From the papers

July 29, 1999
Juventus Official Site

Juventus have stolen the headlines in all the sports papers. The Bianconeri overwhelmed Rostov and are some way towards qualifying for the Intertoto final. Filippo Inzaghi was in fine form on his return to action, scoring two goals and settting up Kovacevic for his first Juve goal. "Welcome back Inzaghi" trumpets Gazzetta dello Sport. The Milan-based paper says Pippo was the best player on the pitch scoring twice (one from the penalty spot) and setting up the Serb Kovacevic for Juve’s third goal. Playing in oppressive heat, it was Zambrotta who broke the deadlock with a fine goal. Wednesday’s return match in Cesena is now basically an additional friendly with Del Piero making his comeback. Meanwhile Inzaghi hardly put a foot wrong. "I am happy with my goals and the win. Kovacevic deserved to score too and I gave him a hand." Coach Ancelotti is also enthusiastic about the new Juventus strike partnership. "I am very happy about Pippo’s return to the team, not so much because of his two goals but more because Inzaghi and Kovacevic showed they could play together. In the second half they had an excellent understanding and it paid dividends."

Last year’s Scudetto winners AC Milan slid to their first defeat in five months away to Varese. Gazzetta refers to a lethargic AC Milan. "Everyone was waiting for Andrei Shevchenko’s first goal at Varese, but Andreini was the one to score. Zaccheroni’s squad has got stuck in a rut, but Tonetto shone and Maldini is already in good shape."

Inter fared somewhat better. "Lippi’s squad shows off the scintillating Vieri who bags a hat-trick against Sarre. Baggio scores a great goal, Recoba stretches the net again and Sinigaglia is the surprise package with two goals." It was good training for Saturday’s match against Real Madrid in the San Siro.

Corriere dello Sport focuses on Inzaghi too. "Inzaghi finds the net early on. Bianconeri dominate in Russia and move closer to the UEFA Cup (4-0). Inzaghi nets two on his return. Juventus also celebrate Zambrotta’s and Kovacevic’s first goals for the club."

On the transfer market, Fonseca is close to signing for Atletico Madrid. For 9bn lira (around £3.2m) the Uruguayan will go back to playing for Ranieri in Spain. Henry’s move to Arsenal is all but complete. As for pre-season friendlies: Parma carries on scoring, 23 this time round. But there is a nasty piece of news. Amoroso is out injured for 2 months. At Lecce, Lucarelli and Lima play well. Bari win as Trento concede an own goal. At Cagliari, hats off to Conti junior. Napoli lose to Piacenza 1-0 but Napoli coach Novellino is happy. The coach says Bandieri and Iachini will be joining his squad soon. Roma’s match is curtailed by a torrential downpour 38 minutes into the match.

Finally to Tuttosport: "Juve triumphs. Spectacular comeback by Inzaghi, who scores two and sets up Kovacevic." According to the Turin paper negotiations between Ferrante and Torino have broken down. The striker is demanding a wage rise, but the club refuse to back down. Tuttosport says the meeting between the striker’s agent and the club’s representative Pavarese came to nought. The forward is demanding 2bn lira in wages but is ready to negotiate. Ferrante perceives the club’s umpteenth rejection as an insult. Vidulich is thinking in terms of a modest increase of 300m lira. There is no solution on the horizon.
.