Andrea Pirlo of Juventus in action during the Serie A match between ACF Fiorentina and Juventus at Stadio Artemio Franchi on October 20, 2013 in Florence, Italy. Photo: VCG

The last week has seen Juventus fans have reasons to celebrate. First, Cristiano Ronaldo has completed his quarantine period and is able to return to training ahead of any possible Serie A restart in the coming weeks and months.

Second, it was the birthday of one of the club's greatest-ever players, the unflappable midfield maestro Andrea Pirlo. The 41-year-old's celebrations were the source of many a happy memory for Bianconeri fans on social media as they looked back at his best moments.

Pirlo arrived at Juventus on a free transfer in 2011 from AC Milan and it was met with as much excitement in the dressing room as it was on the terraces.

"When Andrea told me that he was joining us, the first thing I thought was, 'God exists,'" said his Italy teammate Gianluigi Buffon. A player of his level and ability, not to mention that he was free, I think it was the signing of the century!"

Pirlo won the scudetto that season and provided the most ­assists in the league along the way. The following season he was named Serie A Player of the Year as he again won the league title, both feats he would repeat again the following season. 

He would lift the Serie A title in each of his four seasons in Turin and take the team to the UEFA Champions League final in his last game for the club, where they would lose to Barcelona.

As Juventus careers go, both ­Ronaldo and Pirlo have arguably played some of their greatest football for the club. What is for sure is that the heights they have reached elsewhere have not been evidenced in the famous black and white stripes.

Expensive flop

But there have been others for whom the weight of the shirt has proved too much and Juventus has been a rare low point on their careers.

The fear from fans is that the Netherlands international central defender Mathijs de Ligt could be the next expensive flop for the club. De Ligt arrived from Ajax last summer after impressing with his boyhood club as they won the league and swept aside Real Madrid in reaching the UEFA Champions League semifinals before losing dramatically to English Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur at home, after impressing in both legs.

It is fair to say that De Ligt has not reached the same levels in Turin. A stat being shared on social media shows the difference between him being included in the starting 11 and missing out. In 17 games where he has started, ­Juventus have won 64.7 percent, drawn 17.6  percent and lost 17.6 percent; in the nine games he has not started they have a 100 percent win record.

That's not proof but the jury is out on a player who arrived as a teenager and is reported to be second behind Ronaldo in salary. Some fans have referred to him as "The Dutch Phil Jones" and there was a time he was linked with a return to Ajax earlier in the season.

However, the rest of the football world has certainly not been put off if reports are to be believed. De Ligt is said to be a long-term transfer target for Barcelona and they have enquired about his availability more than 10 times this season. What's more, they have tested the Italian side's resolve with a bid.

Juventus are apparently not interested and convinced he is a star of the future but another less than stellar season in Serie A may see them change their mind. Stranger things have happened after all.

Here are some of the other players who failed to set Turin alight but went on to do OK elsewhere.

Thierry Henry arrived in Turin as a highly rated youngster in 1999 but the 22-year-old winger could not settle in Carlo Ancelotti's side and lasted barely six months before reuniting with former coach Arsene Wenger at Arsenal. The rest was history as he became one of the greatest imports to English football and the club's top scorer in a trophy-laden career filled with individual and team highlights. He then went and won trophies with Barcelona.

Striker's graveyard

Juventus has been something of a striker's graveyard over the years. That was what Italy international Ciro Immobile found. He was another teen prodigy and impressed out on loan but he could never convince ­Antonio Conte who let him move on to Genoa. Lazio would eventually ­benefit from that decision as ­Immobile became one of the most prolific strikers in the country.

Croatia's Alen Boksic found much the same after arriving from Lazio. The striker won Serie A while at ­Juventus but was largely unable to find the net and was sent back to Rome after three goals in the title-winning season. 

He did not look back. Lazio won the 1998 and 2000 Italian Cup and the UEFA Cup ­Winners Cup in between before ­being crowned Serie A champions in ­1999-2000. Boksic then moved to Middlesbrough where he was named player of the year by the Boro fans.

Italy's Luca Toni also failed to ignite on loan at Juve though he did score the first goal at their new home. Toni would go on to have an Indian summer at Verona, scoring well in to his football dotage.

Perhaps the biggest flop of them all is not a striker at all, but a goalkeeper, and another Dutchman who had shone at Ajax.

Edwin van der Sar joined Juventus in 1999 already a UEFA Champions League winner with the Dutch side. In two seasons the Turin side finished runners-up on both occasions and Van der Sar got the blame on both counts. One costly calamity came against Lazio, who would go on to win the title.

Van der Sar would leave for Fulham, confident taking a step back would see him reach the heights again, while Juventus would replace him with Gigi Buffon of Parma. That worked out OK for everyone. Buffon became synonymous with the club and Van der Sar left Fulham for ­Manchester United and another Champions League winner's medal. He also saved the decisive penalty in the final.

There is light at the end of the ­tunnel for De Ligt.