Juventus 'Lost Aggression' in Loss to Man United
Copyright � 1999 Nando Media
Copyright � 1999 Agence France-Presse
TURIN, Italy (April 22, 1999 12:00 a.m. EDT http://www.sportserver.com) - Juventus lost to Manchester United because they took it easy after scoring twice and then lacked the fighting spirit to hit back, according to Juventus coach Carlo Ancelotti.
Juventus were cruising towards the European Cup final after Filippo "SuperPippo" Inzaghi had given them a 2-0 lead after little more than 10 minutes on Wednesday night.
But a historic comeback by United with goals from Roy Keane and Dwight Yorke within 25 minutes ripped the heart out of one of the world's best football teams, before Andy Cole delivered the match-killer in the 84th minute.
Juventus paid the price for their arrogance, in believing that the semifinal was already over before it had barely started, and for the total disarray into which they subsequently plunged.
"We were 2-0 up but mentally we weren't able to keep it going," Ancelotti said. "It seemed to hold us back and we lost aggression.
"We failed to keep possession and finished up playing too many long balls upfield and too many in the air, where United were very strong. We seemed to think we could only hit them on the counter."
Ancelotti, his face a picture of despair and depression, added: "In the first half, my team lost their concentration, and their cool, and in the second half they were just confused."
By contrast, he admitted, Alex Ferguson's side shrugged off every setback, kept their composure and continued to play good football. United, unlike Juventus, believed they could win.
"Manchester United, even though they were two down, never gave up," he said. "And when it was 2-1, we were in difficulty."
Asked what United's strong point was, Ancelotti said: "Their conviction, and the quality of the football they played."
"They are a strong team and we let them have too much of the initiative and we lacked aggression."
That lack of a fighting spirit, which had taken Old Trafford by storm for the first hour of the first leg, now needs to be rediscovered in a hurry -- and by Sunday at the latest.
For the immediate implication for Juventus is that they must now finish fourth in the Serie A in order to play next season's Champions League.
The team are currently joint fifth with AS Roma, four points behind Parma. This weekend, they face Italian Cup finalists Fiorentina, who for the same reason are determined to hold onto their third place in the table.
"Obviously, this is going to leave a great feeling of bitterness and the team will have to react in grand style," Ancelotti conceded. "It won't be easy, but that's what we have to do."
Inzaghi added: "It's our fault and that's all there is to it. There's no point having regrets now. We were two goals up and we threw it all away."
He went on: "I hoped they would be the two most important goals of my career, instead they're the most bitter. We just don't know what happened to our heads, perhaps we felt too early on that we'd qualified."
