Roma And Juve Get Ready To Rumble
MILAN, Feb 8 (AFP) - It may not be the thriller in Manila but Sunday evening's rumble in Rome between champions AS Roma and in-form Juventus is about as heavyweight as Italian first division matches get.
While only 80,000 will be able to witness the spectacle first hand at the Olympic Stadium, TV moguls estimate that in excess of one billion will watch the game worldwide on TV, a record for a Serie A match.
With Roma a single point ahead of Juventus and Inter Milan and just 13 rounds of games remaining this match has big Scudetto implications.
Juve, on a run of six consecutive wins in Serie A, are hunting a treble of Champions League, Serie A and the Italian Cup while Roma are still in pole position in division one and in contention in the Champions League.
Roma, though champions, do not have the history of Juve, who have won 25 Scudetti as well as two European Cups and two Intercontinental Cups but this match is the latest in a long line of epic encounters between the clubs.
Earlier this season Roma beat Juve 2-0 at Turin but it is the match last May at the Stadio Delle Alpi that still lingers in the memory as Roma came back from 2-0 down to force a 2-2 draw that virtually sealed the title.
Fabio Capello's courageous decision to replace golden boy Francesco Totti with substitute Hidetoshi Nakata proved a masterstroke as the Japanese midfielder pulled one back with a brilliant strike after 78 minutes and then created the equaliser for Vincenzo Montella in injury time.
That goal in Turin by Montella prompted 100,000 'Romanistas' to come onto the streets of the Eternal City in a premature Scudetto celebration. When a month later the title was secure a million thronged the Circus Maximus, the venue for chariot races during the days of the empire.
However, there is still too much football to play this season for Sunday's victors to claim any titles while a draw would play into the hands of Inter who would then have the opportunity of re-taking top spot by winning at Bologna.
But while Sunday's match is at the Olympic Stadium and not the Colosseum it is not likely to be a place for the faint-hearted.
Another red-hot atmosphere is guaranteed at Bergamo where Atalanta host Brescia in the Lombardy derby. Always a grudge match the ill-feeling has been augmented by the extraordinary antics of Brescia coach Carlo Mazzone during the 3-3 draw between the teams at Brescia earlier this season.
Mazzone earned a five-match touchline ban for running 60 metres to goad the Atalanta fans after Roberto Baggio's injury-time equaliser and his unrepentent tirade afterwards in which he suggested Bergamo's women earn their living by immoral means.
Atalanta fans, whose racist and insulting chants about Mazzone's dead parents had prompted the rampage by the veteran coach, have promised a hot reception for Mazzone and 500 extra police have been put on duty.
On Saturday night Chievo will hope to re-attach themselves to the leading group when they host Udinese at their Stadio Marc'Antonio Bentegodi in Verona.
AC Milan, eliminated by Juve from the Italian Cup this week, host Perugia who have proved their bogey team in recent matches, beating them in the last three Serie A meetings between the clubs.
Parma play Lazio while Fiorentina travel to Venice to play Venezia in a battle between the division's two bottom clubs. Lecce host Verona while Piacenza is the destination for Torino.
Fixtures (14:00 GMT unless stated)
Saturday: Chievo v Udinese (19:30 GMT)
Sunday: Atalanta v Brescia, Bologna v Inter Milan, Lecce v Verona, AC Milan v Perugia, Parma v Lazio, Torino v Piacenza, Venezia v Fiorentina, AS Roma v Juventus (19:30 GMT)
