Well before Aaron Ramsey and Ian Rush, the first Welsh player to ever don the Juventus jersey in Serie A was striker John Charles. Born on December 27, 1931, Charles wore the black and white colors with much better fortune than his countrymen.
He joined Juventus in 1957 after a successful stint at Leeds United and quickly became a fan favorite at the then Stadio Comunale. Together with Giampiero Boniperti and Omar Sivori, he gave life to what became known as the Trio Magico (“Magic Trio”), one of the most prolific offensive trios ever seen in Serie A.
Charles won three Italian titles and two league cups with Juventus, also conquering the Serie A top-scorer capocannoniere title in the 1957/58 season – right before participating to the 1958 World Cup with his native Wales. He scored 93 goals out of 150 appearances with the Old Lady.
To the Italian fans, he became known as the Gigante Buono (“Gentle Giant”) due to his height and well as to his sportsmanship on a football pitch – so much that he was never either booked or sent off during his Italian experience.
After five years at Juventus and a short comeback at Leeds, Charles also played for Roma for one season but his experience as a Giallorosso was nowhere near as successful as that of his Juve days.
He eventually moved back to the UK, closing his career playing for local clubs. John Charles passed away in 2004 at 73 years of age.
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