Juventus Looks to End Mini-Slump at Reggina
MILAN, Nov 3 (November 3, 2000 2:02 p.m. EST
http://www.sportserver.com) - Juventus visit Reggina on Sunday as they face the first of two fixtures that could determine their season - and quite possibly the future of coach Carlo Ancelotti.
The match at Reggio Calabria may not carry the same significance as next week's do-or-die Champions League clash with Panathinaikos in Athens but failure to win will increase the sense of malaise that is suddenly afflicting the Stadio delle Alpi side.
Wednesday's 2-1 home defeat by Udinese, who now top the Italian first division, brought the first signs that supporters are losing patience with Ancelotti with some fans chanting the name of Gianluca Vialli, the former Juventus player and erstwhile Chelsea manager.
And Ancelotti, who denied talk of a crisis, is nonetheless well aware that Reggina's only win of the season so far - 2-1 at home to Inter Milan - was the final nail in the coffin of his predecessor as Juve boss Marcello Lippi, sacked afterwards by the San Siro club.
"It (the Reggina match) is becoming a decisive game - if the one at Athens already is, then at the same time so is the one at Reggio because it would be serious to go to Greece with two consecutive defeats in the Championship," said Ancelotti.
The European crisis has been brought about by the dismissals of midfielders Zinedine Zidane and Edgar Davids that cost them the match with Hamburg SV of Germany and ruled them out of the Panathinaikos match - in Zidane's case he picked up a five-game ban.
More worrying still for Ancelotti is the defence that is leaking goals at an alarming rate.
Under-fire goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar has been scapegoated by some for a catalogue of bungles but the club's director general Luciano Moggi stood by the Dutchman Thursday, saying: "He was and remains a member of the starting line-up."
Moggi, who nonetheless confirmed that Uruguayan keeper Fabian Carini may join the Turin giants in January, also dismissed rumours of a crisis, saying it was a word he did not like to hear.
Reggina, meanwhile, have slumped to three consecutive defeats since that Inter victory but with Juventus minds already fixed on Athens it could provide the perfect opportunity to get back on track.
There are no such worries for Udinese, whose trip to Lecce could be an ideal opportunity for them to stretch their advantage.
Their journey to the summit has been an impressive one with Stefano Fiore, Roberto Muzzi, Argentinian striker Roberto Sosa and Dane Martin Jorgensen impressing.
Bergamo-outfit Atalanta, second behind Udinese on goals scored, face a far tougher trip to AC Milan at the San Siro although the homeside have two injury doubts in Alessandro Costacurta and Francesco Coco.
Not everything in the Atalanta garden is rosy with three of their players facing minimum three-year bans from football if match-fixing charges against them are proved.
AS Roma will look to get their season back on course after the 2-0 defeat at Inter Milan that cost them top spot when they make another trip north, this time to Brescia.
Inter, buoyed by that victory, travel to Verona with coach Marco Tardelli now convinced his charges have overcome the fear factor he believes was responsible for their early-season slump.
No-one illustrates that better than Turkish striker Hakan Sukur whose header put Inter ahead against the capital side.
Sukur had been reportedly finding it hard to settle in Italy - his previous Serie A stint with Torino lasted little more than a month before he returned to Turkey feeling homesick.
But the "Bull of the Bosphorus" seemed a new man after his goal and said: "This was a very important goal for Inter and for me."
With Sukur and Uruguayan strike partner Alvaro Recoba both on the mark against Roma Tardelli is likely to resist the temptation to prematurely recall Christian Vieri who is close to playing again after a long injury lay-off.
The match at Naples pits bottom club Napoli against fellow strugglers Vicenza and defeat for the hosts could renew the pressure on their Czech coach Zdenek Zeman.
Another coach who is smiling again is Parma's Alberto Malesani who was delighted by his side's 2-0 victory over AC Milan, saying it was the best he had seen them play since they beat France's Marseille 3-0 in the 1999 UEFA Cup Final in Moscow.
Malesani will be particularly encouraged by the form of three summer signings Portuguese ace Sergio Conceicao, Frenchman Johan Micoud and Cameroonian Patrick Mboma who were superb against Milan with Mboma bagging both goals.
Victory at Bari would be the ideal follow-up.
There are two matches Saturday. In the evening defending champions Lazio host Bologna whose three consecutive wins have lifted them level on points with third-place Roma.
The other match in the afternoon sees Fiorentina host Perugia in Florence.
