Elder statesman

Trapattoni sizes up all-Italian spectacle

ROME (AP) -- Giovanni Trapattoni's perspective on the Italian soccer renaissance is so thorough it's a wonder he won't be pacing the sideline when Juventus meets AC Milan for the Champions Cup on Wednesday.

From the depths of an overtime loss to South Korea in last year's World Cup to the unprecedented heights of two Italian clubs playing for Europe's top club trophy, Trapattoni has seen it all as Italy's national team coach.

But before taking over the blue-clad national team, Trapattoni was better associated with the red-and-black of Milan and the black-and-white of Juventus.

As a player, Trapattoni spent 12 seasons with Milan, winning two league titles and two Champions Cups. As a coach, he led Juve for 13 seasons, winning six league titles and one Champions Cup.

So which squad does "The Trap" think will win?

"I've been in three European derbies and they were the toughest matches of my life," he said in a recent interview with Gazzetta dello Sport. "Anything can happen. Juve is in extraordinary condition and Milan is on the upswing. There's all the ingredients for a great game. Also, I think the two sides will have less psychological pressure than in league play."

Juve and Milan split their two league matches this season, but everyone involved realizes that the match in Manchester, England is far more than a just national event. The international soccer community will be watching to see if Italian soccer can back up its boasts that it has long since done away with its ultra-defensive style.

"Italian soccer will be before the eyes of all of Europe," Milan's Ukrainian forward Andriy Shevchenko said. "I'm not Italian, but Milan is my home and I would be honored to demonstrate that Italian soccer is not this boring, gray thing that some people want fans from all over the world to believe it is.

"True, Milan and Juve know each other well, but this is still a final, a special match that calls on special energies. I don't think it will be a boring evening for anyone."

Trapattoni also believes it will be an offensive game. Asked which players may decide the outcome, he named the top two strikers on each club: Shevchenko and Filippo Inzaghi for Milan and Alessandro Del Piero and David Trezeguet for Juve.

Using his customary honesty, the silver-haired coach acknowledged he never even considered thinking about two Italian clubs reaching the final.

"We had all the means to reach the final, but from Real Madrid to Deportivo to Ajax, the opponents were all very strong," he said. "Getting through, it means something important must have happened. But two, no. I wouldn't have even thought of it."

Italian commentators have used the occasion to boast wildly about their clubs' success in reply to fierce criticism abroad while their teams suffered in the various competitions the past few seasons.

Even with an Italian club assured of winning the trophy that most people thought would have belonged to Real Madrid for another year, people outside the country have remained skeptical.

"At the beginning of the season we talked often about our desire for a good showing in Europe," said Milan's longtime defender and captain, Paolo Maldini. "Now that we're here we have to finish the job and control our emotions."

"The Trap" used the occasion to take a jab at some of the most persistent skeptics: the English fans that a large influx of Italians will be rubbing elbows with this week in Manchester.

"We're here, while the English have called on (Sven-Goran) Eriksson to make their play more European," he said, referring to the Swedish import who serves as England's national team coach.

Adriano Galliani, Milan's vice president who is also president of the Italian league, was in line with many Italians when he said the country had already won by having two teams in the final.

"We're joyful at having reached the final, whatever the result is in Manchester," Galliani said. "I've seen many finals, but this beats them all. It's a historical occasion."

Milan's feisty midfielder Rino Gattuso, who played a season for the Glasgow Rangers and is a big fan of English soccer, was not about to lie down in defeat, however.

"Are you joking? To get here and then come in second? It makes me sick just thinking about it," he said.

Trapattoni is also expecting a fiercely contested game. Although he will have one worry while observing the match from his seat in the stands at Old Trafford's "Theater of Dreams."

Put on a good show in the name of Italian soccer, he said, "just as long as nobody gets injured."

 

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