Juventus plays to tie in lower division
By ARIEL DAVID, Associated Press Writer
September 9, 2006
Juventus forward Alessandro del Piero reacts during an Italian second division Serie B soccer match between Rimini and Juventus, at the Rimini stadium, Italy, Saturday, Sept. 9, 2006.
AP - Sep 9, 11:34 am EDT
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RIMINI, Italy (AP) -- In its first game in Italy's second division, disgraced Juventus was held to a 1-1 tie Saturday by a Rimini team that played much of the way with 10 men.
This was an ominous beginning for Juventus, which was banished from the top division for its involvement in the country's game-fixing scandal. It was playing a team that finished 17th in Serie B last season.
Matteo Paro scored for Juventus in the 60th minute. Nine minutes later, Rimini's Domenico Cristiano was sent off with a second yellow card. Adrian Ricchiuti tied it in the 74th when he beat World Cup goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon 1-on-1.
"When we scored and they were left with 10 men, we thought we had won," Juventus coach Didier Deschamps said. "But this is what awaits us in all games in Serie B."
Besides being demoted to Serie B for the first time in its 109-year-history, Juventus also needs to surmount a 17-point penalty that accompanied relegation.
"We knew the road would be difficult, and today this was confirmed," Deschamps said.
A sports tribunal in July relegated Juventus and stripped it of its last two league titles for its leading role in the scandal. The club has appealed to the Italian Olympic Committee to reduce its 17-point penalty. Juventus has transferred half of last season's starting lineup.
Rimini coach Leonardo Acori said his team was motivated by the challenge of playing a team that has won 27 league titles and two European Champions Cup crowns.
"Of course, we were also very tense, especially in the first half," Acori said. "But in the second half, we loosened up."
The game was played in 10,000-seat Romeo Neri stadium. Temporary seating was added to boost capacity by a few hundred, but it was a struggle to accommodate Juventus officials as well as members of the Agnelli family, the founders of the Fiat auto empire who also own the Turin club.
After scoring, Ricchiuti ran onto the stadium's track and was greeted by celebrating teammates while thousands cheered wildly.
"To score a goal against a world champion was quite a satisfaction," he said. (yahoo)