Back to the future for Del Piero

February 3, 2000
SportsServer

By Trevor Huggins

Milan - Alessandro Del Piero will be trying to build a new future from an unhappy past this weekend when the Juventus star returns to the scene of a near career-ending injury.

Juventus was away to Udinese in a Serie A match in November 1998 when a bad fall injured Del Piero's cruciate ligaments, forcing him to undergo surgery in the United States.

The Turin club was top of the table at the time, but it subsequently plummeted down the table and was knocked out of every cup competition, also missing out on an automatic UEFA Cup slot.

Del Piero has returned this season well short of his true potential, though his team are once again top of the table - one point clear of main rivals Lazio.

This would be the place for Del Piero to turn on the class, just as he did in the same "Friuli" stadium a month before the injury, scoring both goals as Italy beat Switzerland 2-0 in a Euro 2000 qualifier.

He can count on the formidable support of French playmaker Zinedine Zidane, currently enjoying some of his best form ever in the Serie A, and strike partner Filippo Inzaghi on Saturday night.

At the other end, Udinese will be looking to 10-goal Roberto Muzzi for a result to keep them comfortably in the UEFA Cup zone.

Lazio, just waiting for a chance to return to the top, travels to Juventus' neighbors, Torino, currently at the wrong end of the table.

Lazio coach Sven Goran Eriksson will be fielding Chilean Marcelo "The Matador" Salas and Fabrizio "Silver Fox" Ravanelli up front, though the line-up in midfield is less clear.

Argentinian Juan Sebastian Veron missed training this week with a high temperature and sore throat, the ominous signs of a 'flu bug which has ravaged Italy in recent weeks.

The tightest match this weekend is likely to be at Parma, where the hosts face a re-born Inter Milan.

Inter has won five and drawn one of the seven matches since Marcello Lippi's splash in the transfer market brought the team Dutch midfielder Clarence Seedorf and tenacious Colombian defender Ivan Cordoba.

Three consecutive league wins - the last two sealed by winners from Roberto Baggio - have taken Inter to third in the table and level on 35 points with AC Milan and AS Roma.

Away performances have been Inter's undoing this season, with five defeats in nine games, so this one should reveal whether Lippi's men really have turned the corner at last.

Baggio keeps his place up front, alongside Christian Vieri, but the defense will need to keep a close eye on 12-goal Hernan Crespo, who lies second in the scoring tables behind AC Milan's Andriy Shevchenko (14).

Parma will have Dino Baggio back from suspension, fellow midfielder Diego Fuser back from injury and Paulo Sousa ready to make his debut after being loaned by Inter last Monday.

It's a crucial game for the hosts. Parma have slipped to sixth in the table, on 32 points, and a defeat now could finish off its championship challenge for good, while a win would lift them back into the running.

Roma is at home to lowly Venezia and all three members of its strike force - Francesco Totti, Marco Delvecchio and Vincenzo Montella - are fit and ready.

Champions AC Milan is at home to mid-table Bari with Croatian playmaker Zvonimir Boban doubtful due to tendon trouble.

Should he pull out, Milan coach Alberto Zaccheroni will probably use Brazilian Leonardo, now back after a thigh muscle pull, to support Shevchenko and Oliver Bierhoff in the club's bid to defend their title.

"Juventus have a five-point lead over us - but that can be bridged in a couple of months," Leonardo told reporters this week. "We feel that we are in the title race. We believe we can do it."

Serie A fixtures (1400 GMT unless stated)

Saturday: Cagliari v Perugia, Udinese v Juventus (1930 GMT)

Sunday: Lecce v Piacenza, AC Milan v Bari, Parma v Inter Milan, Reggina v Bologna, AS Roma v Venezia, Torino v Lazio, Verona v Fiorentina (1930 GMT)
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