Del Piero shines as Juventus clinch trophy

August 19, 2001
Onefootball.com

Juventus forward Alessandro del Piero showed that he has not been fazed by the arrival of Marcelo Salas as he turned in a virtuoso display to help his side beat AC Milan on penalties in the traditional Luigi Berlusconi Trophy in the San Siro on Saturday.

There were plenty of positive signs for Juventus boss Marcello Lippi as his side out-played Milan for much of the match, although they failed to convert their dominance into goals and the game finished in a 1-1 draw.

The one-sided first half finished goalless, but Juventus eventually went ahead through Del Piero seven minutes after the break. The Italy star played David Trezeguet through and when his shot was parried by Christian Abbiati, Del Piero was on hand to rifle the ball home from close range.

Del Piero has combined particularly well with Frenchman Trezeguet in the pre-season campaign so far, and their pace and movement was often too much for the Milan defence to handle.

At the other end, Milan's new strike combination of Andriy Shevchenko and Filippo Inzaghi rarely caused the Juventus defence any problems. France international Lilian Thuram, in particular, was in formidable form.

Milan boss Fatih Terim introduced the former Alaves forward Javi Moreno in the second half, and he earned his side a penalty when he was fouled at a corner 79th minute. Brazilian wing-back Serginho made no mistake from the spot.

Man-of-the-match Del Piero almost won the game for Juventus in the last minute, but the contest was eventually decided by penalties. As fate would have it, Inzaghi, who scored 89 goals for Juventus before moving to Milan this summer, missed the final penalty to give his old side a 3-1 victory.

The Milan fans stayed behind after the game to give their hero Zvonimir Boban, who has agreed to join Celta Vigo on loan, a fitting send-off. "It was amazing," said the emotional Croatia star.

"I can't remember a send-off like that since Marco van Basten left," added the midfielder who has given nine years service to the Rossoneri.

Milan coach Terim explained afterwards that the defeat may, in fact, be a good sign for his team. "Well I've just been told that the winners of this trophy have never gone onto win the Scudetto," he grinned. "But I'm not superstitious and I would have liked us to win.

"My players seemed to be so nervous - particularly the new ones. People like Rui Costa were so worked up about the game, imagine what it was like to for the inexperienced players," he added.

Juventus boss Lippi hailed the performance of Del Piero. "He is getting stronger, which is what I said he needed to do. It's the same for most of the players," he explained.

"David Trezeguet is stil not quite there yet. But Lilian Thuram and Gianluigi Buffon both did well. I paid good money for them because I know how good they are," he insisted.

Milan Abbiati, Contra (Helveg 71), Laursen, Maldini, Coco (Donati 46), Gattuso, Kaladze, Serginho, Rui Costa, Inzaghi Shevchenko (Moreno 71)

Juventus: Buffon, Cristian Zenoni, Thuram (Davids 80), Iuliano (Ferrara 69), Pessotto (Birindelli 65), Zambrotta, Tudor, Tacchinardi, Nedved (Maresca 68), Del Piero, Trezeguet
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