Juventus

3 

Real Madrid 

1 

 Trezeguet 12

 

Zidane 88 

 

 del Piero 43

 

 

 

 Nedved 73

      


In a match which perfectly demonstrated the allure of the Champions League, a brilliant display by Marcelo Lippi's Juventus edged out the current holders Real Madrid by winning 3-1 in Turin and 4-3 on aggregate.

It was a brilliant match- Juventus, underdogs before the tie kicked off, had done marvellously well to grab the away goal in a 2-1 defeat in the Spanish capital and thus put the onus on Real for the return match. However the away side were buoyed pre-match by the passing of Raul as fit to play.

Crucially, however, Claude Makelele, the superb French international midfield player often key to Real's game plan, missed the match with a thigh injury. Juve, in contrast, were at all but full strength and it was they who started the game in bright fashion.

In the opening phase of play, Juventus immediately showed their intent with Alessandro del Piero's right footed shot flying wide of goal after just seven minutes.

Del Piero was again involved when Nedved, capitalising on Zambrotta's good run down the right wing, crossed for the Juve number ten to shoot over the bar from the edge of the penalty area, having freed himself from the attentions of Real's captain, Fernando Hierro.

The quality of play in midfield was awesome. Although possession was never kept for long, the silky smooth touches of Edgar Davids, Zinedine Zidane, Gianluca Zambrotta and Luis Figo was a joy to behold and it seemed certain that the match could not go without a goal for long.

Then came the first goal. When Vicente del Bosque shows the video tape of this game to his players, one and all will look at this goal and shake their heads- Juventus played their way through midfield far too easily and when the ball eventually fell for David Trezeguet, he was given far too much time and space in the Real area with which to finish past Casillas.

The move started down on the left side, just inside the Real half. Igor Tudor picked the ball up and fed Zambrotta who passed first time to Davids who, turning to face the Real goal, knocked a delicate ball into the area towards Trezeguet.

The French forward jumped well above Helguera and found Pavel Nedved, outstanding throughout the match, who took one touch before crossing into the centre.

Just as it seemed that Nedved's ball should be cleared without any trouble, del Piero headed the ball back into the danger zone where Trezeguet, lurking unmarked at the near post, volleyed the ball inbetween the post and Iker Casillas.

Two minutes later, not learning from their mistakes, Real again left Nedved free on the right and his cross was only prevented from reaching del Piero by Hierro's timely interception, which put the ball out for a corner.

Real were struggling to get into the game. Without either Raul or Ronaldo, Real can look toothless but with the mercurial number seven restored to the starting line-up, one felt that if Real could just get going in the game then they would surely score.

Zidane picked the ball up midway in the Juve half before he knocked a crisp pass to the feet of Guti on the edge of the area. Guti layed the ball back for Zidane to shoot, but his effort was blocked by the black and white wall of defence.

Moments later, Real tried to use the same trick again. This time, Figo and Guti exchanged passes and Figo's shot deflected into the middle of the area where Guti, just onside, was in acres of space. His control let him down though and as such his hurried shot was far too close to Buffon, who saved well.

Ten minutes before half time, Juventus produced another flowing move of wonderful beauty. From deep in their own half, Juve broke away through Nedved and Trezeguet who passed on to del Piero on the edge of the area.

His sharp turn took him clear of Helguera and Trezeguet, rushing in, shot at goal. Casillas dived well to push the bouncing ball away only for Trezeguet to follow up his effort and pull the ball back into the area from the by-line. Only then did Hierro and Salgado combine to send the ball to safety.

Just two minutes from the interval, and with Juventus not withdrawing from this absorbing encounter one bit, del Piero was again found in his favoured inside left channel, just inside the penalty area.

Del Piero ran towards goal and, faced by both Hierro and right back Michel Salgado, he shimmied left, then cut back in before shooting through Salgado's legs, beating Casillas low to his right, the ball again squeezing past the near post and rolling high up into the roof of the net. Cue euphoria in the Stadio delle Alpi.

Real could only resist the temptation of bringing on Ronaldo for seven minutes of the second half. The Brazilian came on for Flavio and immediately looked to make an impact. Zidane found him quickly but the star of last summer's World Cup was well offside. 

As the half progressed, so Real imposed themselves on the game more nd more. Wave after wave of white shirted attacks rained upon the Juve end, but the final ball was missing and even when Real found a good delivery, Tacchinardi, Montero and substitute Pessotto were in immense form.

On 66 minutes, Real were handed a lifeline. In a crowded scene 25 yards out, Cambiasso found a delicate pass through the Juve defence which Ronaldo ran onto with gusto. Just as he was about to shoot, the Uruguayan hardman Paolo Montero brought Ronaldo down for a penalty.

To everyone's surprise, Montero included, the referee deemed that the foul was not worthy of a card of either colour - and with Montero having already been booked Real's complains were understandable.

Figo stood up to take the penalty but, shuffling to try to send Buffon the wrong way, his kick was weak and far too close to Buffon who saved easily. How matches can turn on incidents: one feels that had Figo scored and Montero been sent off, Real would have gone on to quite possibly win the tie, but rather his miss gave Juve heart.

Seven minutes later a superb ball, perfectly weighted over the top of the Real defence by Zambrotta put Nedved in the clear and he finished gloriously past Casillas, volleying home from eighteen yards to give the home side a 3-0 lead.

For the last twenty minutes Real threw everything forward. Thuram denied Ronaldo with a brilliant last minute tackle before Real finally scored, two minutes from time, through Zidane. Half chances then came and went for the merengues - Raul with a header wide of the post and Figo thwarted by good covering defence.

But it was too little too late. Juventus, the European champions of 1985 and 1996, deservedly beat the superstar-filled Real Madrid with a performance of superb quality, denying the nine-times champions yet another appearance in the final.

Marcelo Lippi has got his side through to yet another Champions League final where, in Manchester, they will face fellow Italians and old rivals AC Milan in what will be a match worth watching. If only all football could be like this.

Teams

Real Madrid: Casillas; Salgado, Hierro, Helguera, Roberto Carlos; Cambiasso (McManaman), Flavio Conceciao (Ronaldo); Zidane, Guti, Figo; Raul

Juventus: Buffon; Tacchinardi, Montero, Tudor, Birindelli (Pessotto), Thuram; Davids (Conte), Zambrotta, Nedved; Trezuguet (Camoranesi), del Piero