The first five years of the 1930’s is referred to in the history of Juventus as Quinquennio Oro (The Five Golden Years). Between 1930 and 1935, a star studded Juventus side containing prominent players such as Gianpiero Combi and Luis Monti won 5 Serie A titles in a row. They also reached the semi-finals of the Central European Cup four times, establishing their reputation as the best pre-War team in Europe. Guiding the team for four of the five seasons was coach Carlo Carcano, who devised the so-called Method tactic which involved a unique 2-3-2-3 or W shaped formation and was also adapted by the Italian national team. Carcano remains the only manager to win four Serie A titles in a row in the history of Italian football.

 

The club started the 1930 season with 8 wins on the trot, and sealed the title with a 1-0 defeat of reigning champions AC Milan. That year, they also reached the quarter finals of the Central European Cup, where in a hard-fought match they were defeated by Sparta Prague. The following year proved tougher for Juve, who trailed just behind Bologna for most of the season, but Juventus managed to overtake them in the standings thanks to a 3-2 win. They finished top again with 54 points. In Europe, the Bianconeri faced Slavia Prague, one of the most prestigious teams of the era, whose players formed the core of the Czech team who finished runners-up in the 1934 World Cup. During the second leg, Slavias goalkeeper Frantisek Planika collapsed, and it was at first suspected that he was hit by a stone thrown by Juventus fans. No trace of injury was found, and it was unclear whether Planicka was ill or pretended to faint in an effort to waste time in the game. The organising committee were also unconvinced that the keeper hadn’t been hurt by Juventus fans, and so in a controversial decision, both teams were disqualified and the trophy was given to Bologna, the other team in the competition.

 

The next season marked the arrival of Brazilian native Peter Sernagiotto and the debut of young striker Felice Bodel, who would go on to become one of the best strikers in Juventus history. Despite starting the season poorly with 2 defeats, they climbed their way back up the table with a series of great wins including a derby victory against Torino, one of the world’s best clubs at the time, and were crowned triple champions with another win over Milan. Again, they just fell short of greatness on the European stage, losing to Mathius Sindelar’s Austria Vienna in the semi. Juve moved into a new stadium the following year, and ended the season with 7 wins a row including notable triumphs against Brecia and Lazio. Meanwhile, goalkeeper Conbi captained Italy to the 1934 World Cup trophy. By 1935, the team had begun to age, so youngsters Foni, Gabetto and Rava were brought in. They helped Juve win a 5th Scudetto, finishing the year with 44 points. All in all, Juventus did not a suffer a single home defeat in 39 games from 1933 to 1935. The death of the clubs president also heralded the death of The Golden Years, and Juventus were unable to win another title for the remainder of the decade.

Achievements: Italian Football Championship – Champions x5

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Star player: Gianpiero Combi, DOB 20 November 1902, Turin, Italy, nickname: Uomo di Gomma (The Rubber Man)

Born in Turin in 1902, Combi is one of the greatest Italian goalkeepers of all time, and THE goalkeeper of the 1930’s. He was a one club man, spending his entire career playing for Juventus. He played 351 games for the club, winning 5 Serie A titles. In the entire 1926 season, he only conceded 18 goals. He held the record for the most appearances by a goalkeeper for Juventus for over 40 years. Combi was one third of a formiddable defence wall known as the Combi-Rossetta-Caligaris Trio. He was the Italian national teams number one keeper for 10 years, and was their captain during the 1936 World Cup which they won, thanks to Combi pulling off two miraculous saves in the semi final against the Austrian Wunderteam. Prior to this, he was between the posts during the Azzurris first ever international honour, a bronze medal at the 1926 Amsterdam Olympics. He also won the inaugural Central European Cup with Italy, the predeccessor to todays Euro Cup.