STADIO DELLE ALPI, TURIN TUESDAY 9 MARCH 2004 at 20.45
UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
FIRST KNOCK-OUT ROUND, SECOND LEG
JUVENTUS v DEPORTIVO LA CORU?A
It was in the Stadio delle Alpi last spring that a last-minute goal by Igor Tudor gave Juventus a 3-2 victory that set Marcello Lippi’s side on the road to the final and eliminated Deportivo La Coru?a from the competition. However, an identical result this time round would have the reverse effect, following the solid performance by Javier Irureta’s side at Riazor two weeks and the one-goal advantage that the Galicians take to Turin. Failure to score in Spain adds a ‘difficulty tariff’ to Juventus’ task in the sense that even a seemingly comfortable 2-0 lead leaves the home team exposed to elimination if Deportivo score an away goal. However, Juventus will be mindful that they eliminated two Spanish teams in last season’s knock-out rounds (FC Barcelona and Real Madrid CF) and will be hoping that there is truth in the old adage there ‘never being two without three’.
This will be the fourth time Juventus play host to Deportivo in the UEFA Champions League. The two sides have twice drawn against each other at the Stadio Delle Alpi but Juventus have fond memories of Depor’s last trip to Turin when Marcello Lippi’s men overturned a 2-1 deficit thanks a last-gasp effort from Igor Tudor to secure their entry into
the quarter-finals.
Juventus will certainly have plenty of confidence going into the encounter as “the old lady” has only lost once at home against Spanish opponents.
The two sides have faced each other on seven occasions in UEFA club competitions and four draws suggest another evenly-balanced encounter.
This will Depor’s fifth trip to Northern Italy but they have actually never won on Italian soil in UEFA club competitions.
Juventus made a little bit of history on Matchday 3 by becoming only the fifth side in the history of the UEFA Champions League to register 100 points (based on two for a win).
Real Madrid CF (135 points); Manchester United FC (131), FC Bayern München (111) and FC Barcelona (104) are the other four centurions.
Of the five clubs who have accumulated 100 or more points in this competition it’s Juventus who average the fewest per game at 1.212.
Juventus’s UEFA Champions League record is: P 85 W 40 D 23 L 22 F 151 A 96.
Their first victory, and points, came at BV Borussia Dortmund (3-1) on 13 September 1995 with goals from Michele Padovano, Alessandro Del Piero and Antonio Conte.
The last win, a 7-0 thrashing of Greek side Olympiacos CFP, on Matchday 6 saw the ‘The Old Lady’ turn 40 in terms of victories in UEFA Champions League football.
It represents the biggest winning margin in the history of the UEFA Champions League and also equals Juve’s biggest win in Europe: 7-0 v US Rumelange (Fairs Cup 1970/71), Lechia Gda?sk (Cup Winners’ Cup 1983/84) and Valur (Champion Clubs’ Cup 1986/87).
Juve have now topped a group stage on six occasions in ten series: 1995/96; 1996/97, 1998/99, 2001/02 (stage 1), 2002/03 (stage 1) and 2003/04. They have twice finished as runners-up: 1997/98 and then again last season at the end of stage two. Real Madrid hold
the UEFA Champions League record for the most group wins with eight.
First Knock-out Round Second Leg Turin 09 March 2004
Juventus have a record of P 60 W 30 D 16 L 14 in group football compared to P 25 W 10 D 7 L 8 in the knock-out stages.
Their only 0-0 draw in the knock-out stages of the UEFA Champions League came in last season’s final v AC Milan at Old Trafford.
They have kept just four clean-sheets in 25 games at this stage - three at home and one at a neutral venue.
All three shut-outs coincided with Juve’s first three home games in knock-out football v Real Madrid CF, FC Nantes Atlantique and Rosenborg BK, who all lost 0-2 in Turin.
Record at home in knock-out stages: P 10 W 7 D 2 L 1 F 23 A 9.
The only defeat came against Manchester United FC in the second leg of the semi-finals in 1999.
RC Deportivo La Coru?a ended the group stage in 13th place in the UEFA Champions League all-time ranking list. The win over Juventus two weeks ago has pushed them up one place, ahead of Galatasaray SK, to 12th position overall.
They average 1.149 points per game whilst their win percentage is a healthy 44.6%. The 47 fixtures have produced 133 goals at 2.83 per game.
Deportivo’s UEFA Champions League record is: P 47 W 21 D 12 L 14 F 68 A 65.
This is La Coru?a’s fourth UEFA Champions League season. They have a record of P 42 W 19 D 12 L 11 F 63 A 57 in the group stages compared to two wins in five games in the knock-out rounds.
Four of their knock-out matches have come at the quarter-final stage against English opposition in the form of Leeds United AFC (0-3 (a), 2-0 (h)) and Manchester United FC (0- 2 (h), L2-3 (a)).
Deportivo’s best European campaign came in 1995/96 when they reached the semi-finals
of the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup - they lost 0-1 at home and away to French side Paris Saint-Germain FC
La Coru?a were late starters on the European scene and they did not make their debut in UEFA club competition until 1993, when they played in the UEFA Cup.
The Galicians hadn’t met Italian opposition in Europe before qualifying for the UEFA Champions League.
Depor have conceded all of their 12 goals in Europe this season on the road: one at AEK Athens FC, eight in Monaco and three against PSV Eindhoven.
Depor did, however, keep a clean-sheet against Rosenborg BK in the qualifying round.
The last away success in this competition came in Italy at AC Milan in November 2002. Their record since then is P6 W0 D1 L5 F8 A18. The draw was against AEK in Athens.
Juventus escaped from Riazor with a slender deficit two weeks ago. The Spaniards had the better of the encounter enjoying 52% of the ball but while Javier’s Irureta’s men produced seven corners against only two for Juventus, Deportivo could only translate their dominance into a single goal scored by Albert Luque after 35 minutes of play.
Juventus lined-up: Buffon, Tacchinardi, Montero (Birindelli 56), Pessotto (Conte 63), Del Piero, Nedved, Trezeguet, Appiah, Zambrotta, Thuram, Legrottaglie (Miccoli 46).
Deportivo fielded: Molina, Scaloni, Andrade, Naybet, Romero; Mauro Silva, Sergio; V?ctor (Manuel Pablo 85), Valer?n, Luque (Fran 81); Trist?n (Pandiani 69).
To add insult to injury, the Italian visitors suffered two key injuries, with Paolo Montero needing further examination on a suspected groin strain and David Trezeguet nursing a shoulder injury which Marcello Lippi said would "need two to three weeks to heal".
Trezeguet suffered the injury after colliding with Deportivo goalkeeper José Molina in the closing minutes of the first half and was replaced by Fabrizio Miccoli at the interval.
Despite the defeat Lippi had plenty of faith left in his side: "It will be a completely different match in the return leg. Deportivo succeeded in pushing us back because we did not come here to defend. We certainly made errors in the first half but our second half was much better and the result allows us real hope for the next leg."
Juventus bounced back from the disappointment at Riazor with a comfortable 3-0 win against Ancona Calcio on 29 February. At Turin's Stadio delle Alpi, Lippi’s men gave a convincing response to criticism by their president Umberto Agnelli that they had fallen short of last season's standards. Midfielder Mauro Camoranesi gave the home team the lead in the seventh minute with a looping right-footed drive. The Italian champions then survived a spell of pressure by Ancona before a Fabrizio Miccoli tap-in and a close-range
finish by Alessandro Del Piero wrapped up the 3-0 win before the interval.
Marcello Lippi fielded the following side (4-3-3): Buffon; Thuram (Birindelli 70.), Ferrara, Iuliano, Zambrotta, Camoranesi, Conte, Tacchinardi (Pessotto 77), Miccoli, Di Vaio, Del Piero (Chiumento 60.)
Swiss Under-21 international Davide Chiumento made his debut for Juventus.
Juventus then came back from 2-0 down to snatch a dramatic 3-2 win against Brescia Calcio last Saturday to boost their confidence before the crucial encounter against Deportivo. Juve's comeback began when they were awarded a penalty after Nedved was barged over by Di Biagio and Fabrizio Miccoli slotted home at the third attempt. Miccoli's
first two penalties, which both found the net, were ordered to be retaken as the Italian international had stopped in his run-up. Just a minute later, Marco Di Vaio brought Juve level with a fine shot on the turn from a Miccoli pass before Nedved crowned the comeback with a fierce drive in the 75th minute after Brescia keeper Luca Castellazzi's clearance fell
to him on the edge of the area.
Juventus lined-up: Buffon, Thuram, Legrottaglie, Iuliano (Tacchinardi 61), Pessotto
(Montero 46), Camoranesi, Conte, Appiah, Nedved, Miccoli, Di Vaio (Del Piero 74).
Since the 1-0 victory over Juventus, Deportivo have played two games in the Spanish championship, the first being a home fixture against fourth-placed FC Barcelona.
The match evoked memories of Deportivo’s famous UEFA Champions League come-back against Paris Saint-Germain FC on 7 March 2001, when they were 3-0 down after 55 minutes but fought back to win 4-3 with Walter Pandiani scoring a hat-trick.
Against FC Barcelona, they were 3-0 down after 49 minutes (Ronaldinho 2 and Saviola) and Pandiani provided a touch of déjà vu by scoring in the 50th and 55th minutes. However, although Javier Irureta’s side had chances to equalise, the scoreline remained stuck on 2-3. Their third home defeat in the league left them nine points behind the leaders, Real Madrid
CF.
Javier Irureta fielded: Molina; Scaloni, Andrade, Naybet (Djalminha 76), Romero; Sergio, Mauro Silva; V?ctor (Fran46), Valer?n, Luque; and Trist?n (Pandiani 46). The unused subs were Mun?a, Manuel Pablo, César and Capdevila.
They then suffered a second successive defeat when they visited second-placed Valencia last Saturday - even though Rubén Baraja failed to beat Francisco Molina from the penalty spot and the home team’s star player Pablo Aimar was injured after half an hour.
The turning point came in the 20th minute when Mauro Silva was sent off and a second penalty awarded to Valencia. This time, Vicente took it and made no mistake. Vicente and Juan S?nchez then scored in the 92nd and 93rd minutes to make it 3-0. The result leaves Deportivo in third place, 10 points behind the leaders, Real Madrid CF, with 11 matches to play.
Javier Irureta fielded: Molina; Manuel Pablo (Duscher 76), César, Andrade, Romero; Sergio, Mauro Silva; Scaloni, Valer?n, Luque (Fran 59); and Pandiani (Trist?n 72). The unused subs were Mun?a, Héctor, Capdevila and Munitis.
Javier Irureta went into the game with no injury problems and decided to rest Nourredine Naybet and V?ctor with a view to this game.
“We weren’t distracted by thinking about the game in Turin,” said Javier Irureta afterwards. “It wasn’t a good result or a particularly good performance, but we have to accept that. Now we have to think about Juventus; take the good facets of our performance in Valencia to Turin with us; and improve some other aspects.”
Deportivo have made minimal adjustments to their squad list during the winter break, simply re-registering Iv?n Pérez Mu?oz, younger brother of the former Spanish international currently playing for Real Betis Balompié. He made three appearances for Deportivo during the 1999/00 season before heading for French club FC Girondins de Bordeaux. He spent last season with Spanish second division side CD Leganés.
Juventus have scheduled their Monday Press Conference for 12.30 at the Sisport Centre (Corso Unione Sovietica 295) while their training session will take place at 11.00 in the same place.
Deportivo’s Press Conference will be at 15.00 in the Hotel Le Méridien Lingotto, Via Nizza 292 while the training session will take place at 19.30 in the stadium.
Javier Irureta has taken a party of 20 players to Turin: Molina, Mun?a; Manuel Pablo, Héctor, Andrade, Naybet, César, Capdevila; Mauro Silva, Sergio, Duscher, V?ctor, Valer?n, Fran, Scaloni, Djalminha; Munitis, Luque, Pandiani and Diego Trist?n.
Italia 1’s live coverage of the first leg in La Coru?a attracted a massive audience of 7.2 million viewers. In Spain, TVE’s coverage was watched by an audience of 5.3 million - over 30% of the viewing public.
Juventus are without midfielder Antonio Conte for this game. He has a one-match suspension as a result of having received his third yellow card of the campaign (all in the last four games) during the first leg at Riazor.
Deportivo have José Emilio Amavisca, Héctor, Nourredine Naybet, V?ctor and Diego Trist?n within one yellow card of a one-match suspension.
Albert Luque will celebrate his 25th birthday on Thursday
During the knock-out stages of the competition, the away goals rule and the Silver Goal ruling are both applied until the end of the current season. This means that, if the aggregate scores are level after the 90 minutes of normal playing time in the second leg, the team that has scored more away goals will be declared the winner.
If both teams have scored the same number of away goals, a period of 15 minutes of extra- time will be played. If at the end of the 15 minutes one team has scored more goals than the other, that team will be declared the winner.
However, if the aggregate score is still level, a second 15-minute period of extra-time will be played. If there is still no winner on aggregate scores, the tie will be decided by a penalty shoot-out.
The away goals rule will not apply to goals scored during extra-time.
To give an example, if both teams win their home games 2-1 and both score one goal during the first period of extra-time, the visiting team does not win on the basis of having scored two away goals. The match goes into a second period of extra-time. Imagine that
both teams score again during the second period and that the scoreboard registers 4-3 on
the night. The aggregate score of 5-5 will mean that the tie will be decided by kicks from the penalty mark.
The financial conditions for the 2003/04 UEFA Champions League have undergone changes due to the revised format. Each of the 32 starters received a fee of 2.5 million Swiss francs, plus appearance fees totalling 3 million francs for the six matches played and performance bonuses of 500,000 francs per win and 250,000 per draw.
Each of the 16 clubs who have qualified for the first knock-out round has, in addition, received 2.5 million Swiss francs.
Each of the eight quarter-finalists will receive 3 million; the semi-finalists will add a further 4 million; the runner-up will receive 6 million; and the winner of the final in Gelsenkirchen will pocket 10 million.
In addition, clubs retain all gate receipts from home games and will receive additional payments from the so-called Market Pool. This is based on the proportional values of different TV markets and the number of clubs competing from any specific country. This is a complex calculation and precise figures are not usually available until the latter stages of the campaign. As a (very) rough guide, three Swiss francs are two euros.
The draws for the quarter-finals and the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League will take place at the House of European Football in Nyon on Friday 12 March at 12.30.
The pairings for the quarter-finals will be determined by an open draw. This means that, for
the first time during the campaign, clubs from the same national association may be drawn against each other. The quarter-finals are played on a home-and-away basis, with the first
legs played on Tuesday 23 and Wednesday 24 March and the return legs on Tuesday 6
and Wednesday 7 April. The four winning teams will already know who they will meet in the semi-finals, as the pairings will also be decided during the draw ceremony on 12 March. This makes life logistically easier, as the first legs of the semi-finals will be played just two weeks later, on Tuesday 20 and Wednesday 21 April 2004, with the second legs to be staged on Tuesday 4 and Wednesday 5 May.
A further small draw ceremony will also define whether the winner of semi-final 1 or the winner of semi-final 2 will be considered, for administrative purposes, the ‘home’ team at
the final to be played on Wednesday 26 May in Gelsenkirchen.
Those wishing to attend the draw on 12 March must apply for accreditation before 12.00 on Thursday 11 March using uefa.com.
Two new publications should be available at all Matchday 7 and Matchday 8 venues. The third issue of Champions magazine was published in January and the second part of the 2003/04 UEFA Champions League Tournament Guide is now available. This is the Results Summary Book which gives complete details of the 96 games played during the group stage, along with team and player statistics and other summary data.
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