Juventus, Parma Miss Chance to Gain on Lazio
Copyright � 1999 Nando Media
Copyright � 1999 Agence France-Presse
MILAN (April 3, 1999 12:35 p.m. EST http://www.sportserver.com) - Italian league leader Lazio drew 0-0 with AC Milan Saturday and profited when rival Parma missed a chance to make up ground and Juventus crashed to its first defeat under Carlo Ancelotti.
On a day which saw several protests against the NATO bombardments of Yugoslavia, Lazio extended its unbeaten run to 17 matches but handed Fiorentina a chance to catch up in the night match here against Inter.
Lazio's star Christian Vieri had a goal disallowed after just five minutes but Milan's well-organized defense quickly recovered and the team stay third in the table, seven points behind their hosts.
Second placed Fiorentina stand to slash Lazio's lead in half with a victory at San Siro, but will need to do better than another title challenger, Parma, which finished 1-1 with Cagliari.
Parma took an 18th minute lead when Croatian Mario Stanic headed home a corner sent over by Enrico Chiesa, but it was all-square in the 57th minute when Roberto Muzzi converted a penalty for Cagliari.
Juventus meanwhile suffered its first defeat since Ancelotti took over as coach in February -- a humbling 1-0 defeat to bottom club Empoli.
Empoli defender Stefano Bianconi, who had a 'goal' unseen by the referee when these two sides met last season, suffered no such injustice this time around -- heading home the winner in the 26th minute.
Juventus was clearly thinking more about their European Champions League tie with Manchester United on Wednesday night than the match in hand.
And Ancelotti coach acknowledged the Old Trafford factor, saying: "It's an easy alibi to seek, but it's perhaps also a fair one."
The place to be for goals was Piacenza, where the home team were 3-1 down before making a miraculous comeback to beat Udinese 4-3.
Pietro Vierchowod, the oldest man in the Serie A, made for a fairy-tale birthday by bagging the equalizer in the 64th minute.
Piacenza striker Simone Inzaghi, who had converted a spot-kick in the first half, missed another in the 68th minute but Paolo Cristallini knocked home the winner in a goalmouth scramble in the 72nd minute.
Perugia drew 0-0 with Bologna and there was a goalless draw too for Venezia against Salernitana.
AS Roma won 4-1 at Bari, but Sampdoria moved closer to relegation by losing 1-0 to Vicenza. Uruguayan Marcelo Otero got the goal.
However, despite all the soccer action, the conflict over Kosovo did not escape attention in the Serie A.
Lazio players pulled up their jerseys to reveal T-shirts bearing the slogan "Peace, no war" before kickoff in protest at the NATO bombardments.
Yugoslav defender Sinisa Mihajlovic, who wore a black armband as a personal protest at the bombings, then went with teammate and fellow countryman Dejan Stankovic to show the T-shirt to the home fans.
The gesture was clearly appreciated by Lazio supporters, who had earlier unraveled a banner which read "Kill Private Ryan" -- an ironic reference to the recent U.S. war movie "Saving Private Ryan."
In Tuscany, where Empoli hosted Italian champions Juventus, local fans unraveled a large banner which read "No war", while Perugia's Yugoslav coach Vujadin Boskov wore a black armband in the dugout.
Bari, whose surrounding Puglia region is a popular destination for Albanians fleeing across the Adriatic, are donating one percent of gate receipts from the match against AS Roma to aid refugees from Kosovo.
Bari president Vincenzo Matarrese explained: "Puglia is frontier country and today, once again, it's ready to do all it can to show solidarity.
"Football is about joy, it's about being the people's sport," he said. "For that reason, people who suffer cannot be forgotten. And what's even sadder, is for this to be happening at Easter."
Before the Bari match started, some 30 children from Kosovo and Albania walked in procession around the pitchside track at the San Nicola stadium.
The children, who live in a nearby refugee center, were greeted with calls from the 20,000 crowd for an end to the war.
