Del Piero and Inzaghi deny feud

April 5, 2000
Reuters

TURIN, Italy - Juventus strikers Alessandro Del Piero and Filippo Inzaghi denied on Wednesday they had fallen out. Italian newspapers had speculated that the two team mates were feuding and were refusing to help each other on the pitch. Some reports said they had even come to blows.

But at a joint news conference, Del Piero and Inzaghi said the reports were rubbish. "It's one thing to talk about Juve's problems and our problems in attack," Del Piero said. "It's quite another to talk about a feud between me and Pippo (Filippo)..." Inzaghi said it would make no sense for one of the two strikers to handicap the other. "Our fortunes are linked, both here and in the national team," he said. "All this has come out now just because Juventus have lost a couple of matches."

Rumours that two of Italy's top forwards were not seeing eye to eye first surfaced in February when Inzaghi poached a hat-trick of close range goals in a 4-0 defeat of Venezia. Italy's voracious sports media pounced on television pictures wich showed Del Piero, who was well placed to score two of the goals himself, standing disconsolately in the penalty area while Inzaghi celebrated in front of Juve's fans.

In March Del Piero set up both Inzaghi goals in a 2-0 defeat of Piacenza. Again journalists pointed out that the two players did not celebrate together. Last weekend a soccer television programme ran a series of highlights which showed the players had exchanged only one pass during Juve's vital 1-0 defeat at home to Lazio on Saturday.

Inzaghi has scored 26 goals for Juventus this season while Del Piero has scored nine, seven of which have been penalties. The two players are certain to figure in Italy's squad for the European championship in June.
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