In one sense, a treble has already been completed. The Bianconeri are the first team since the Coppa Italia was founded in 1922 to win it three times in a rowGigi Buffon edged towards the touchline, bouncing from one foot to the other and squirting himself in the face with a water bottle. Behind him, Juan Cuadrado grabbed two more – preparing to drench their manager, Massimiliano Allegri, when the final whistle went. The rest of Juventus’s bench gathered around them, ready to rush on to the pitch.You might think this team would be underwhelmed by the prospect of lifting yet another Coppa Italia. But you would be wrong. To watch Juve’s players celebrate their 2-0 victory over Lazio in...
Sporting’s relegation was all their own work, a result of institutional crisis, social divide and financial limitations. Survival, then, for Depor and LeganésThere were two minutes left on the penultimate night when Fernando Amorebieta approached the bench one last time. Any news? He would have heard if there was and deep down he knew what they were going to say, but he had to ask. By the touchline at Ipurua they waited, phones and radios at the ready, and the scene was repeated in the corner of the ground where 300 fans stood. On the pitch, their minds were drawn to San Mamés or El Madrigal, clinging to a hope they couldn’t see. This time, though, there was no miracle,...
Luciano Spalletti’s side became first team to beat Juventus in Serie A in four months and manager can feel vindicated after often being accused of getting tactics wrong for big gamesMatch point? That’s what they were calling it in the Italian papers, Juventus needing only a draw away to Roma to seal a record-breaking sixth consecutive Scudetto. The Bianconeri looked set to take it, too, producing the equivalent of a 150mph serve as Mario Lemina put them in front in the 21st minute. But Roma responded with a passing shot straight down the line.Goals from Daniele De Rossi, Stephan El Shaarawy and Radja Nainggolan turned a 1-0 deficit into an emphatic 3-1 triumph. Roma became the first team to beat...
Die Werkself secured their Bundesliga future with a derby draw against Köln, but coach Tayfun Korkut is already on his way … and key players could followIn a Bundesliga season full of surprises, this was not one of them. Bayer Leverkusen, as has become habitual in recent weeks, did just enough to avoid the doomsday scenario and in this case, enough to take a crucial point in Saturday’s derby with Köln. They remain only three points above the relegation play-off spot but with current occupants Hamburg and next-worst Wolfsburg playing each other on the final day, Die Werkself will again be a top-flight club next season.It is quite surreal that having to state that has become necessary but if Leverkusen’s...
RB Leipzig will join Red Bull Salzburg in next season’s Champions League, leaving the drinks company’s CEO Dietrich Mateschitz with a big problemIn any professional sport, what could be more necessary than a rule preventing one person or organisation from owning two teams? The potential conflicts of interest are obvious. One team could be used to help the other by, for instance, rolling over when they met at a crucial point in the battle for a championship, or by obstructing a third party in order to favour a stablemate.Formula One used to have a rule like that, but it was a distant memory by the time Dietrich Mateschitz came along. The man who bought the recipe for a caffeine-based drink...