CHAMPIONS' LEAGUE: Juventus Cuts it Close
Copyright � 1998 Nando.net
Copyright � 1998 Reuters
ROME (Dec 8, 1998 - 12:04 EST) - For the second consecutive season, Juventus enters the last day of Champions' League qualifiers on Wednesday knowing it must win and then rely on the result of another game to qualify for the last eight.
Juventus goes into the tie with Norwegian side Rosenborg in Turin trailing both Rosenborg and Turkish champions Galatasaray by three points.
The Italians have to win and hope Athletic Bilbao, already out of the competition, beats Galatasaray in Spain
Out-of-sorts Juventus has drawn all five Champions League ties and lost three of its last five Serie A games to drop to sixth.
For a side that has won three of the last four Italian championships and reached three consecutive European Cup finals between 1996 and 1998, such poor form has inevitably raised doubts.
But French World Cup hero Zinedine Zidane declared: "If I thought we were at the end of a cycle, I'd leave immediately...
"It's true that we've gone eight games without a win...but I feel that we're lacking very, very little to get ourselves back on the right path."
For visitors Rosenborg, however, there is nothing new about upsetting famous Italian names. Two years ago in the "Miracle of Milan" they eliminated AC Milan with a 2-1 win at the San Siro.
Norwegian media and fans alike now hope for a "Triumph in Torino" for the side which this season collected its seventh consecutive league title.
Juventus' Alessandro Del Piero, out for the season with a knee injury, is replaced by Nicola Amoruso who partners Filippo Inzaghi in attack.
Zidane returns to his habitual free-ranging midfield role alongside compatriot Didier Deschamps, Antonio Conte and Angelo Di Livio.
Dutch midfielder Edgar Davids, out for the last month, will start the game on the subs' bench but midfielder Alessio Tacchinardi is suspended.
With defender Ciro Ferrara injured, Mark Iuliano and Uruguyan Paolo Montero form the central defence. Alessandro Birindelli and Gianluca Pessotto may fill the fullback berths.
Rosenborg, which have been training in Nice, are likely to replace Bent Skammelsrud, a veteran of 33 Champions' League ties, with Bent Inge Johnsen, who has played in just one. Defenders Andre Bergdolmo and Morten Pedersen are both back from injury.
Rosenborg will be led up front by striker Sigurd Rushfeldt, scorer of a hat-trick in a 3-0 defeat of Galatasaray and a player being watched by a number of English, Italian and German clubs.
Rushfeldt is due to have an ankle operation after the match but is not concerned: "I can play with the ankle as it is, it's been like this for many years now," he said.
Probable teams :
Juventus - Angelo Peruzzi; Alessandro Birindelli, Mark Iuliano, Paolo Montero, Gianluca Pessotto; Angelo Di Livio, Antonio Conte, Didier Deschamps; Zinedine Zidane; Filippo Inzaghi, Nicola Amoruso.
Rosenborg - Jorn Jamtfall; Christer Basma, Bjorn Otto Bragstad, Erik Hoftun, Andre Bergdolmo; Roar Strand, Bent Inge Johnsen, Runar Berg, Jan Derek Sorensen; Sigurd Rushfeldt, Jahn Ivar Jakobsen.
