A cup winner with Enrico Chiesa and Parma in 1999, the keeper repeated the trick with Federico and Juve 22 years laterAs Juventus prepared for their last shot at a major trophy this season, Federico Chiesa approached Gigi Buffon. “You won this with my father,” said the forward to the goalkeeper. “Now you need to do the same with me.”Twenty-two years had passed since Buffon claimed the Coppa Italia with Parma, playing in a team that featured Enrico Chiesa up front. Federico had not yet reached his second birthday. Who could ever have imagined that they would one day start a final together, and that each would have an essential role to play? Related: Inter fail to knock Juventus out...
Milan won at Juve for the first time in 10 years and the consequences for both teams could be wide-rangingIf a single image could capture how far Juventus’s sights have fallen in this catastrophic campaign, it might be the anguish on Paulo Dybala’s face after he fired wide at the end of their defeat to Milan. There were seconds left to play at Allianz Stadium, too few to believe his team had any chance of rescuing a positive result from a game they were losing 3-0. Dybala was desperate not because he thought Juventus might pinch a draw but because, on the night they dropped out of the top four, one goal would at least prevent them from giving up...
Lazio’s impressive win over the Rossoneri has them closing in on the struggling pair with a handful of games remainingWas Fabio Paratici still in denial on Monday night? Before Juventus kicked off away to Fiorentina on Sunday, their chief football officer insisted nobody at the club was even considering the possibility that they might finish outside the top four. By the time this latest round of Serie A games had finished, his team was locked in a three-way tie for third.One of the teams alongside them was Milan. Between the two, it is hard to know which might feel more dread at the prospect of missing out on the Champions League. As winners of the past nine Serie A titles,...
That Atalanta should pick this weekend to record their first win over Juventus in two decades felt powerfully poignantHours before 12 of Europe’s leading football clubs announced plans for a breakaway Super League that would shield them from the consequences of sporting failure, one was busy demonstrating why such protection might be desired. Juventus, winners of the last nine Serie A titles, fell to fourth in the table as they lost 1-0 at Atalanta, dropping behind their opponents in the process.The Bianconeri could have slipped all the way out of the Champions League places if Napoli had beaten Inter later that evening. In the event, those clubs drew, but Juventus’s margin for error has evaporated. The gap to Napoli is...
The Bianconeri slumped to defeat by Benevento but senior figures at the club cannot lay all the blame on the managerPippo Inzaghi put his arm around Andrea Pirlo’s shoulder before kick-off at the Allianz Stadium. It was an instinctive moment of reconnection between two men, who played together for a decade at Milan. They were brought to San Siro by the same agent, Tullio Tinti, in the summer of 2001 and shared more than 200 matches side by side.As players, they achieved some of football’s highest highs. On the footage of Milan’s 2007 Champions League final win over Liverpool, you can see them in an identical pose, Inzaghi pulling his friend close as they head for the changing rooms at...