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All Italia Juve thumps Madrid 3-1 to set up final vs. AC MilanPosted: Wednesday May 14, 2003 4:47 PMUpdated: Wednesday May 14, 2003 7:43 PM
TURIN (Reuters) -- Juventus produced a stunning performance to beat holders Real Madrid 3-1 in their Champions League semifinal second leg on Wednesday and set up the competition's first ever all-Italian final against AC Milan. Juve went through 4-3 on aggregate after the first leg ended 2-1 for nine-times European champions Real and Marcello Lippi's side will now face Milan, who got past city rivals Inter in Tuesday's other semi, in the final at Manchester United's Old Trafford on May 28. First-half goals from David Trezeguet and Alessandro Del Piero put Juve in command of the tie against the Spaniards who have won the competition three times in the last five years. After the break Real's Luis Figo missed a chance to bring his side level on aggregate when his weak penalty was saved by Juve keeper Gianluigi Buffon in the 67th minute. Pavel Nedved added a third six minutes later but then former Juve favorite Zinedine Zidane pulled one back in the 89th minute to make the hosts sweat through five tense minutes of added time before the passage was assured. Bitter note But there was a bitter note for Juve as Nedved, their driving force this season as they also retained the Italian league title, will miss the final after picking up a booking in the second half for a needless foul on Real sub Steve McManaman. The all-Italian final completes a remarkable turnaround in fortunes for Serie A clubs after not a single team reached even the quarter-final stages in the past two seasons. Juve's defeat to Real in 1998 was the last time an Italian side reached the final while their penalties victory over Ajax Amsterdam two years before that was the country's last success. Juve knew that to have a chance of lifting Europe's premier trophy for a third time they would have to produce something special. They did just that, attacking from the outset against a shaky Real defense badly missing their usual protective shield of injured French midfielder Claude Makelele. They were rewarded in the 12th minute when Nedved's deep cross from the right was headed down by Del Piero to Trezeguet who did well to turn the ball in from a tight angle. Two minutes before the break Juve doubled their lead when Del Piero made some space for himself on the edge of the area and beat Casillas with a well-placed low shot. Seven minutes into the second half Real coach Vicente Del Bosque introduced Brazilian striker Ronaldo and 14 minutes later the World Player of the Year was brought down by Paolo Montero for the penalty. The Real bench were furious that the Juve defender, who had already been booked, escaped a red card and they were fuminng even more when Figo's penalty was easily saved by Buffon. Real's hopes of reaching a record 13th final looked to be shattered when the hugely impressive Gianluca Zambrotta put Nedved through with a superb pass and the Czech crashed the ball past Casillas to make it 3-0. Late tension Zidane's neatly taken goal provided some late tension but it could not prevent a richly-deserved success. "I'm very happy for the squad, we really put on a great performance," said Buffon. "I'm very happy that the Champions League is coming back to Italian soil, I only hope that it ends up in Turin." Vicente del Bosque told Spanish state television: "We fought hard but in the end it just wasn't possible. "I don't think we played a bad game. We were up against a great rival. We didn't lose because of our defense. For good or bad, it was the whole team that lost." McManaman added: "After having a 2-1 lead at home this is a big disappointment for us, a big failure." Lippi demands respect after Juve joins MilanTURIN, Italy (Reuters) -- Juventus coach Marcello Lippi said Italian soccer deserved respect after his side swept aside holders Real Madrid 3-1 in their Champions League semifinal second leg to set up the competition's first ever all-Italian final against AC Milan on Wednesday. Juve's 4-3 aggregate win over the Spanish completes a remarkable turnaround for Italian clubs after not one side managed to make the quarter-finals in the past two seasons. "Right from the start of this season Italian football has had the desire to show it was not as bad as critics were saying. All four of our teams got through the first phase then three made it to the last eight and all of them went on to semifinals. Now here we are with two Italian teams in the final," said Lippi. "That shows that Italian football is to be respected. I don't know if it is the prettiest but it is football that should be respected. "We play good football, it's not as those outside of Italy would have you believe," he added. The Juve coach, who led the Turin side to a Champions League triumph in 1996 -- the last time an Italian team lifted Europe's top club trophy -- was fulsome in praise of his team's hugely impressive performance. "We knew that we needed a great Juve and we got a great Juve," he said. "To be honest, I didn't know if even a great Juve was going to be enough to beat the strongest squad of them all but we saw the best characteristics of Juventus out there. "Tonight was a great, great satisfaction. it's particularly satisfying to get to the final after beating such a phenomenal competitor in Real. "Don't forget in recent months they have produced some extraordinary performances and everyone said that we had no chance against them. But after the first game we had the feeling we could do it by playing this sort of game against them. "We showed a great capacity to defend with almost all our players against a team who you need to do that against. Then there was the speed with which we moved forward and also the great qualities of certain individuals which allowed us to create and take the goals as we did." Last Saturday Lippi claimed his fifth and Juve's 27th Italian league title and now he faces a chance to win yet more silverware against Milan in Manchester on May 28. "It is a great, a huge joy," he said. "This final comes after a couple of years in which Juventus have won a lot, but just when you think you've had access to all the treasures in the safe, then along comes another opportunity that's even greater," he said. Juve deserved it, says Real boss Del BosqueTURIN, Italy (Reuters) -- Real Madrid coach Vicente Del Bosque said Juventus deserved to win their Champions League semifinal tie on Wednesday and leave Spain without a finalists in the competition for the first time since 1999. Juve won the second-leg 3-1 to claim a 4-3 aggregate win and take a place in the first ever all-Italian Champions League final on a night when Real failed to shine. "When a team wins over two legs, when they score more goals than you then they deserve victory and all I can say is best wishes to Juventus in the final," said Del Bosque. But the Real coach felt his side had almost done enough to get a vital second away goal to follow the 89th minute strike from Zinedine Zidane. "We had chances right until the end. We fought hard throughout the game but in the end it just wasn't possible. I don't think we played a bad game -- we were up against a great rival" said the Real coach. The Spanish side also gave the impression their quest for the domestic title and defense of the Champions League was a step too far. Portuguese midfielder Luis Figo, who had a penalty saved which would have brought the teams level on aggregate, looked far from his sharpest and strikers Raul and Ronaldo, both coming into the game after fitness problems were also below par. Real also missed the tackling and work-rate of French defensive midfielder Claude Makelele who was injured. While acknowledging the heavy schedule might have had an impact, Del Bosque was not making excuses. "With the games coming so rapidly after each other players do find it hard to recover but you have to accept that -- it is part of the game," he said. Ronaldo, who came on as a substitute early in the second half, admitted he was short of full fitness. "I'm not in the best of condition. I did my best to get back into shape but it didn't go well for me," the Brazilian said. "It was a great semifinal. Juventus played quite well and we had some problems in defense. "We also had a chance of going through but then Figo missed the penalty and Raul didn't get the header on target." English midfielder Steve McManaman summed up the delusion of his side, who were favorites throughout the competition. "We've been knocked out after having a 2-1 lead at home so this is a big disappointment for us." SummaryJuventus 3 Real Madrid 1 -- result Champions League semifinal, second leg First leg: 1-2. Juventus win 4-3 on aggregate. Scorers: Juventus -- David Trezeguet 12, Alessandro Del Piero 43, Pavel Nedved 73 Real Madrid -- Zinedine Zidane 89 Missed penalty: Luis Figo (Real Madrid) 67 Halftime: 2-0; Attendance: 67,299 Teams: Juventus: 1-Gianluigi Buffon; 21-Lilian Thuram, 5-Igor Tudor, 4-Paolo Montero, 15-Alessandro Birindelli (7-Gianluca Pessotto 60); 19-Gianluca Zambrotta; 3-Alessio Tacchinardi, 26-Edgar Davids (8-Antonio Conte 89), 11-Pavel Nedved; 10-Alessandro Del Piero, 17-David Trezeguet (16-Mauro Camoranesi 77). Real Madrid: 1-Iker Casillas; 2-Michel Salgado, 4-Fernando Hierro, 6-Ivan Helguera, 3-Roberto Carlos; 16-Flavio Conceicao (11-Ronaldo 52), 19-Esteban Cambiasso (8-Steve McManaman 76); 10-Luis Figo, 5-Zinedine Zidane, 14-Guti; 7-Raul. Referee: Urs Meier (Switzerland)
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. |
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