Ancelotti Defends Italian Cup Against Critics
Copyright � 1999 Nando Media
Copyright � 1999 Agence France-Presse
MILAN, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Juventus coach Carlo Ancelotti has defended the Italian Cup against critics who say the expansion of the Champions League and the UEFA Cup have made the competition an irrelevance to the big Italian clubs. "I have won the competition four times and it has an appeal and tradition all of its own," Ancelotti told the club's official website in response to growing indifference to the Cup.
The Italian Cup has never enjoyed the popularity of the English F.A. Cup and crowds are significantly lower than for league games as the major clubs often rest top players. Tuesday night's third round first leg match between Inter Milan and Bologna drew a crowd of just 3,647 to the 78,000-capacity San Siro stadium despite both teams fielding the best avaliable line-ups.
Earlier this season AC Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani's comment that the cup was "of no interest to anyone" provoked an angry response from the competition's organisers, the Italian Football League. The daily Gazzetta dello Sport suggested clubs should consider huge discounts on tickets to tempt supporters to attend such games.
That should not be necessary for Juventus's match against Serie B club Napoli later on Wednesday, expected to draw a crowd of around 70,000 as the local side enjoy a chance to take on their old foes from the top flight. Despite his defence of the value of the Cup, Ancelotti is not expected to field Zinedine Zidane, Edgar Davids and Alessandro Del Piero in Naples.
