Juventus fans will get their first glimpse of summer signing superstar Cristiano Ronaldo on Sunday, when he makes his debut for the Italian champion at the foot of the Alps a week before the start of the new Serie-A season.
Ronaldo, who signed for Juventus from Real Madrid in a €100 million deal exactly a month ago, will wear the Juventus kit for the first time in the club’s traditional pre-season friendly between Juve’s first XI and a ‘B’ team in Villar Perosa, a small town 40km west of Turin.
Set in a valley at the foot of the Italian Alps, Villar Perosa is the home of the family estate and summer retreat of the powerful Agnellis, who, apart from a brief period around the Second World War, have run Juventus since 1923 and established the traditional alpine curtain raiser.
Members of the industrial dynasty — founders of Fiat car manufacturers and often called the “Italian Kennedys” — have lived at “The Castle” in Villar Perosa since the 19th century, while deceased former club chairman Gianni Agnelli was town mayor between 1945 and 1980.
Used to imposing arenas such as the Camp Nou, Old Trafford and the Bernabeu, the Ballon d’Or holder Ronaldo will take his first steps in black and white stripes at the town’s compact ground, named after notoriously brutal Italy centre-back Gaetano Scirea.
There should be more fans at the match than the entire population of Villar Perosa, with the 5,000 tickets available long-since sold out and even more supporters desperate to try and catch a glimpse of their new idol.
Enthusiasm
Such is the enthusiasm for Ronaldo’s debut that special security measures have been drafted in the town for the match, including a complete ban on the sale of alcohol from Saturday.
Ronaldo’s arrival had sparked rumours that the match would be moved to the Allianz Stadium due to the enthusiasm from fans after his signing. But the club decided to stick with the traditional bucolic setting.
That could mean Ronaldo gets even more up close and personal with Juventus fans.
Established custom dictates that five minutes after half-time fans invade the pitch, bringing the game to a halt as fans charge after and greet their heroes.
Ronaldo joined the team for training on Wednesday with Juventus two important players lighter after the return from the International Champions Cup in the USA.
The 33-year-old’s arrival pushed striker Gonzalo Higuain to AC Milan and the Argentine was joined by the impressive Mattia Caldara, who has established himself as one of Serie-A’s best defenders since breaking through at Atalanta two years ago.
Caldara arrived at Juventus in early July only to be swapped last week with Leonardo Bonucci, who returned to Turin after just one unconvincing season with Milan.
The decision to deprive itself of a proven Serie-A goalscorer and in particular to swap Caldara, 24, for 31-year-old Bonucci has left some question marks over Juventus despite Ronaldo’s proven prowess.
His domestic form — despite scoring 26 goals in La Liga — was below the almost superhuman levels that had characterised his time in Spain as Real Madrid finished third behind local rival Atletico and a whole 17 points behind champion Barcelona.
However, Juventus’ closest recent challengers — Napoli and Roma — have sold important players this summer, and Napoli has to adapt to new coach Carlo Ancelotti following talismanic Maurizio Sarri’s departure and subsequent move to Chelsea.
Juventus has signed Ronaldo not to cement its domestic dominance, after winning seven straight league titles, but to boost its international profile and bag its first Champions League triumph in over two decades.
Last season, Ronaldo was his usual dominant self in Europe as he smashed 15 goals to top the Champions League scoring charts and fired Real Madrid to continental glory for the third straight year.