30 April 2017
The road between Monte Carlo and Turin has become a well-trodden one in the football world, with as many as 11 players crossing the Alps to represent both Monaco and Juventus over the course of the past 25 years.
From Barros to Trezeguet via Evra and Henry, Juventus.com retraces them all and discovers their impacts on either side of the border:
The French
David Trezeguet
Where else to start besides David Trezeguet, a hero either side of the border for his scoring exploits with both clubs and at national level for his native France.
David’s ten-year spell in Turin yielded 171 league goals in 319 games, four Scudetto titles and two Italian Super Cups, making the prolific Frenchman the Bianconeri’s all-time foreign marksman.
Before becoming Re David in Italy, the Juventus Legends president had an equally impressive strike rate in Monte Carlo where his 61 strikes in 111 appearances for Monaco – not to mention two Ligue 1 trophies and a French Super Cup - earned him the attention of Europe’s top clubs between 1996 and 2000.
Thierry Henry
While it would be in London with Arsenal that Thierry Henry made his name as one of the Premier League all-time top scorers, it was on the Cote d’Azur that the winger-turned-striker first made his mark as a professional.
After four seasons, 22 strikes and a French champions medal to his name, Henry made the short journey south to Turin in 1999 where he would feature in just 19 league games before joining Arsene Wenger at Highbury the following year.
Patrice Evra
Patrice Evra – the most recent representative of either side - appeared in two of four career Champions League finals with Monaco in 2004 and Juventus in 2015. In between, the veteran full-back – now of Marseille – sealed back to back domestic doubles for the Old Lady after turning out 156 times for the Red and Whites in a four-year spell from 2002 to 2006.
Lillian Thuram
Fellow defender Lillian Thuram began his professional career at the Stade Louis II in 1991 before joining Juventus from Parma in 2001. Four Scudetto titles, 204 appearances and a single league goal – an unforgettable run and finish against Milan in 2002 – for the 1998 World Cup winner.
Olivier Kapo
Olivier Kapo meanwhile, turned out a combined 51 times for both clubs from 2004 to 2006.
The Italians
Just three players however have made the journey in the other direction, Marco Di Vaio, Christian Vieri and Morgan de Sanctis.
Marco Di Vaio
Striker Di Vaio netted 28 times in two seasons for the Bianconeri in all competitions in a two-year stay in 2002, scooping one Scudetto and an Italian Super Cup on the way.
With a short spell in Spain with Valencia in the middle, the Roman joined Monaco in 2005, scoring eight times in 33 games, matching his Turin trophy haul with a further Ligue 1 crown and Coupe de la Ligue success.
Christian Vieri
Vieri spent one season either side of the Alps, his time with the Monegasque club coming just under 10 years after his brief but richly fruitful stay in Turin.
In his one and only campaign in black and white, the forward won almost every honour going, his 14 strikes contributing to Juve’s victories in Serie A, the Intercontinental Cup, and the European Super Cup.
Morgan de Sanctis
Arriving one year before his compatriot Di Viao, Vieri lifted the Coupe de la Ligue and UEFA Cup at the Stade Louis II before calling time on his career back home in Italy for first Fiorentina and Atalanta.
Goalkeeper De Sanctis is currently deputy to Monaco’s number one Danijel Subasic. The former Udinese, Roma and Napoli stopper made four appearances across two seasons for Juventus after joining from Pescara in 1997.
From Barrios to Jugovic
Vladimir Jugovic
The name of Vladimir Jugovic should immediately come to mind when thinking of Juventus and the Champions League.
After all, it was the Serbian’s decisive spot-kick at Rome’s Stadio Olimpico that made the Old Lady a European champion for the second time in her history after defeating Ajax on penalties in the 1996 final.
Having written his name in Juve history, the midfielder turned out for Lazio, Atletico Madrid and Inter throughout the late 1990s before joining Monaco in 2001 where we would add a Coupe de la Ligue to his personal collection.
Rui Barros
Like Jugovic, playmaker Rui Barros enjoyed far greater success in Turin than in Monte Carlo. Barros, now part of the backroom staff at the Bianconeri’s first knockout round opponents Porto, was a prominent figure in the side between 1988 and 1990, scoring 16 goals in 74 appearances across Serie A, the Coppa Italia and the UEFA Cup.
A three-year spell over the border followed where the Portuguese failed to make the same impact, appearing just eight times.
Sergio Almiron
Rounding off the list is Sergio Almiron: the Argentinian was loaned to Monaco from Juventus for the second half of the 2007/08 season, making 23 appearances in total for both sides.
