No Way Back For Del Piero
Saturday 2nd December 2000
As Juventus prepare for the big showdown match with Internazionale, Alessandro Del Piero is set to miss out again as Ancelotti keeps faith with the in-form David Trezeguet.
Trezeguet and Filippo Inzaghi are poised to continue where they left off last week, when their partnership helped produce a 2-1 win over Verona, with the Frenchman scoring the opening goal.
Trezeguet is relishing the chance to start in Milan as he has been on target on both visits to the San Siro this year, against AC Milan in the Berlusconi Cup and in the league.
"We are improving now," he said. "This could be the turning point. If we win we will be flying. We are confident now, we are finding the real Juventus."
Trezeguet is happy about facing his former France team-mate Laurent Blanc, who will be looking to mark him out of the game at the San Siro.
"He is a gret player and a fantastic man," said Trezeguet. "It will be an emotional match for me. I feel fine now that I have got to know all my new team-mates."
"As for Del Piero, it's not easy for anyone to stay on the bench. But I had to do it too. Now it's my chance. I have done what I wanted to and what I was sure I could do. And we also have Zidane. When he is on song he is the best and I'm happy to be playing with him."
Fot Inter, this game is their most crucial match of the season after the humiliating 6-1 thrashing by Parma in the Italian Cup in midweek. They have just 11 pointsin the league and need to get their season back on track quickly.
This fixture is known as the Italian derby as it pits the two sides in the country with the largest amount of supporters against each other. For both sets of fans, this match is a question of pride as much as anything else.
It has been a particularly difficult week for the Nerazzuri, not least for Cristian Vieri, who was attacked while walking with his fiancee in the week.
Laurent Blanc identified Inter's main problem as being their failure to find any sort of consistency.
"We will probably play well against Juventus," he said. "But then we will have to go on from that and that's our problem."
Meanwhile, there is talk in Italy that Alvaro Recoba may be on the move to Juventus at the end of the season, according to his brother.
In January he will be able to sign a precontractual agreement with another club and it seems that Juventus are the favourites to capture the Uruguay international's signature.
"For Alvaro I think a change would be better," said Fabian Recoba on Friday. "I think he can play for Juventus next season. But only Paco Casal, my brother's agent, can decide."
"I know Recoba is waiting for Inter, but day by day he is growing further apart. It's not just a question of money. He needs to know about his future, his role in the team. He loves president Moratti, but thats isn't the problem."
Inter: Frey, Blanc, Ferrari, Cordoba, Zanetti, Di Biagio, Farinos, Jugovic, Recoba, Sukur, Vieri.
Juventus: Van der Sar, Ferrara, Montero, Iuliano, Zambrotta, Tacchinardi, Davids, Pessotto, Zidane, Trezeguet, Inzaghi
Referee: Braschi (Prato)
