ROME, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Juventus set a new record for the most points at the halfway stage of a Serie A season when they beat Reggina 1-0 at the weekend.
The win gave the Italian champions 52 points from 19 matches, 10 ahead of second-placed Inter Milan.
Juventus have been in imperious form all season, racking up 17 wins and dropping points just twice - in a 3-1 defeat to AC Milan in October and again in a 1-1 draw against Lazio in December.
Serie A has not always contained 20 teams. The scoring system has also changed over time. Prior to the 1994-95 season a win was worth two points instead of three.
Even so, Fabio Capello's Juventus are still the most successful team ever at this stage of the season, narrowly bettering the previous mark set by the Juve side of the 1949-50, who notched up 16 wins, two draws and a defeat in their opening 19 games - a series that would have given them 50 points under today's scoring system.
Great teams of the more recent past include the 1992-93 Milan side of Frank Rijkaard and Marco van Basten that collected 15 wins and four draws (49 points under today's scoring system) and Diego Maradona's Napoli side of 1987-88, who won 15, drew three and suffered one defeat (48 points).
"I can't help but be pleased by the numbers," Juve coach Fabio Capello was quoted as saying in La Gazzetta dello Sport on Monday.
"But the important thing is to always keep one step ahead of the pursuers - it's the only thing that interests me from here until the end."
Source(text): Reuters
The record, boys and girls.
int:
The win gave the Italian champions 52 points from 19 matches, 10 ahead of second-placed Inter Milan.
Juventus have been in imperious form all season, racking up 17 wins and dropping points just twice - in a 3-1 defeat to AC Milan in October and again in a 1-1 draw against Lazio in December.
Serie A has not always contained 20 teams. The scoring system has also changed over time. Prior to the 1994-95 season a win was worth two points instead of three.
Even so, Fabio Capello's Juventus are still the most successful team ever at this stage of the season, narrowly bettering the previous mark set by the Juve side of the 1949-50, who notched up 16 wins, two draws and a defeat in their opening 19 games - a series that would have given them 50 points under today's scoring system.
Great teams of the more recent past include the 1992-93 Milan side of Frank Rijkaard and Marco van Basten that collected 15 wins and four draws (49 points under today's scoring system) and Diego Maradona's Napoli side of 1987-88, who won 15, drew three and suffered one defeat (48 points).
"I can't help but be pleased by the numbers," Juve coach Fabio Capello was quoted as saying in La Gazzetta dello Sport on Monday.
"But the important thing is to always keep one step ahead of the pursuers - it's the only thing that interests me from here until the end."
Source(text): Reuters
The record, boys and girls.
