Juve Chief Losing Patience With Lippi
Saturday 30th March 2002
Marcello Lippi's future as Juventus coach is back in the balance after club president Umberto Agnelli slammed his side after Saturday's 1-1 draw with Lazio left them six points behind leaders Internazionale and seemingly out of the race for the Scudetto.
"The first half was terrible," he fumed. "The way Juve played was inconceivable."
Juve were booed off at the end of the match and Agnelli admitted he could understand the supporters' anger. "I don't feel particularly frustrated but I think that our fans really feel that way.
"I know we had some important players missing, but that is no excuse, so did Lazio."
Lippi, who on Thursday was assured by vice-president Roberto Bettega that he would be in charge of the club next season, refused to discuss Agnelli's comments. "Sorry, I don't want to speak about this subject," he said.
"Juventus won't give up and in the next five matches we'll try to catch Roma and Inter.
"Of course the run to the Scudetto is now more difficult, but don't forget how important it is to finish second and avoid having to play in the Champions' League qualifying matches. And we still have the final of the Coppa Italia to look forward to."
Goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon was the man of the match for the home side, saving well from Stefano Fiore and Dejan Stankovic before the Lazio went ahead when Claudio Lopez headed home Lucas Castroman's cross on 24 minutes.
Buffon was forced into further saves from Lopez and Fiore before David Trezeguet swept home from close range eight minutes before the break to pull the home side level.
After the break, Juve were frustrated by a well-organised Lazio who comfortably held on for a point.
"We were up against a strong opponent," Lippi said. "They took the lead and had two chances to double the gap. Lazio created a lot of difficulties for us because their midfielders were very quick pushing forward from deep.
"Anyway, it's clear that something didn't go right. We were not strong enough in the first half."
Juve, who lost to Parma last week, kicked off having already seen Inter and Roma pull further ahead after beating Fiorentina and Bologna respectively.
