Juventus lands title after Milan flops at Inter
Source: Agencies |
May 8, 2012, Tuesday
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JUVENTUS clinched its first Italian title in nine seasons on Sunday but not until Serie A had dished up its customary climactic mix of chaos, drama and controversy.
Unbeaten Juventus comfortably dispatched Cagliari 2-0 in a match which the Sardinians hosted in Trieste, closer to Zagreb than their own island base, and featured a last minute change in kickoff times.
The title was assured when AC Milan, the only team which could catch it, lost 2-4 to bitter rival Inter in a match which featured three penalties, a hat-trick for Diego Milito, two goals for Zlatan Ibrahimovic and yet another ghost goal.
The final whistle in Trieste was greeted by an unruly pitch invasion by Juventus fans and the champion quickly re-ignited the controversy over how many titles it had won.
Officially, it was Juventus' 28th Serie A title - an Italian record - yet Juve players and officials were quick to bring up the match-fixing scandal which resulted in them being stripped of the 2005 and 2006 titles.
"It's our 30th Scudetto," Juventus sporting director Giuseppe Marotta said after his team moved four points clear of Milan with one game to play. "We have 30 on all the champagne bottles and we have won 30 titles."
Goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon joined in the debate.
"I won five titles on the field although they have only awarded me three of them, well, what can I do about it?" said the 2006 World Cup winner, who also won Serie A titles in 2002 and 2003. Buffon has had a superb season, rediscovering the form which made him one of the world's top goalkeepers as Juventus was revitalized in the first season under the leadership of its former midfielder Antonio Conte.
There was more refereeing controversy in Sunday's derby at San Siro as Inter, despite an unhappy season of its own, completed a double over Milan.
Milito gave Inter a 14th minute lead and it nearly had a second when Esteban Cambiasso header was clawed away by Milan goalkeeper Christian Abbiati amid suggestions the ball might have crossed the line.
A minute before the break Milan was awarded a hugely controversial penalty after Inter Milan goalkeeper Julio Cesar dived at the feet of Kevin-Prince Boateng and clearly got his hand to the ball. Ibrahimvoic scored from the spot and the Swede then took his Serie A tally to 28 goals with a superbly-taken second goal to hand the defending champion a lifeline.
Milito then converted a penalty to level the scores, then fired home the third penalty of the night in the 79th minute after Alessandro Nesta had been harshly judged to have handled.
A brilliant fourth by Maicon completed the scoring and Inter celebrated as if it had won the title.
Unbeaten Juventus comfortably dispatched Cagliari 2-0 in a match which the Sardinians hosted in Trieste, closer to Zagreb than their own island base, and featured a last minute change in kickoff times.
The title was assured when AC Milan, the only team which could catch it, lost 2-4 to bitter rival Inter in a match which featured three penalties, a hat-trick for Diego Milito, two goals for Zlatan Ibrahimovic and yet another ghost goal.
The final whistle in Trieste was greeted by an unruly pitch invasion by Juventus fans and the champion quickly re-ignited the controversy over how many titles it had won.
Officially, it was Juventus' 28th Serie A title - an Italian record - yet Juve players and officials were quick to bring up the match-fixing scandal which resulted in them being stripped of the 2005 and 2006 titles.
"It's our 30th Scudetto," Juventus sporting director Giuseppe Marotta said after his team moved four points clear of Milan with one game to play. "We have 30 on all the champagne bottles and we have won 30 titles."
Goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon joined in the debate.
"I won five titles on the field although they have only awarded me three of them, well, what can I do about it?" said the 2006 World Cup winner, who also won Serie A titles in 2002 and 2003. Buffon has had a superb season, rediscovering the form which made him one of the world's top goalkeepers as Juventus was revitalized in the first season under the leadership of its former midfielder Antonio Conte.
There was more refereeing controversy in Sunday's derby at San Siro as Inter, despite an unhappy season of its own, completed a double over Milan.
Milito gave Inter a 14th minute lead and it nearly had a second when Esteban Cambiasso header was clawed away by Milan goalkeeper Christian Abbiati amid suggestions the ball might have crossed the line.
A minute before the break Milan was awarded a hugely controversial penalty after Inter Milan goalkeeper Julio Cesar dived at the feet of Kevin-Prince Boateng and clearly got his hand to the ball. Ibrahimvoic scored from the spot and the Swede then took his Serie A tally to 28 goals with a superbly-taken second goal to hand the defending champion a lifeline.
Milito then converted a penalty to level the scores, then fired home the third penalty of the night in the 79th minute after Alessandro Nesta had been harshly judged to have handled.
A brilliant fourth by Maicon completed the scoring and Inter celebrated as if it had won the title.
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