Four Into Two Won't Go
The battle for striking berths at Juventus is heating up after they drubbed Rayo Vallecano 4-1 in a friendly. With Alessandro Del Piero, Darko Kovacevic, Filippo Inzaghi and David Trezeguet battling for two places, coach Carlo Ancelotti faces some difficult decisions in the coming weeks.
Ancelotti will no doubt be pleased that the Serie A season doesn't start until October 1, leaving him with more time to consider the Bianconeri's striking options.
In the victory over the Spaniards, Inzaghi, Del Piero and Kovacevic all scored, as did Jonathan Bachini.
Del Piero, as he aims to overcome the disappointment if his crucial misses in the Euro 2000 final, demonstrated his worth as a provider by creating the first goal of the match for Bachini.
On 25 minutes, the Turin outfit were two up, Alessio Tacchinardi threading a perfect pass for Inzaghi who slotted home.
Just before half-time Del Piero made it 3-0. The Italian international then moved into the playmaking role usually filled by the absent Zinedine Zidane with Kovacevic and substitute Trezeguet operating as the front two.
Vallecano grabbed a consolation goal through Quevado before Kovacevic scored the Italian side's fourth and final goal to leave Ancelotti pondering how best to utilise the embarrassment of striking riches at his disposal.
Juventus: Van der Sar, Ferrara (Scardina 41), Paramatti, Iuliano (Zanchi 59), Zambrotta, Tacchinardi (Maresca 79), Brighi, Bachini, Del Piero, Inzaghi (Trezeguet 46), Kovacevic (Vieri 83)
Rayo Vallecano: Keller, Urbano, De Quintana (Quevedo 46), R. Ferreira, Cota, Mauro, Poschner (Sanz 65), Michel, Mingo (Alcazar 46), Glauco, Bartelt (Bolo 46)
