19 July 2022
Who will be the first to score for Juventus in the upcoming season? Roberto Bettega, pictured above, holds the record as the player to have achieved the feat most often. Down through the seasons he scored the first goal five times, all against the Primavera team at Villar Perosa, where Juve play the traditional curtain raiser in front of the small group of fortunate fans. In recent years the players have changed, as has the setting for the opening game of the season.
KONI DE WINTER
Last year Juventus first took to the field at the Juventus Training Center against Cesena. Many regulars were absent and the debut goal was scored by a teenager from the Under 23 ranks, Koni De Winter. The Belgian defender, recently loaned to Empoli, continued to impress and went on to have the opportunity to make his debut in the Champions League, first coming off the bench at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea, then as a starter against Malmö.
CRISTIANO RONALDO
The same scenario, the First Team training ground, to send out a clear message in August 2020. Of the five goals scored against Novara, Cristiano Ronaldo struck after 20 minutes, inaugurating the 2020-21 season that saw him finish the season as the Serie A top scorer.
GONZALO HIGUAIN
Juve's 2019-20 debut was in Singapore. Tottenham Hotspur provided the opposition and Gonzalo Higuain immediately stood out, hitting the net against Spurs exactly as had in the Champions League two years earlier, both in the first meeting in Turin and the return leg in London.
ANDREA FAVILLI
Summer tournaments often give youth players the opportunity to show their quality. This is what happened in Philadelphia, where Andrea Favilli, at the tender age of 21, scored both goals to open season 2018-19 as Juventus overcame Bayern Munich.
PAUL POGBA
Paul Pogba stepped off the plane in Poland, where Juve kicked off their summer of 2015 and left his mark for the first time in Gdansk. Against local club Lechia he powered home a header from a corner after a only four minutes.
