Netflix, the online video streaming platform, has recently launched the three episodes of “First Team: Juventus“. This documentary series is a look behind the scenes of Juventus FC during the first months of this season. An immersion which looks as though it could be a new kind of activation for sports clubs.

Spoiler alert!! For those who haven’t watched the series, some elements below unveil scenes of the documentary

First Team: Juventus, a football story

We are some days before the beginning the season 2017-18 in Villar Perosa, a small village next to Turin where the owner family of the club, at the head for 90 years, welcomes Juventus FC to share the goals of the season. Before each season, the professional squad has been playing an exbithion game there against club’s young players for decades in front of local fans.

Directly, from the first scene, the series shows us the traditions of Juventus and how they are important and respected.

Once the season starts, we are immersed in Juventus’s life on and off the pitch. With Serie A and Champions League games as common theme, Netflix presents what happens in the everyday life of the club showing training, employees’ activites, sponsorship activations or a video shooting for Chritsmas. The relationship between the club, the city and the country is also explained to understand Juventus’s DNA better.

Players and Juventus legends, like Alessandro Del Piero, are obviously the main characters of the docu-series. They share their story with the club and some parts of their private life with honesty in a collection of interviews: Miralem Pjanic who explains how it’s important for him to spend time with his son. Claudio Marchisio, a Juventus player since 1993, who shares his passion for his club and his pain after an long injury. Gonzalo Higuaín who gives his perception on the hate of Napoli fans about him following his leaving last season. Others players shared also a part of their life like the captain Gianluigi Buffon, Federico Bernardeschi, Giorgio Chiellini and more.

The coach Massimiliano Allegri is also included in the series explaining notably why he decided to stay in the club despite his second defeat in Champions League final last year.

With all of these interviews, we feel close to Juventus’s squad knowing better their players’ lives and personalities. Netflix released an interesting work in terms of immersions and proximty with the squad. The quality of highlights from games is also impressive and give us the feeling that we are on the field all along the episodes.

More series for sporting clubs?

First Team is definitely an interesting novelty for fans as well as clubs. Indeed, the series allows watchers to understand better how a big club like Juventus FC works and to feel close to players. Then, a Netflix series offers to a club great visibility across the world and a good opportunity to show what fans may not know about the club. Before watching this docu-series, I already judged Juventus FC as a top club in the world, now, they look more like an institution with strong values for me. The image of the club in your mind is definitely different.

As the series is a blend of three episodes of 40 minutes, it’s a longer time in comparison with other sporting documentaries. Here, we are watching a story with more scenes and details. And that is an important fact with fans engaged and loyal to the club episode by episode during all the watching period which is pretty long.

I personally think that this kind of series in the sporting workd should be launched by other clubs and streaming video platforms with clubs looking for more visibility and attractive image, people watching more and more TV series and maybe online series as new outsider in the content game. The next docu-series dedicated to a club should be launched by Manchester City in partnership with Amazon Prime in autumn 2018 following the 2017/18 season. It will be one to watch!