From the papers

April 18, 2000
Juventus Official Site

The pages of today's dailies are full of the black and white of Juventus. Darko Kovacevic, of course, takes centre stage and ample column inches are also dedicated to coach Carlo Ancelotti and Alex del Piero. The Gazzetta dello Sport uses chess terminology to drive home their point with Kovacevic cast as the rook and Del Piero as the bishop, building up to its headline: "Juve, checkmate." The big Serb's total of 20 goals have more than vindicated general manager Luciano Moggi’s close-season intuition and his two goals against Inter could well prove vital in presenting Juve with their 26th Scudetto in their history. The Milan football pink also picks up on some of Del Piero's comments regarding his strike partner, and he has nothing but praise for Kovacevic, and similarly coach Ancelotti admits that Darko certainly deserves greater exposure.

Tuttosport goes that proverbial step further: "Kovacevic: not on the bench for much longer" is the Turin-based daily's pro-Darko stance. The legendary Juve striker of yesteryear, the Welshman John Charles, gets in on the Kovacevic bandwagon and he knows a good stiker when he sees one: "Darko, you are the best," he quips. Del Piero's performance in a Zidane-type role also did not go unnoticed but he is quick to say that he prefers to play up front, even though Ancelotti and national coach Dino Zoff see him playing in the hole behind the front two.

The Corriere dello Sport´s headline reiterates the effect that the Yugoslav has had on Juve: "Kovacevic decisive". The last word appropriately is left to his club coach, Ancelotti: "He dazzled me during France 98 and I badly wanted him at Juve." Luciano Moggi saw to that.
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