Although Juventus and AC Milan do not share the same antipathy that the Bianconeri hold for the other half of Milan, the two sides have very definite histories, walking separate paths since the very start of Italian football.
Gonzalo Higuain has made a high profile move from Turin recently, but he is just the latest player to have made a success of crossing the divide between the two, sometimes spectacularly so.
Named for a different Turinese hero early in his career, Jose Altafini won trophies with both clubs having left the sobriquet ‘Mazzola’ behind him. Initially moving to the Rossoneri after the World Cup in Sweden in 1958, the Brazilian hit the ground running almost immediately. In his first Serie A season, he scored 28 goals in just 32 games to help Milan prise the Scudetto from Juventus’ grasp.
His goalscoring continued during the next few campaigns, bringing another league title and the 1963 European Cup, in which he scored 14 goals in just 9 appearances, including both in the 2-1 victory over Benfica in the final. As a predatory striker, he racked up 161 goals for the Rossoneri before departing for Napoli.
Following seven years with the Partenopei, 34 year old Altafini was recruited by Juventus, which began a late-career blossoming that saw the veteran capture a further two Scudetti, including in his first season, 1972/73, when a goal in the final match of the season against Roma was vital in securing the win that lifted Juventus one point ahead of Milan and to the title.
Altafini’s best years certainly came with Milan early in his career, though his experience was vital in helping to win silverware when he moved to Juventus later on.
Another member of the Rossoneri side in the early 1960s was Bruno Mora, the winger with an impressive eye for goal. Mora came to prominence with Juventus, with whom he won the Scudetto in 1961, but moved to Milan after they had reclaimed the title the following year; perhaps destiny played a part – both his first and last goals for the Bianconeri were in defeats to Milan.
Mora’s career continued to rise at his new club, and he was a pivotal part of the same Rossoneri side as Altafini when they lifted the European Cup at Wembley in 1963. Although his scoring prowess was slightly less pronounced than the Brazilian, Mora did grab a couple of goals, the second a true bullet header, in the 5-1 semi-final first leg victory over Dundee.
Having played in the 1962 World Cup in Chile, Parma-born Mora looked set for a place for the 1966 World Cup and a return to the scene of that European Cup win until a horrendous leg break in December 1965 following a collision with Bologna goalkeeper Giuseppe Spalazzi. The winger, in some quarters still regarded as the best Milan have ever had, was never the same again, though he returned to play the following season, and was part of a Scudetto-winning side in 1968.
Pietro Pastore also enjoyed success with both clubs, with his triumphs coming in the early part of the century; his 26 goals in 1925/26 helped Juventus to a Prima Divisione title, before two stints with Milan in which he found the net 52 times in just 89 matches and was part of an Azzurri squad that finished 3rd in the 1928 Olympic Games in Amsterdam.
Although Pastore was well respected in black and white, he became more famous for his work in Technicolor, as once his football career was over, he went on to become an actor with roles in films such as Roman Holiday and Barabbus and Red Shirts.
More recently than Pastore, the two sides have seen strikers cross the divide with regularity and to great effect. Names such as Filippo Inzaghi, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Roberto Baggio all represented both sides well and all remain revered at both clubs. Of course, the most celebrated recent transfer between the two (before Higuain, that is) was Andrea Pirlo. The midfield magician left the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, named for yet another striker that turned out for both clubs, for Turin after a hugely successful decade with Milan.
The four Scudetti he won in four seasons with Juventus suggest he made a good decision to leave the Rossoneri, though it must be noted that Pirlo’s only European Cup successes came with Milan – in 2003 and 2007; ensuring that he, like so many of the names before him that have worn both shirts, had a glittering career whichever side of the divide they were on.
When the two meet on Wednesday evening, Juventus could field at least a couple of Milan old boys in the shape of now-forgiven Leonardo Bonucci and Mattia De Sciglio, while Higuain in the only man likely to feature in the Rossoneri jersey who has turned out for their opponents before. One thing is for sure, however, the two clubs might be very different, but their playing staff have always been intertwined.
