Atalanta Downs Juventus; Roma Becomes 'Winter Champion'
ROME (February 3, 2001 5:28 p.m. EST http://www.sportserver.com) - Atalanta pulled off a comeback victory Saturday,
defeating Juventus 2-1 in a Serie A clash in Bergamo.
A Massimo Paganin own-goal with 17 minutes remaining looked like giving
Juve the three points it needed to draw level with league leaders AS Roma,
which plays its game in hand with Parma on Sunday.
But Stefano Lorenzi immediately equalized before Nicola Ventola came up
with a winner for the Bergamo outfit which has proved the surprise package of
the season in Italy.
That scoreline was enough to crown Roma 'winter champions' - a purely
symbolic title awarded in Italy to the team that tops Serie A at the halfway
point of the season.
Juventus almost took the lead within five seconds of the kick-off with
Dutchman Edgar Davids trying a speculative shot from 45 yards but Atalanta
goalkeeper Ivan Pelizzoli scrambled across his goal to palm the ball behind for
a corner.
And then the Bergamo side came into its own with Daniele Berretta forcing
a fine save from Juventus and Holland goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar and then
Cristiano Donato shooting wide when well-placed to score.
Van der Sar then surpassed himself with a fine save to deny Domenico Morfeo
and then Atalanta failed to test the Dutchman when awarded a freekick for a handball by Juventus defender Paolo Montero, who hails from Uruguay.
In the second half Juve coach Carlo Ancelotti introduced Yugoslav forward
Darko Kovacevic in place of the below-par Alessandro Del Piero in a bid to
shake up the Turin giants, anxious to gain the three points that would put it
level with Roma.
Juve carved out a good chance with Michele Paramatti crossing to
Filippo Inzaghi whose header forced a fine save from Pelizzoli.
Juventus got a huge break later. Zinedine Zidane floated in a harmless
looking cross and Paganin, with his view possibly obscured by the leaping
Inzaghi, heading past Pelizzoli.
It looked like heartache for Paganin and Atalanta but astonishingly it
hit back within a minute.
Lorenzi, brought on minutes earlier as a substitute by Atalanta boss
Giovanni Vavassori, rose to power in a header off the underside of van der
Sar's crossbar.
Just seven minutes later Nicola Ventola caught the Juve defense flat-footed,
racing clear to beat van der Sar.
Kovacevic had an overhead kick cleared off the line but Atalanta held out
for a famous win with fans racing onto the field at the final whistle.
Earlier Perugia continued its fine season with a 1-0 defeat of Verona at
their Renato Curi Stadium.
The only goal came from its inspirational defender Marco Materazzi who
this week agreed to join Inter Milan in the summer.
He beat marker Emiliano Bonazzoli to the ball to head the only goal of the
match after 63 minutes, recording his seventh goal of the season - an
impressive tally for a defender.
