Juventus Continues to Overshadow AS Roma
Copyright � 1999 Nando Media
Copyright � 1999 Reuters News Service
ROME (March 19, 1999 11:19 a.m. EST http://www.sportserver.com) If Juventus is traditionally known as 'La Vecchia Signora' of Italian soccer, then AS Roma have always been Serie A's irreverent schoolboys, constantly pulling at the "Old Lady's" skirts.
Ever since the 1930s when Juventus became the first team to win in Roma's historic Testaccio stadium, the Turin side has been public enemy No. 1 in the Italian Capital.
Arguments still rage about Ramon Turone's disallowed goal against Juventus in 1981. The match, the third last of the season, finished scoreless with Juve going on to narrowly take the title from Roma.
So when Roma visit their old rivals for Sunday's showdown at the Delle Alpi, they will not be surprised to find themselves looking up to the Italian champions.
On Wednesday, midfielder Luigi Di Biagio admitted that Roma's season had been a failure after elimination from the UEFA Cup by Atletico Madrid.
A few hours later, Juventus secured their fourth consecutive Champions' League semifinal with a 1-1 draw in Athens against Olympiakos.
Under new manager Carlo Ancelotti, Juventus have shrugged off a mid-season crisis and the departure of coach Marcello Lippi to remain unbeaten in seven matches.
They are now back in the top five, two points ahead of seventh-placed Roma.
"It has to be recognised that the force of Juventus has solid roots," wrote Gazzetta dello Sport on Friday.
"The character of the squad has never changed and, in difficult moments, that counts for more than pure skill.
Look at Inter Milan.
"I knew what I would find here: great players and a great club," said Ancelotti, for whom the prospect of reaching the European Cup final in Barcelona in May rekindles memories of lifting the same trophy there with AC Milan a decade ago.
"But let's not forget Lippi. This Juventus was and remains his creation."
Ancelotti's tribute to his predecessor poured more salt on Roma's wounds.
Last summer, coach Zdenek Zeman became the latest in a long line of Romanisti to provoke Juve's ire when he dared to question the training methods that had brought Lippi's side three league titles in two years.
As a result of Zeman's comments, Juventus were targeted by a magistrate investigating the alleged use of illegal substances by Serie A clubs.
The Turin side's anger was apparent last November when, after a 2-0 defeat at the Olympic stadium, defender Ciro Ferrara swore at Zeman.
At the time, Roma were challenging for the Serie A leadership but the tables have turned over the past four months.
Tuesday's 2-1 home defeat to Atletico made a mockery of Zeman's latest anti-Juventus claim that Italian referees are making his team pay for the comments about Lippi's Juventus.
Against Atletico, it was a neutral Dutch referee's decision to disallow what looked like a perfectly valid goal that ultimately stopped Roma pushing the tie into extra time.
So while Juventus fans, who initially protested against Ancelotti's appointment, will be silent on Sunday, Roma supporters are calling for the heads of both Zeman and club president Franco Sensi.
Sensi, alone among the presidents of Serie A's richest clubs, has yet to win a trophy in his six years at Roma.
Sunday will be Roma's first return to the Delle Alpi since a refereeing decision denied the visitors a penalty in a 2-1 defeat last season.
At the time, Roma's irreverent fans nodded their heads in agreement when Zeman claimed that "it's not enough to play well to win at Turin."
After Atletico, however, that excuse is starting to run thin - even against Juventus.
