By Myles Palmer
Juventus 3 Real Madrid 1
________________________
A textbook team performance.
No football coach could ask for more.
Juventus settled quickly into their rhythm, scored early, and dictated the game.
Big games need big performances from big players, and Del Piero is a big player.
He looks slow but is hypnotic and lethal.
As Gullit would say, ADP is “waiting for that moment.”
Two moments came and he converted both into goals.
When Nedved crossed from the right Del Piero timed his downward header perfectly to Trezeguet, who rammed in at the near post.
When a goal seemed unlikely, Del Piero turned Hierro inside out and rifled the ball past Salgado’s legs and into the bottom corner for 2-0.
Real Madrid did what Arsenal did in Bolton : they ran out of fit players.
Like Arsenal, they are an attacking team with a dodgy defence.
On the night, Madrid had only one player who would have got into the Juventus team : Helguera.
Ronaldo was on the bench, Raul started.
Makelele, their mobile anchorman, was badly missed in a midfield, where Edgar Davids was superbly combative as usual.
Del Bosque moved Guti forward and bought in Cambiasso, who has not played for months after starting 18 league games earlier in the season.
Cambiasso could not do what Guti has been doing. The game passed him by.
Ronaldo came on for Flavio.
At 2-0, Ronaldo teased Montero into a rash tackle in the box.
Would it now be 3-3 on aggregate?
Figo tried to dummy Buffon and saw his feeble penalty saved.
When Zambrotta’s pass released Nedved down the middle, keeper Casillas backed off and made it easy for the bouncy Czech to blast in for 3-0 and 4-2 on aggregate
Raul had his appendix op on Monday April 21st, the Monday before the Man Utd second leg.
The op was 23 days ago. How much training could Raul have done since he got out of that clinic ?
He contributed two late headers and a sublime pass to set up Zidane’s goal, drilled across Buffon in 89.
A glimpse of the past, a ghostly goal, rather than a match-changer.I never believed that the formidable Juve would allow the champions back into the game.
Juventus won this semi with the most comprehensive team performance of the Champions League season.
Powerful, purposeful, economical, built on solid passing with no showboating, spinally superb through Buffon, Davids and Del Piero, boosted by the colossal and inimitable Thuram, Juventus were fantastically well-organised and worthy winners.
Thuram plays right back and heads away every ball that beats his centrebacks – he should collect double wages.
Thuram…Davids …Del Piero….Nedved – big players for big games.
But poor Nedved was sent off for a careless tackle and will miss the final.
The Milan-Inter semi was good too.
Shevchenko raised his game and played brilliantly and scored a sensational goal.
His goal had everything : movement, skill, intelligence, power,ambition.
Seedorf came inside three players in midfield and slid a pass forward.
Shevchenko raced across the box to the left as Inzaghi scissored to the right, taking Materazzi away.
This gave Shevchenko only one man to beat and he held off a tough tackle by Cordoba and blasted past Toldo.
What a memorable, thrilling, vital goal !
I could not believe my eyes when Maldini missed a high ball into the box and allowed livewire sub Martins to equalise after 83.
But Milan went through on “away” goals.
JUVENTUS: Buffon; Thuram, Tudor, Montero, Birindelli (Pessotto, 60) : Zambrotta, Tacchinardi, Davids (Conte, 89), Nedved ; Trezeguet (Camoranesi, 77), Del Piero.
REAL MADRID: Casillas; Salgado, Roberto Carlos, Hierro, Helguera, Zidane, Figo, Flavio (Ronaldo, 52), Raul, Guti,Cambiasso (McManaman 77).
May 16th 2003.