"The White Magic did not Prevail in Delle Alpi"



The Whites will not be going back to Old Trafford in England to defend their UEFA Champins league title. Seems like Juventus had more of a championship form than the Whites. Right from kick off, the game started to give feelings very different from what we saw at Old Trafford. Ronaldo’s absence did not make the white attack as dangerous as usual. Compared to the first leg, today Davids and Tacchinardi carried the weight of their team’s play from the midfield, so they could let Nedved play as a third striker behind Del Piero and Trezeguet.



The worst happened when both squads were still settling on the field. Nedved received the ball from the right, Helguera did not make it to get in the way, Del Piero got around Michel and Trezeguet scored the first goal after beating Cambiasso.

The rest of the white charges (Zidane, Flavio, Figo...) did not give Buffon much trouble. In the meantime, Juventus withdrew to their ground until they could come up with a counterattack. It was Trezeguet who set if off first, though it all ended up in Casillas’ hands (34’). The game was going a bit flat. Juventus wanted to war and Madrid fell into this trap. In the 43rd minute Del Piero worked hard to find a gap and score the second goal. Old Trafford and Turin were getting near each other.

Real Madrid could do nothing to recover from this blow, though there still was some hope left until Nevded, who did fantastically all the time, received a long-range shot from Zambrota and put it past Casillas. It was a far too big punishmet for the Whites, who, despite all the setbacks, never gave up on the fight. Now it was tougher, but not impossible. In the 88th minute, Zidane, the best white player of the night, fired a left-footed shot that got in by the post. It was the only way to beat Buffon. There were two minutes left... plus five more minutes of additional time. Kill or die. Raúl pulled all his weapons but missed it in the 94th minute. The tenth cup will have to wait. I guess we just have to retire and concentrate on La Liga and Get back our first place position.

THE MATCH:
3 - JUVENTUS: Buffon; Tacchinardi, Montero, Birindelli (Pessotto 60´), Thuram; Tudor, Nedved, Zambrotta, Davids (Conte 89´), Zambrotta; Del Piero and Trezeguet (Camoranesi 75´).
1 - REAL MADRID: Casillas; Salgado, Roberto Carlos, Hierro, Helguera; Cambiasso (McManaman 75´), Flavio (Ronaldo 52´), Zidane, Figo; Raúl and Guti.
GOALS:
1-0, min. 11: Trezeguet beats Cambiasso and, once inside the goal atrea, beats Casillas.
2-0, min. 42: Del Piero, hard shot from the left corner of the area.
3-0, min. 73: Nedved beats Casillas from the edge of the area.
3-1, min. 88: Zidane, left-footed cross shot.
REFEREE: Urs Meier, Switzerland. He cautioned Flavio (22´), Montero (57´), Salgado (57´), Tacchinardi (63´), Hierro (74´), Nedved (80´), Figo (85´).
OTHER FACTS: Second Leg of Champions League semifinal. Delle Alpi Stadium, 60253 spectators. Juventus has qualified for the Final next May 28th against AC Milan at Old Trafford.