The eruption of noise and cheering said unequivocally, yes, yes there were.“Are there any Juve fans here?” Craig Foster, Australia’s key football commentator and former Socceroo, asked the crowd gathered in a special roped-off, soccer pitch-themed area outside Monards at Crown Casino Melbourne.
The trio signed jerseys, answered questions in a translated Q&A and signed the boxes of two Hublot Big Bang UEFA EURO 2016 watches.Last night Hublot hosted an event with two current Juventus players – Daniele Rugani and Paulo Dybala, “one of the top five young talents in world football” – and one legend, David Trezeguet, to celebrate the Italian club visiting Melbourne for a series of friendly matches.
He spoke about the honour of being the official timekeeper of the 2014 World Cup, the importance of which is described here, and later (in a moment captured by Time+Tide for an upcoming video) he shared his all-time favourite Hublot football memory.Hublot Brand Manager Joel Ruiz introduced the talented panel, first reminding the crowd of the decade-long association Hublot has had with football. Let’s just say it involved Maradona. Watch fans may not need any more clues.
Hublot chose to partner with the club because it “is a monument in its own right, with an imposing history.” Founded in 1897, Juventus has the most supporters of any club in Italy, has historically won the most national titles, and is one of the most successful and recognised teams worldwide. According to the International Federation of Football History & Statistics, a body recognised by FIFA, Juventus was the best Italian club and second best European club of the 20th Century.
Asked about Juventus’s fortunes in the future, Craig Foster only had one response: “It’s not about whether they’ll lose and end their streak of five straight Serie A titles, it’s about who else is going to beat them.”
