The Serie A champions have began pre-season training and on the Juventus shirt, right below the teams logo are the words “30 on the pitch” in place of the stars, of which there should have been three following last year’s title.
The 30 and the three stars is basically a taunt aimed at the authorities, as Juventus President Andrea Agnelli admitted:
“We Juventini feel that all 30 titles we have won are ours,” he explained. “The general opinion is that after winning the Scudetto last year we should have been able to put three stars below our logo. If we count up our Scudetto we have 30, yet the [Italian Football] Federation skips two: according to them there are 28. We disagree so we’ve decided to remove the two stars above our logo. We do not recognise the Federation’s calculations. That is why we have put writing below the Juve symbol instead. The replica shirt for the fans will be different from the official match shirts because they will have two stars above the logo, and in Juventus Stores fans can add a personalised third star making the fans’ shirts totally unique.
Earlier this week, AC Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri took a shot at Juventus’s title count saying:
“Juventus’ Scudetti? They have 31; everybody is wrong, because you should also count the Serie B title,”
Agnelli could not let that jib pass without responding saying:
“Allegri said that Juve should have 31 Scudetti if you count their Serie B title? It makes me smile because everyone talks about Juve whereas we just worry about ourselves. I prefer to concentrate on my own business, and that others concentrate on theirs. Allegri made a joke, that’s all, and in any case AC Milan will have two stars.”