Inter Will Challenge Juventus Without Ronaldo
Copyright � 2000 Nando Media
Copyright � 2000 Agence France-Presse
ROME (AP) -- Until Wednesday night, the Internazionale-Juventus showdown was shaping up as this weekend's feature Serie A match for two very good reasons.
But when Inter star Ronaldo re-injured his right knee in the club's midweek Italian Cup showdown against Lazio, one of the key attractions for the match-up was sadly pulled off the marquee in Milan.
Still, though the Brazilian forward's Serie A return won't happen Sunday night, there's another big draw for the face-off of the two perennial soccer powerhouses -- the Italian league title race.
Juventus, which is holding onto a slim, three-point lead over a hungry Lazio team, got back on track last week with a dramatic road win over Bologna.
The Turin squad ended a two-game slide when substitute Yugoslav forward Darko Kovacevic knocked in a header in the 90th minute. Minutes later, an own goal made it 2-0.
"The thing that made me happiest were the hugs after that first goal," said first-year Juventus coach Carlo Ancelotti earlier this week. "It's a sign that there's great unity within the group, like we had shown in the past."
But Juventus (18-8-3) will be put to the test again on the road against Inter, which now can add "winning one for the striker" to its list of motivating factors.
Of course, the first order of business is simply winning. Marcello Lippi's club is winless in their last five Serie A matches, which was topped off Wednesday by the 2-1 loss to Lazio in the first leg of the Italian Cup finals.
Having slipped to fifth place, Inter (14-7-8) is struggling for a place in European play next season. For the moment, however, attention has shifted to Ronaldo, 23, whose re-injury of his right knee has some asking whether the two-time FIFA player of the year will ever return to the greatness that made him the heir apparent to Pele and Diego Maradona
"I can assure you that unfortunately, being a player, it is a serious injury," Inter's French defender Laurent Blanc said after the match. "Above all on Sunday, we will try to beat Juventus and dedicate it to him."
Lazio (17-8-4) has a tough road match against Fiorentina on Saturday, sandwiched between the Italian Cup victory and next week's Champions League showdown against Valencia.
The other Saturday match is Verona vs. Udinese. The Sunday afternoon matches are Bari vs. Lecce, Cagliari vs. eggina, AC Parma vs. Venezia, Perugia vs. Piacenza, AS Roma vs. Bologna, and Torino vs. AC Milan.
