Substitutes not used: McCall, Montgomery.Nottingham Forest (4-3-1-2): Ward; Louis-Jean, Thompson, Walker, Brennan; Williams (Hjelde, 114), Scimeca, Reid; Huckerby; Harewood (Lester, 61), Johnson. Substitutes not used: Bopp, Jess, Roche (gk).Referee: P Walton (Northamptonshire).. For the supporters of Milan and Juventus their teams’ qualification for the final of the Champions’ League this week provoked unconfined joy, [...]
Substitutes not used: McCall, Montgomery.Nottingham Forest (4-3-1-2): Ward; Louis-Jean, Thompson, Walker, Brennan; Williams (Hjelde, 114), Scimeca, Reid; Huckerby; Harewood (Lester, 61), Johnson. Substitutes not used: Bopp, Jess, Roche (gk).Referee: P Walton (Northamptonshire).. For the supporters of Milan and Juventus their teams’ qualification for the final of the Champions’ League this week provoked unconfined joy, with car horns honking into the small hours, but for the coaches there were scores to be settled. “It should have been a party for the city, instead it went over the top,” he said.
“Remember, teams like Bayern Munich and Manchester United were left to watch on television.”The following day, in Turin, Marcello Lippi directed his ire at a wider target. Angered at the rubbishing of the Italian game, the Juventus coach said: “This shows Italian football is to be respected. I don’t know if it is the prettiest but it is football that should be respected. Right from the start of this season Italian football has had the desire to show it was not as bad as critics were saying and now we have two teams in the final.”While Lippi’s sentiments are understandable it is too early to declare a risorgimento of the Italian game. In the previous two seasons, no Serie A club reached the last eight.
Both teams have stuttered en route to the final, Juventus being beaten 3-0 at home by Manchester United and Milan needing an injury-time winner to knock-out Ajax in the quarter-final.The qualification within Lippi’s praise echoed an Ancelotti reference to the negativity which still dogs the Italian football psyche. He said: “There may never be another Milan derby in the semi-final of the Champions’ League: we should have given another image. It is time for football, and especially Italian football, to change course.”Cuper would agree, having been ferociously criticised despite having the best record of any Internazionale coach in years. The Argentinian, Inter’s 11th manager in eight seasons when he took over in 2001, was within one match of the title last season and reached the Uefa Cup semi-finals. This season they hold the second automatic Champions’ League qualifying place. This after losing Ronaldo to Real Madrid shortly before the start of the season and Christian Vieri to injury in the run-in.
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