-0. Also, some of the goals scored against him were quite easy to save, but overall, a good season for him.
# 2 Ciro Ferrara:
Rating: ***1/2
Comments: He had a great season, and was an essential part of Juve’s defence, the best in Serie A. Even at his age, Ciro proved that he is still a top-class defender. His few goals helped Juve a lot, like in Udine.
# 3 Zoran Mirkovic:
Rating: *1/2
Comments: A season to forget for Mirkovic. Not only did he get little playing time on the field, but in the times he played, he didn’t do it well at all. E.g: Against Celta de Vigo.
# 4 Paolo Montero:
Rating: ****1/2
Comment: The pillar of Juventus’ defence. He did everything right, and the ½ point subtracted from him is for his excessive aggressivity in many matches (against Roma, for example).
# 5 Sunday Oliseh:
Rating: **1/2
Comment: A bad season for him. He has already been transferred to Borussia Dortmund, and his spell at Juve wasn’t good. Little playing time, and very strong competition for a place in the line up (Davids, Conte, Tacchinardi). Something good to point out during his stay at Juve: The spectacular goal against Levski Sofia in the UEFA cup, nothing else.
# 7 Gianluca Pessotto:
Rating: ***
Comment: He did not have a very impressivce 1st half of the season, but he was essential for the final part of it. He scored a good goal against Bari, and towards the end of the campaign, his crosses from the left wing proved to be important, since many goals were scored from them. A better season than the last one.
# 8 Antonio Conte:
Rating: ***1/2
Comment: Maybe the most combative Italian player on the field in this season. Conte’s leadership was crucial for Juve, and his goals were essential to gain some points. The bad thing was that he was already exhausted at the start of the 2nd half of the season, something which made him lose marks.
# 9 Filippo Inzaghi:
Rating: ***1/2
Comment: The most controversial player in Juventus also proved to be the one with the most goals in this season. No matter the criticism he received, “Superpippo” managed to score 27 goals this season, equalling his record. He too lost points because towards the season’s end, his legs seemed to be already worn out. Good job by Pippo.
# 10 Alessandro Del Piero:
Rating: ****
Comment: Del Piero was back among in calcio’s greatest players this season. Even though he only managed to score 9 goals, 8 from the penalty spot, he was one of the best assistors in Serie A this year. 75% or more of Juve’s goals came from his assists. Next year will be even better for “Alex”.
# 11 Daniel Fonseca:
Rating: NO RATING GIVEN
Comment: It is impossible to give Fonseca a rating, after only playing one match this season, against Napoli in Coppa Italia. There he made the assist for Esnaider’s goal. He sure is on his way out of La Vecchia Signora.
# 12 Michelangelo Rampulla:
Rating: ***
Comment: Michelangelo didn’t play much, but the times he did, he didn’t make us miss Van Der Sar. His goalkeeping against big teams like Olympiakos and Lazio was excellent.
# 13 Mark Iuliano:
Rating:****
Comment: An excellent campaign for Mark. He was very solid in the defense, and showed sparks of creativity in some matches. Definitely an essential player for Juventus this season.
# 14 Jonathan Bachini:
Rating: **
Comment: He had an acceptable Intertoto cup, but nothing else. Ancelotti didn’t give him the opportunity to play, thus putting him in Juve’s background.
# 15 Alessandro Birindelli:
Rating: **1/2
Comment: He did get the opportunity to play, but not very much. A very regular season for Birindelli, not bad, nor good. He made an important assist to Inzaghi in the 2-1 win over Roma.
# 18 Darko Kovacevic:
Rating: ***1/2
Comment: A good first “stazione” with the bianconeri shirt. Scored vital goals for juve, like the ones against Inter. He showed us what a good, strong forward can do. Darko slowly gained a placve in the team, although his last appearances sunk him down a little bit.
# 19 Juan Eduardo Esnaider:
Rating: **3/4
Comment: He had a good 2nd half of the season. The little times he played, he demonstrated his talent. This year he scored two goals, one of them very important against Napoli in the Coppa Italia. Nevertheless, the injuries ruled Esnaider out of the principal group.
# 20 Alessio Tacchinardi:
Rating: ***3/4
Comment: This was a season in which Tacchinardi matured a lot. He was an essential component in Juve’s midfield, and had some very good matches. He seems to be the future midfield star of Juventus. The bad thing was the end of his season, which was not only full of injuries and illnesses, but also, his level went down quite a lot.
# 21 Zinedine Zidane:
Rating: ***1/2
Comment: Zidane recovered his magical touch to the ball, but by what he showed this season, he’ll never again be that Zidane of 1997. He scored vital goals, all of them spectacular, and most of the from very well excecuted free kicks. The goal he scored against Reggina could well count as one of the season’s best. Zidane made some assists too, but he too completely disappeared in the last matches of the season.
# 23 Gianluca Zambrotta:
Rating:****
Comment: Gianluca came to Juve thinking he was going to be a substitute, but by the first few matches he had already gotten a first team place. His speed and intelligence helped him to become an important component of Juve. A very good season for him, he just needs more goals.
# 24 Vicenzo Maresca:
Rating: NO RATING GIVEN
Comment: The only transfer Juventus made in the Winter break. He looks promising, although he has yet to prove that point at Juve, since he only got to play a couple of minutes in a match.
# 26 Edgar Davids:
Rating: *****+
Comment: The best Juve player this season, without a doubt. For many, Serie A’s MVP 1999 – 2000. Davids showed what a complete midfielder he is. He was the most hardworking of all players, and didn’t only work in the defensive department, but also in the creative department. Even though he only scored one goal, his prescence on the field gave juve a much more aggressive and lively look. One of the few players who finished playing as well as they had started.
# 28 Igor Tudor:
Rating: ***
Comment: He earned the right to be the replacement for any of the three starting defenders. Tudor didn’t only accomplish his job as a defender, he also scored essential goals against Fiorentina and Olympiakos. A very good season for Igor Tudor, but too many red and yellow cards for the amount of time he played.
Carlo Ancelotti, coach:
Rating: *****
Comment: Ancelotti did a wonderful job this season, and impressed everyone by taking a Juventus which wasn’t even a contender for a Champions’ league place to a 2nd place only a point away from the 1st place. He looks to be a great coach.
Rating for the defense: ****1/2.
Comment: Great job, failed to do a good job in some essential moments.
Rating for the midfield: *****
Comment: People say Juve’s strong point this years was the defense, but the midfield was even better. We had a mixture of courage, youth, experience, speed, strength, creativity and union in our midfield.
Rating for the attack: **
Comment: Definitely Juve’s weak point this season. More goals could have brought the championship to Torino, but the strikers were quite ineffective this season.
The following is an overall rating for all Juventus players for the 1999 – 2000 season, according to their performances. Comments are included, although these might divide opinions. The ratings are out of 5, each unit represented by a *.
# 1 Edwin Van Der Sar:
Rating: ***
Comments: Juve made no mistake in buying him. He prevented Juve from many goals, and saved the team many times. The amount of goals scored against him shows his effectiveness. However, he did have his bad days, as in Vigo, where Juventus lost 4-0. Also, some of the goals scored against him were quite easy to save, but overall, a good season for him.
# 2 Ciro Ferrara:
Rating: ***1/2
Comments: He had a great season, and was an essential part of Juve’s defence, the best in Serie A. Even at his age, Ciro proved that he is still a top-class defender. His few goals helped Juve a lot, like in Udine.
# 3 Zoran Mirkovic:
Rating: *1/2
Comments: A season to forget for Mirkovic. Not only did he get little playing time on the field, but in the times he played, he didn’t do it well at all. E.g: Against Celta de Vigo.
# 4 Paolo Montero:
Rating: ****1/2
Comment: The pillar of Juventus’ defence. He did everything right, and the ½ point subtracted from him is for his excessive aggressivity in many matches (against Roma, for example).
# 5 Sunday Oliseh:
Rating: **1/2
Comment: A bad season for him. He has already been transferred to Borussia Dortmund, and his spell at Juve wasn’t good. Little playing time, and very strong competition for a place in the line up (Davids, Conte, Tacchinardi). Something good to point out during his stay at Juve: The spectacular goal against Levski Sofia in the UEFA cup, nothing else.
# 7 Gianluca Pessotto:
Rating: ***
Comment: He did not have a very impressivce 1st half of the season, but he was essential for the final part of it. He scored a good goal against Bari, and towards the end of the campaign, his crosses from the left wing proved to be important, since many goals were scored from them. A better season than the last one.
# 8 Antonio Conte:
Rating: ***1/2
Comment: Maybe the most combative Italian player on the field in this season. Conte’s leadership was crucial for Juve, and his goals were essential to gain some points. The bad thing was that he was already exhausted at the start of the 2nd half of the season, something which made him lose marks.
# 9 Filippo Inzaghi:
Rating: ***1/2
Comment: The most controversial player in Juventus also proved to be the one with the most goals in this season. No matter the criticism he received, “Superpippo” managed to score 27 goals this season, equalling his record. He too lost points because towards the season’s end, his legs seemed to be already worn out. Good job by Pippo.
# 10 Alessandro Del Piero:
Rating: ****
Comment: Del Piero was back among in calcio’s greatest players this season. Even though he only managed to score 9 goals, 8 from the penalty spot, he was one of the best assistors in Serie A this year. 75% or more of Juve’s goals came from his assists. Next year will be even better for “Alex”.
# 11 Daniel Fonseca:
Rating: NO RATING GIVEN
Comment: It is impossible to give Fonseca a rating, after only playing one match this season, against Napoli in Coppa Italia. There he made the assist for Esnaider’s goal. He sure is on his way out of La Vecchia Signora.
# 12 Michelangelo Rampulla:
Rating: ***
Comment: Michelangelo didn’t play much, but the times he did, he didn’t make us miss Van Der Sar. His goalkeeping against big teams like Olympiakos and Lazio was excellent.
# 13 Mark Iuliano:
Rating:****
Comment: An excellent campaign for Mark. He was very solid in the defense, and showed sparks of creativity in some matches. Definitely an essential player for Juventus this season.
# 14 Jonathan Bachini:
Rating: **
Comment: He had an acceptable Intertoto cup, but nothing else. Ancelotti didn’t give him the opportunity to play, thus putting him in Juve’s background.
# 15 Alessandro Birindelli:
Rating: **1/2
Comment: He did get the opportunity to play, but not very much. A very regular season for Birindelli, not bad, nor good. He made an important assist to Inzaghi in the 2-1 win over Roma.
# 18 Darko Kovacevic:
Rating: ***1/2
Comment: A good first “stazione” with the bianconeri shirt. Scored vital goals for juve, like the ones against Inter. He showed us what a good, strong forward can do. Darko slowly gained a placve in the team, although his last appearances sunk him down a little bit.
# 19 Juan Eduardo Esnaider:
Rating: **3/4
Comment: He had a good 2nd half of the season. The little times he played, he demonstrated his talent. This year he scored two goals, one of them very important against Napoli in the Coppa Italia. Nevertheless, the injuries ruled Esnaider out of the principal group.
# 20 Alessio Tacchinardi:
Rating: ***3/4
Comment: This was a season in which Tacchinardi matured a lot. He was an essential component in Juve’s midfield, and had some very good matches. He seems to be the future midfield star of Juventus. The bad thing was the end of his season, which was not only full of injuries and illnesses, but also, his level went down quite a lot.
# 21 Zinedine Zidane:
Rating: ***1/2
Comment: Zidane recovered his magical touch to the ball, but by what he showed this season, he’ll never again be that Zidane of 1997. He scored vital goals, all of them spectacular, and most of the from very well excecuted free kicks. The goal he scored against Reggina could well count as one of the season’s best. Zidane made some assists too, but he too completely disappeared in the last matches of the season.
# 23 Gianluca Zambrotta:
Rating:****
Comment: Gianluca came to Juve thinking he was going to be a substitute, but by the first few matches he had already gotten a first team place. His speed and intelligence helped him to become an important component of Juve. A very good season for him, he just needs more goals.
# 24 Vicenzo Maresca:
Rating: NO RATING GIVEN
Comment: The only transfer Juventus made in the Winter break. He looks promising, although he has yet to prove that point at Juve, since he only got to play a couple of minutes in a match.
# 26 Edgar Davids:
Rating: *****+
Comment: The best Juve player this season, without a doubt. For many, Serie A’s MVP 1999 – 2000. Davids showed what a complete midfielder he is. He was the most hardworking of all players, and didn’t only work in the defensive department, but also in the creative department. Even though he only scored one goal, his prescence on the field gave juve a much more aggressive and lively look. One of the few players who finished playing as well as they had started.
# 28 Igor Tudor:
Rating: ***
Comment: He earned the right to be the replacement for any of the three starting defenders. Tudor didn’t only accomplish his job as a defender, he also scored essential goals against Fiorentina and Olympiakos. A very good season for Igor Tudor, but too many red and yellow cards for the amount of time he played.
Carlo Ancelotti, coach:
Rating: *****
Comment: Ancelotti did a wonderful job this season, and impressed everyone by taking a Juventus which wasn’t even a contender for a Champions’ league place to a 2nd place only a point away from the 1st place. He looks to be a great coach.
Rating for the defense: ****1/2.
Comment: Great job, failed to do a good job in some essential moments.
Rating for the midfield: *****
Comment: People say Juve’s strong point this years was the defense, but the midfield was even better. We had a mixture of courage, youth, experience, speed, strength, creativity and union in our midfield.
Rating for the attack: **
Comment: Definitely Juve’s weak point this season. More goals could have brought the championship to Torino, but the strikers were quite ineffective this season.
