Inter Gets Fan Support for Clash With Juventus
Copyright � 1998 Nando.net
Copyright � 1998 Reuters
ROME (Oct 22, 1998 - 11:44 EDT) - Juventus versus Inter Milan has always divided Italy but the balance between the two factions has altered ahead of Sunday's edition of the oldest fixture in the Serie A calendar.
On the eve of the two side's 134th league encounter, the majority of Italians appear to be behind Inter and against Juve.
This historic shift in soccer sentiment reflects events at the last instalment of the so-called "Italian Derby" in the same Delle Alpi stadium six months ago.
Then, the entire peninsula united in condemnation of a controversial refereeing decision that favoured Juventus and arguably cost Inter the league championship.
In the eyes of the public, Juventus-Inter was not decided by Alessandro Del Piero's 21st minute winner but referee Piero Ceccarini's failure to award a spot kick for Mark Iuliano's bodycheck on Ronaldo late in the second half.
Last April's victory might have assured Juventus of their 25th league title but the long term damage was huge.
In the space of 90 minutes, the Turin side's image as Italy's most loved team was compromised and a wave of anti-Juve sentiment swept bars and cafes throughout the land.
Ceccarini's decision had been only the latest in a series of refereeing errors that had favoured Juventus and led to accusations that Italian referee's were "psychological slaves" to the black-and-white cause.
The popular outcry spread from piazza to parliament where the far right National Alliance party questioned whether Italy's referees were less than impartial.
One parliamentary session had to be suspended after two deputies came close to blows over the accusations.
As a consequence, referees are no longer hand-picked for Serie A matches as they were until last season but are selected at random.
The anti-Juventus feeling has arguably carried over into Italian soccer's ongoing doping scandal, adding momentum to the a Turin investigation into the substances Juventus use to prepare their players.
When Juventus play away from Turin, they are invariably greeted with chants of "dopati" -- doped.
Coach Marcello Lippi has blamed the hostile atmosphere for his side's indifferent start to the season. "It's a massacre," he said, "it is difficult to coach and play at Juventus."
Everyone, it seems, wants to climb on the bandwagon -- most of all Inter, who frequently talk about their hopes for "a fair championship this season."
"Ronaldo and (Inter president Massimo) Moratti have still not swallowed last season's defeat," said Del Piero.
When the teams take to the field on Sunday, Inter's thoughts will be on revenge rather than their failure to win in Turin -- or even score a goal there -- since 1993.
Ronaldo's first comments after scoring against Spartak Moscow in his side's European Champions' League win this week betrayed the tension. "I'm ready for Juventus," he said.
In truth, however, Inter should be more worried about the present than the past.
With Lippi set to leave Juventus at the end of this season and many of his players approaching the twilight of their careers, Inter started the season as title favourites to end Juve's recent league domination.
In the past four seasons, Lippi's Juve have won three titles while Inter's last "scudetto" dates back to 1989.
Yet, after five matches, Inter and Juve are tied in second place on 10 points, two behind leaders Fiorentina and just one ahead of the new forces in Italian soccer -- Parma and Lazio.
Apart from Inter's return to the Champions' League for the first time since winning the trophy twice in the sixties, there is little evidence to suggest the Milan club is about to repeat their 1960 glory years.
Admittedly, Inter have been without Brazilian Ronaldo but, with a 28-man squad, it's hard for coach Luigi Simoni to justify the way in which first Real Madrid, last month, and then Lazio, last week, outplayed his side.
Juventus too look a pale shadow of the side who have won two successive league titles.
The champions are still rock solid in defence and midfield, but the poor form of Del Piero and Zinedine Zidane means Juve are struggling for goals.
However, the form books have never counted for much in "the Italian Derby," with the current rivalry matching that of the 1960s when Juventus claimed four titles and Inter another three.
Then, as now, a title decider spilled over into controversy.
In 1961, with Juventus four points ahead of Inter, fans at Turin's old "Stadio Communale" spilled on to the pitch with two sitting on the bench next to Inter coach Helenio Herrera.
After half-an-hour, the Inter players walked off, expecting the Italian Football Federation to award them both points.
Initially, Inter were given the match by default, but then the federation, headed by Juventus's current president Umberto Agnelli, changed its mind and ordered the match replayed after the official season had ended.
With Juventus already crowned champions Inter fielded a youth team in protest and lost 9-1.
Inter will not want a repeat of that scoreline on Sunday but in one sense they may hope history repeats itself.
In 1961, as last April, events on the pitch favoured Juventus but time exacted its own revenge. The Turin side won just one title in the next 10 years while Inter entered the most successful period in their history.
