Did you Know?
At Juventus, Platini inherited the number 10 shirt from the recently departed Liam Brady. In a team featuring numerous members of Italy’s victorious World Cup squad, Platini had a difficult introduction to Italian football. He was a target in the demanding Italian sports media, and even came close to leaving Italy in the winter of his first season. Platini and teammate Zbigniew Boniek successfully called for a change in tactics, and in the second half of the season Juventus saw an upturn in their fortunes. They reached the European Cup final, losing to Hamburger SV, but won the Italian Cup, the first of many club honours to follow for Platini in the coming seasons. He won the Serie A title with Juventus in 1984 and 1986, the European Cup Winners’ Cup in 1984 (setting up Vignola’s opening goal in the Turin club’s 2–1 victory over Porto in the final of the competition), the 1984 European Super Cup, the European Cup in 1985 and the 1985 Intercontinental Cup. He finished top scorer in Serie A for three consecutive seasons (1982–83, 1983–84, and 1984–85), and won a hat-trick of European Footballer of the Year awards (1983 through 1985). He was also voted Player of the Year by World Soccer magazine in 1984 and 1985.
