Juve Shoots Itself in Foot in Loss
TURIN, Italy (October 24, 2000 9:02 p.m. EDT http://www.sportserver.com) - Juventus fell to a surprise
3-1 home defeat to Hamburg SV on Wednesday after it had
Zinedine Zidane and Edgar Davids sent off in the first half.
The result leaves Juventus needing a win away to Greek club
Panathinaikos to be sure of a place in the second phase, and it
must go into that tricky game without French playmaker Zidane or
Dutch midfield general Davids.
The dismissals left Juventus a goal behind and down to
nine men for the remaining 57 minutes of the game, and coach
Carlo Ancelotti admitted the match was over from the moment
Zidane and Davids lost their heads.
"The game was finished with the red cards. It is one thing
to play with a man down and come back from a goal behind, but two
men is too much, it was impossible," said Ancelotti.
The Juventus coach declined to blame Scottish referee
Stuart Dougal for the sendings-off.
"He wasn't great tonight but it was our fault," said
Ancelotti, "the behavior of Zidane and Davids was strange -
they are usually very correct players."
The game had started brightly with no signs of the rashness
that was to follow.
Juve went close to an opener in the eighth minute, but Ciro
Ferrara's diving header from a Zidane cross flew just wide.
The Germans clearly had positive intentions, and the
industrious Danish midfielder Stig Tofting hit the post after
his long-range shot had slipped through the hands of Juventus
keeper Edwin Van der Sar.
Hamburg coach Frank Pagelsdorf was forced to make an early
change when influential Croatian playmaker Nico Kovac picked up
an injury and was replaced in the 12th minute by Ronald Maul.
But despite the absence of Kovac, the Germans continued to
push forward with purpose and they gained their reward in the
the 24th minute, when Van der Sar was unable to hold onto a
fierce drive from Stig Tofting and Roy Praeger dived to head the
loose ball home.
That was a bad start for Juve, but it quickly turned into a
nightmare as Zidane was sent off for head-butting Hamburg
defender Jochen Kientz as the two tussled to the ground.
It is the second time that former World Player of the Year
Zidane has been dismissed in this Champions League campaign, after
he was red-carded in the home game against Deportivo Coruna in
September.
Just four minutes later Juventus found itself two men
down as Edgar Davids, already booked, was given a second yellow
card for a inexplicably rash, late challenge on Tofting.
From then on it was always going to be an uphill battle for
nine-man Juventus, and just three minutes after the break the
Germans doubled their lead when Marcel Ketelaer burst down the
left flank and set up a simple chance for Tony Yeboah.
Ancelotti then made a triple substitution in the 55th
minute and a minute later two of his introductions combined to
pull a goal back, when Alessandro Del Piero floated a free kick
into the penalty area and Yugoslav Darko Kovacevic volleyed home
at the back post.
But any hope of revival was dashed when Hamburg quickly
restored its two-goal advantage after the Juventus defense
failed to a clear a corner, and Croatian defender Andrej Panadic
headed the loose ball home from close range.
Del Piero hit the crossbar with a 30-meter free-kick, but
Hamburg's two-man advantage allowed it to dominate the latter
stages and Sergej Barbarez and Mehdi Mahdivikia both had chances
to add a fourth goal as Juve tired.
"We have thrown away a great chance and have punished
ourselves," said Ancelotti, aware that if Juve had won the game
it would have booked a place in the next phase.
"Now we have to pull ourselves together and go and win in
Athens."
Hamburg, which won for the first time in this competition,
could still qualify for the second phase if Panathinaikos draws
with Juventus in two weeks, and Hamburg beats
already-qualified Deportivo Coruna.
