Juventus Ready to Shatter Dreams of Man
United
Copyright � 1999 Nando Media
Copyright � 1999 Agence France-Presse
TURIN, Italy (April 19, 1999 9:59 p.m. EDT http://www.sportserver.com) - Juventus will walk out here on Wednesday night determined to reach their fourth consecutive Champions League final, and to shatter the dreams of Manchester United.
Alex Ferguson's men may have been the dominant force in English football for the past 10 years. But they have always been also-rans in Europe's top tournament, never once reaching the final during that time.
Now they start as underdogs against a Juventus side who will have
home advantage at the Delle Alpi stadium and a precious away goal from their 1-1 draw in the semifinal first leg.
The Italians also have a track record that doesn't inspire confidence for the English club -- they have met United four times before in Europe and each time Juventus have gone on to reach the final.
This time, they will be fired up after a morale-boosting 3-1 victory over Serie A leaders Lazio last weekend in Rome, a feat achieved without the help of rested French star Zinedine Zidane.
Coach Carlo Ancelotti is likely to stick to the same 4-4-1-1 line-up which proved so effective against United in the first leg, with Zidane playing behind lone striker Filippo Inzaghi, but supported by a four-man midfield which is determined to move forward rather than back.
Dutchman Edgar "Pit Bull" Davids, who poked the ball through for
Antonio Conte's goal at Old Trafford, is playing probably the best football of his career in Italy and will be in awesome form on Wednesday.
Conte is also on song, with a rash of goals at national and international level, while Angelo Di Livio is a constant menace on the flanks and hardman Didier Deschamps remains as solid as ever.
Ancelotti, who replaced Marcello Lippi last February said: "This is the most important match in my career so far as a football coach.
"But I hope that after Wednesday night, the most important will be a different one: the final on May 26 in Barcelona."
Ancelotti was buoyed up by his team's display in Rome but said: "The satisfaction at both the performance and the result is conditioned by just one concern -- that the euphoria doesn't get out of hand and become dangerous," he said. "But I'm not that worried.
"The Lazio game showed that this team are on form. When they take
things carefully and are fully concentrated, they are difficult to beat."
He summed up: "This is a good period for us, both physically and
mentally, even if we know the match against Manchester United will be an extremely tough one, right through to the very end."
Deschamps, the man who captained France to their World Cup triumph, was more cautious about events on Wednesday night.
"I think each side has a 50/50 percent chance of qualifying," he said. "At Old Trafford, we played well for 60 minutes, but the last half-hour was like being in hell.
"The main problem was their aerial game -- they are much better than we are with the high ball, and they could be even more dangerous on Wednesday if Sheringham plays."
As for his own team, Deschamps said: "Our finishing will have to be better: in Manchester we had several chances to make it 2-0 but didn't take them. Failing to deliver the KO blow this time could be fatal.
"It would be an enormous risk to be still drawing 0-0 with a quarter of an hour left to play."
For Juventus are not the only ones to be coming off a good win.
Ferguson's re-shuffled side trounced Sheffield Wednesday 3-0 on
Saturday and the coach was clearly impressed.
"I'm delighted with my players, their intensity and application was superb," he said. "If they produce that kind of effort it'll be hard for Juve to knock us out."
Though Sheringham hopes to have played himself into the team after scoring last weekend, Ferguson will probably stick by Andy Cole and Dwight Yorke up front.
The one major doubt is winger Ryan Giggs, who snatched the dramatic late equalizer against Juventus a fortnight ago, but who has been out with an ankle injury since scoring last week's FA Cup replay winner against Arsenal.
"Ryan's got a 50-50 chance and we will have to wait and see," said Ferguson on Monday.
Ferguson badly needs the Welsh wizard, not only for his dribbling and passing ability, but also for his knack of scoring goals in important matches. And they don't come much more important than Wednesday night.
