Coppa: Juventus spot on
Thursday 12 February, 2004
Juventus will meet Lazio in the Coppa Italia Final after a dramatic penalty shoot-out victory against 10-man Inter. A Christian Vieri error proved costly for the Nerazzurri after an exciting 120 minutes of football at the San Siro ended in a 2-2 draw.
Having drew 2-2 in Turin last week, Juventus knew they had a mountain to climb in order to reach the final. Yet their start to the game was highly encouraging as their high tempo seemed to cause Inter instant problems.
Miccoli went close on five minutes when his glancing header almost gave his side the lead before Juve were punished for their first mistake. Adriano broke the offside trap, with the aid of Juve stopper Legrottaglie, to round Chimenti and give Inter the lead on seven minutes.
Juventus kicked off and again seemed to be in control of the game. A fierce Di Vaio effort from outside the area finished just wide, as did a dangerous Miccoli free-kick. Tudor then shot over the bar from a great position inside the area.
But Inter again threatened to score with one of their few first half chances. This time Vieri broke the offside trap but his low diagonal drive struck the foot of the post. They hit the woodwork again on 37 minutes through Kily. His hit and hope from outside of the box rattled the bar.
Yet Juventus got a deserved equaliser just before half-time. A Miccoli shot was rebounded into the path of Tudor who slotted home from close range. That would be the Croatian’s last contribution, because of injury, as he was immediately replaced by Trezeguet.
The second half had far fewer chances but plenty of controversy. Having put on Nedved and Del Piero, Juve searched for a crucial second away goal. That job was made easier by the 66th minute dismissal of Cordoba. The Colombian hacked down Nedved who was converging towards goal.
The home side should then have been handed a clear penalty after Montero seemed to bring down Emre. Yet the referee incredibly waved play on much to the anger of the Inter players and the San Siro faithful. They were even more upset six minutes later when Del Piero nodded home a Miccoli corner. Inter 1 Juventus 2.
With a man advantage, Juve were knocking the ball around at ease but Inter kept fighting on. That passion and commitment was rewarded in injury time as Adani netted a scruffy goal to equalise with literally seconds remaining.
Juventus had the better of extra time as players from both sides visibly tired. Legrottaglie, Miccoli, Appiah and Nedved all had decent efforts. Even if the most dangerous effort in the silver goal period belonged to Adani. He thought he’d headed his side into the final but Del Piero cleared off the line.
Penalties inevitably followed where every player scored apart from Vieri. He took Inter’s final kick but Chimenti dived to his left to save. Miccoli slotted home the crucial spot-kick with class to set up a final against Lazio.
Inter 2-2 Juventus ( 4-4 agg. Juve win 5-4 on pens)
Scorers: Adriano (I) 7, Tudor (J) 41, Del Piero (J) 77, Adani (I) 90
Penalties: Adani (I), Del Piero (J), Adriano (I), Maresca (J), Stankovic (I), Nedved (J), Helveg (I), Legrottaglie (J), Vieri (I) MISS, Miccoli (J)
Inter: Fontana; Cordoba, Adani, Cannavaro (Van der Meyde 9, Emre 60), Helveg, Farinos, Stankovic, J Zanetti, Kily Gonzalez (Pasquale 46); Vieri, Adriano
Juventus: Chimenti; Ferrara, Legrottaglie, Montero; Pessotto (Nedved 63), Appiah, Tudor (Trezeguet 41), Maresca, Zambrotta; Di Vaio (Del Piero 65), Miccoli
Ref: Pellegrino
Sent off: Cordoba (I) 66
Thursday 12 February, 2004
Juventus will meet Lazio in the Coppa Italia Final after a dramatic penalty shoot-out victory against 10-man Inter. A Christian Vieri error proved costly for the Nerazzurri after an exciting 120 minutes of football at the San Siro ended in a 2-2 draw.
Having drew 2-2 in Turin last week, Juventus knew they had a mountain to climb in order to reach the final. Yet their start to the game was highly encouraging as their high tempo seemed to cause Inter instant problems.
Miccoli went close on five minutes when his glancing header almost gave his side the lead before Juve were punished for their first mistake. Adriano broke the offside trap, with the aid of Juve stopper Legrottaglie, to round Chimenti and give Inter the lead on seven minutes.
Juventus kicked off and again seemed to be in control of the game. A fierce Di Vaio effort from outside the area finished just wide, as did a dangerous Miccoli free-kick. Tudor then shot over the bar from a great position inside the area.
But Inter again threatened to score with one of their few first half chances. This time Vieri broke the offside trap but his low diagonal drive struck the foot of the post. They hit the woodwork again on 37 minutes through Kily. His hit and hope from outside of the box rattled the bar.
Yet Juventus got a deserved equaliser just before half-time. A Miccoli shot was rebounded into the path of Tudor who slotted home from close range. That would be the Croatian’s last contribution, because of injury, as he was immediately replaced by Trezeguet.
The second half had far fewer chances but plenty of controversy. Having put on Nedved and Del Piero, Juve searched for a crucial second away goal. That job was made easier by the 66th minute dismissal of Cordoba. The Colombian hacked down Nedved who was converging towards goal.
The home side should then have been handed a clear penalty after Montero seemed to bring down Emre. Yet the referee incredibly waved play on much to the anger of the Inter players and the San Siro faithful. They were even more upset six minutes later when Del Piero nodded home a Miccoli corner. Inter 1 Juventus 2.
With a man advantage, Juve were knocking the ball around at ease but Inter kept fighting on. That passion and commitment was rewarded in injury time as Adani netted a scruffy goal to equalise with literally seconds remaining.
Juventus had the better of extra time as players from both sides visibly tired. Legrottaglie, Miccoli, Appiah and Nedved all had decent efforts. Even if the most dangerous effort in the silver goal period belonged to Adani. He thought he’d headed his side into the final but Del Piero cleared off the line.
Penalties inevitably followed where every player scored apart from Vieri. He took Inter’s final kick but Chimenti dived to his left to save. Miccoli slotted home the crucial spot-kick with class to set up a final against Lazio.
Inter 2-2 Juventus ( 4-4 agg. Juve win 5-4 on pens)
Scorers: Adriano (I) 7, Tudor (J) 41, Del Piero (J) 77, Adani (I) 90
Penalties: Adani (I), Del Piero (J), Adriano (I), Maresca (J), Stankovic (I), Nedved (J), Helveg (I), Legrottaglie (J), Vieri (I) MISS, Miccoli (J)
Inter: Fontana; Cordoba, Adani, Cannavaro (Van der Meyde 9, Emre 60), Helveg, Farinos, Stankovic, J Zanetti, Kily Gonzalez (Pasquale 46); Vieri, Adriano
Juventus: Chimenti; Ferrara, Legrottaglie, Montero; Pessotto (Nedved 63), Appiah, Tudor (Trezeguet 41), Maresca, Zambrotta; Di Vaio (Del Piero 65), Miccoli
Ref: Pellegrino
Sent off: Cordoba (I) 66
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