Friendlies: Napoli beat Juve & Inter Friday 12 August, 2005
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Luis Figo won a penalty on his debut, but Inter lost both games as Napoli beat Juve to the Trofeo Moretti tournament at the Stadio San Paolo.
It took just 57 seconds for Juventus to take the lead against Inter in the first of three mini-games, as a corner kick came out to an unmarked David Trezeguet, whose angled drive hit the far post and was tapped in from a yard by Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
The Swede was making quite an impact, as soon after he drilled in a free kick that left goalkeeper Francesco Toldo looking somewhat foolish. Inter fought back and Antonio Chimenti smothered a Giorgos Karagounis effort, but the Bianconeri were dominating and Trezeguet saw another goal disallowed for a tight offside decision.
Mauro Camoranesi limped off with a knee problem and Marco Materazzi raised the tension with a very late challenge on Ibrahimovic, forcing the Swede to go off. Alvaro Recoba’s low strike skimmed the far post, but Chimenti was never really tested.
“We aren’t sharp yet, which is why we need these friendly tests to work on fitness and tactical movements,” noted Fabio Capello. “We should’ve let the ball move more smoothly. I will say that Materazzi could’ve easily avoided striking Ibrahimovic like that.”
Figo was given his first match in a Nerazzurri jersey, but his form suggests a starting place in next Sunday’s Italian Supercup clash with Juve isn’t on the cards. “It went well, though the result wasn’t good, but the important thing is to gain match fitness,” said former Real Madrid star Figo. “I’ve been working with Inter for a week and there’s a while to go yet. I watched Inter’s performance in the midweek Champions League preliminary round and admired the organisation and quality of the side.”
The second mini-match was between Napoli and Inter, but Roberto Mancini’s men didn’t start much better, as after two minutes Inacio Pia’s lob was just wide of an empty net. Emanuele Calaio then wasted a free header from six yards.
Napoli’s pressure paid off and after 13 minutes Pia’s strike thumped the upright, coming back out to Bogliacino, who slotted into an empty net. A Boumsong goalline clearance prevented Calaio from doubling their lead and Julio Cesar fingertipped Bogliacino’s effort round the post as Inter failed to get into gear.
It’s unlikely they were tired from their midweek exploits against Shakhtar Donetsk, as most of the players in the Trofeo Birra Moretti did not set foot on the Ukrainian pitch.
Nonetheless, Figo made an impact on 23 minutes when he earned a penalty for a debatable push from Grava. Recoba stepped up and buried the spot-kick to draw the Nerazzurri level. It didn’t last long, as straight after the half-time break Pia took advantage of a defensive error to slot past Julio Cesar.
Mancio made a series of substitutions in a bid to restore the situation, introducing Adriano, Obafemi Martins and Santiago Solari. Although they pushed forward, goalkeeper Gennaro Iezzo was never really troubled and Inter suffered their second consecutive defeat.
“Apart from the result, the most important thing today was that nobody got injured,” said Mancini. “The rest of it really wasn’t key at this stage of the season. Samuel and Figo are nowhere near full fitness, but that was expected.”
The decider was between Napoli and Juventus with Adrian Mutu and Alessandro Del Piero unleashed, but Napoli were awarded a spot kick after three minutes when Gianluca Pessotto went through the back of Montervino. Roberto Sosa’s penalty had to be repeated due to encroachment and he netted both times to put the home side ahead.
Ruben Olivera’s fierce effort stung the goalkeepers’ palms, but Varricchio’s lob was just over Juve’s empty net. It proved a decisive error, as moments later Mutu’s fine cross was tapped in by Zalayeta. The Romanian was on fine form and thumped the upright with a strong solo effort, but Zalayeta then missed a completely open goal after springing the offside trap.
Emerson went off with a slight muscular problem and a scuffle broke out when Jonathan Zebina reacted angrily to a foul. It was 1-1 at the end of the 45 minutes, so the tournament was decided by a US-style shoot-out – where players have six seconds to run 20 metres towards the goal and shoot with the ‘keeper also coming out to narrow the angle. Zambrotta and Mutu missed, while Gatti and Capparella netted, so Napoli won the Trofeo Birra Moretti.
Juventus 2-0 Inter
Scorers: Ibrahimovic 1, 10 (J)
Inter: Toldo; Ze Maria, Samuel, Materazzi, Wome; Figo (Arrieta 32), Pizarro, C Zanetti, Karagounis; Cruz, Recoba
Juventus: Chimenti; Zebina, Thuram, Cannavaro, Zambrotta; Camoranesi (Blasi 26), Emerson, Giannichedda, Nedved; Ibrahimovic (Zalayeta 31), Trezeguet
Napoli 2-1 Inter
Scorers: Bogliacino 13 (N), Recoba pen 23 (I), Pia 24 (N)
Napoli: Iezzo; Grava, Giubilato, Montervino, Romito; Amodio (Montesanto 24), Fontana, Capparella; Calaio, Bogliacino, Pià
Inter: Julio Cesar; Ze Maria (J Zanetti 26), Samuel, Arrieta (Favalli 26), Wome; Figo, Pizarro, Maa Boumsong (Solari 26), Karagounis (Cambiasso 26); Cruz (Martins 26), Recoba (Adriano 26)
Napoli 1-1 Juventus (3-1 after shoot-outs)
Scorers: Sosa pen 5 (N), Zalayeta 14 (J)
Juventus: Chimenti; Zebina (Zambrotta 38), Thuram, Kovac, Pessottto; Olivera,