Originally posted on March 28, 2013 on Soccer Newsday
With the international break now past, and the domestic leagues resuming for the final stretch, Week 30 in Serie A brings us an Easter edition of the famous Derby d’Italia, with Inter at home to Juventus. In their previous match in Week 11, Inter defeated Juventus 3-1 in Turin.
Juventus is coming off a 2-0 away win against Bologna, and has 3 wins, a loss, and a tie in its last 5 games, with the loss coming against Roma, while also beating Catania and Siena.
Inter, whose last game against Sampdoria was cancelled due to flooding in the Liguria region of Italy, also last played Bologna, however, it lost 1-0 at home. In its last 5 games, Inter has won 2, lost 2, and tied 1 game, including being thrashed 4-1 away to Fiorentina, a 1-1 tie in the Milan derby and squeaking out a 90th minute 3-2 win away to Catania, a game in which Inter was losing 2-0 at halftime.
The game in Turin was a dream start for the home side, with Arturo Vidal scoring just 18 seconds into the game. It was a controversial goal, as Kwadwo Asamoah was offside during the play. Inter was awarded a penalty just before the hour mark, and Diego Milito converted from the spot.
Milito added his second of the match off a rebound from a Fredy Guarin shot. Juventus came close on a couple of chances from Andrea Pirlo and Fabio Quagliarella, but were unable to find an equalizer. Rodrigo Palacio scored in the last minute of the game, on a smart through-ball by Yuto Nagatomo.
The loss was The Old Lady’s first of the season, and first league loss in 49 league games, a streak which started May 15, 2011. It was the second longest unbeaten streak in Serie A, behind AC Milan’s 58 games, between 1991 and 1993, a team that featured the Dutch trio of Marco Van Basten, Ruud Gullit and Frank Rijkaard.
Inter extended its winning streak to 7 games, but that win would end its brilliant form. Since beating the bianconeri, Inter has 7 losses, 5 wins and 5 ties, which has it currently sitting in 5th place in the table with 47 points, tied with the 2 Roman sides on points, with one game in hand. The nerazzurri, who at the moment occupy the last Europa League spot, are in a dog fight with Lazio, Roma and Sicilian side Catania, who sit only 2 points, back for the final spot in Europe’s big competition.
Juventus, with 65 points, has a comfortable 9-point lead on its closet challenger, Napoli, with third place Milan 11 points behind. Inter, which last season finished in 6th position, sit a distant meno diciotto or minus-18 points, to the league leaders.
The Nerazzurri will be looking to knock off the Juventus in both matches in 1 season for only the 6th time since 1927, with the most recent being in the 2003-04 season. Juventus, on the other hand, has won both matches 19 times, including last season’s meetings. In Serie A matches, Juvenuts have won 81 of the 183 matches the 2 teams have played, while Inter have won 56, with 46 ending in a draw.
There is much bitterness between these two clubs, much of which stems back decades. In the 1960/61 season, a pitch invasion in Turin caused a game between the two northern giants to be abandoned, and Inter was initially awarded a 2-0 victory. Juventus appealed the decision to FIGC, the Italian soccer governing body, and a replay of the game was awarded. Then-President Angelo Moratti, was furious, and in protest, fielded the Inter youth squad for the match. Juventus won the match 9-1, its biggest win against Inter, with Omar Sivori scoring 6 goals.
In the 1997-98 season, Week 31 saw Inter arrive in Turin only 1 point behind Juventus for the title, but that April day would erupt in controversy. Alessandro Del Piero would score in the 21st minute to give the bianconeri the lead. In the second half, Brazilian star Ronaldo would be interfered with by Mark Iuliano, in what should have been a sure penalty, with a body check that would have made most NHL players proud.
Referre Piero Ceccarini did not award a penalty, claiming later that he did not see the foul. That, in and of itself, would set off most Inter supporters, however what happened 20 seconds later would cause turmoil on and off the pitch. As Juventus recovered the ball, Zinadine Zidane put in a perfect ball into the box for Del Piero, who would be fouled by Taribo West, and Ceccarini awarded a penalty. Del Piero was denied by keeper Gianluca Pagliuca, but Inter players were incensed at the call.
Later in the game, Inter would have a goal called back, with Ivan Zamorano going up for a header and putting in into the back of the net, fouling Juventus keeper Angelo Peruzzi in the process. With the win, Juventus secured the scudetto, and Inter would settle for second place.
The result of this game would even affect the Italian government, when a fist fight broke out between the rival far-right National Alliance and Democratic Left parties, among allegations of match-fixing. The altercation would cause parliament to be suspended. Sufficed to say, the divisions between these two teams would only get worse in the coming years.
After the Calciopoli scandal of 2006, Juventus fans have always felt they were improperly singled out and penalized, while Inter fans felt a sense of retribution to what they felt was years of favouritism of refereeing decisions to Juventus. As Juve was trying to reorganize its team and sponsorship and television deals, Inter swept in and bought Patrick Vieira and Zlatan Ibrahimovic comparatively cheap. Other Juventus players would leave during that season, and, although it would be promoted the next season, it took the team years to recover to level of consistency that the club has been used to.
In the first derby after Juventus returned to Serie A, Giorgio Chiellini had to be separated from his former teammate Ibrahimovic after an altercation. In 2009, tensions boiled over as Inter manager Jose Mourinho was sent off, and Juventus keeper Gianluigi Buffon grabbed Brazilian Thiago Motta by the throat.
Saturday’s game will likely prove to be an intense game between these two grand rivals, whose players, no matter where the teams are in the standings, are always up for the game.
My prediction: 2-2.
Buon Pasqua to all…
