Zeman Takes More Swipes at Juventus
Copyright � 1998 Nando.net
Copyright � 1998 Reuters
MILAN (Sep 12, 1998 - 12:02 EDT) -- Juventus will start the new season on Sunday with a fresh series of insults from AS Roma coach Zdenek Zeman ringing in their ears.
Zeman was among several to claim last season that referees were on Juventus' side. Two months ago, he insinuated that current and former Juventus idols Alessandro Del Piero and Gianluca Vialli took muscle-building drugs.
On Saturday, the Czech maverick claimed the Turin club and its players were arrogant and had been annoying him all summer with their unfair threats of legal action after his comments about drugs.
"I've never declared war on Juventus," he said. "They were the ones who declared it."
Asked if it was time to offer the hand of reconciliation, he said: "I see no reason why I should. In fact, I hope the federation's disciplinary lawyer, (Carlo) Porceddu, reads some of the comments made by their men when he returns from holiday.
"I've been hounded all summer by calls for me to be suspended, and I'm really annoyed about it. Let me give you an example.
"I believe Del Piero is wrong when he says I should be made to pay, because he is taking over the role of the authorities set up to decide such matters. But then, I can understand that -- that's the way they (Juventus) do things. They're used to deciding things for other people. But that's totally unfair."
Asked why he believes Porceddu to be on holiday (he isn't), Zeman said: "I think he must be, given that when I made a few comments after a match last season (Juventus v AS Roma), I was hauled before the disciplinary commission the very next day."
Looking back at the drugs controversy, which has led to judicial enquiries, the exposure of Italian dope-testing program as a fraud and a fresh look at the restoratives given to players, Zeman insisted he had no regrets.
"None," he said. "In fact, today I'm even more glad that I said it.
"I have to say, though, that I never realized the situation would reach this point. The issue of external help (restoratives etc) had to be addressed, if only because youngsters now know that certain problems exist.
"At the same time, I hope this new awareness won't have convinced some people that certain medicines will enable them to do better and to do more."
Zeman said he had not been aware that Italy's much-vaunted dope testing program has only ever checked for steroids in a fraction of samples.
"I didn't know," he admitted. "But I have to believe that other people did. I'm not worked up about the dope tests all having been a bluff because that wasn't really the point I was trying to make.
"The problem is prevention. Paradoxically, the issue of testing should never have come up in the first place."
