Juventus Ranked As Europe's Favourite
Wednesday 11th April 2001
Juventus are officially the most popular team in Europe, with Real Madrid second and Manchester United third, according to a poll commissioned by Juventus as they plan for vast commercial expansion over the next few years.
The poll revealed that 17 million people consider themselves Juve fans, 11 million of whom live in Italy. "We want to tap our resources effectively to make more money," Juventus chief executive Antonio Giraudo said.
"We will buy Delli Alpi stadium, and in two years we will open Juve's new home where the Vinovo racecourse is now. There we'll have a sports centre, a mall and other services. After that, Juve will float on the stock exchange"
Juve's schemes are not just about profit, though. "We will be involved in a lot of benevolent causes," he went on. "For instance we are involved with the Gaslini children's hospital in Genoa, and in restoring an old abbey to make a park for children."
Juventus still believe that they can pip Roma to the title. "There is more pressure on Roma at the moment because they are the leaders," Alessandro del Piero said. "Last year we went into the run-in in first pace only to lose, and I hope history repeats itself.
Zinedine Zidane is less optimistic, and has urged Juve to buy big names over the summer. "It's not important whether they're French or not; just so long as they're great," he said.
"I don't believe Roma will have any problems this year, but we still have to look to win every game, and hopefully next year we will be stronger."
