COPPA ITALIA FINAL
JUVENTUS F.C vs S.S.C NAPOLI
So finally May 20 is here and the highly anticipated final held at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome. These 2 clubs have met in Coppa Italia 8 times, Juve winning 4, drawing twice and Napoli have won 2. Last time they met in the Coppa Italia was in 2010 at the Old Olympic Stadium of Turin and the Black and White prevailed 3-0 with goals thanks to Diego, Sissoko & Alex Del Piero.
For the first time these 2 historic clubs will meet at a neutral venue. The Stadio Olimpico of Rome was of course the place where Juventus last held a loft the UEFA Champions League trophy against an Ajax team that featured Edgar Davids, Seedorf, Van Der Sar, the De Boer brothers and Nwanko Kanu.
JUVENTUS FC: Antonio Conte
Juventus are coming off a hot season in the Serie A where they finished the year unbeaten with 23 wins and 15 draws and winning the Serie A title for the first time in 6 long years.
A lot has been written and said about the Old Lady of Italian Football and the whole match fixing that saw the club relegated but to their credit they bounced back in the most outstanding fashion and have produced a record breaking season.
Road to the Final -
vs Bologna (2-1)
vs AS Roma (3-0)
vs AC Milan (2-1) 1st Leg
vs AC Milan (2-2) 2nd Leg
vs Napoli ???
With Giorgio Chiellini out injured for this match it give a starting centre pairing of Bonucci and Barzagli to be the muscle and grint of the Juventus defence who have only conceded 20 goals for the 24 goals all season. Another injury concern is on the left flank with De Ceglie undergoing an operation to fix and on going knee problem but not to worry as Antonio Conte has used a rotating system all year which will see Caceres fill up that spot.
Probable line up -
Buffon, Lichsteiner, Bonucci, Barzagli, Caceres, Pirlo, Vidal, Marchisio, Giaccherini, Del Piero & Vucinic.
Key players:
The key men for the black and white lie in the midfield with World Cup winner Andrea Pirlo acting as the playmaker and will pull the strings of the whole squad. He will be supported by Juventus youth product Claudio Marchisio and what I regard as the best tackler of the game Arturo Vidal who came to Juve in the summer from Bayer Leverkusen.
Del Piero will wear the captain arm band for the last time as he plans to get ready for life after Juventus. Hopefully for Juve fans and for the number the #10 it will end with the master holding the cup.
Juve tend to play a very conservative brand of Football. Very stable and sure at the back but risky and not afraid to try things up front. With Marchisio's damaging runs and with impact players such as Matri and Simone Pepe it could become a night the black and white all remember.
Top goal scorer for Juve this year has been Alessandro Matri and funnily enough he may not start along with Quagliarella.
Last years favourite son of Turin was Milos Krasic but he is out of favour with Antonio Conte who doesn't believe Milos covers himself well in defence hence the midfielder looking else where next season along with Dutch young gun Elia who has featured in 5 Serie A games and last impressed in Juve's away win to Novara but still not enough to keep the other wingers out of the squad.
S.S.C NAPOLI: Walter Mazzarri
Napoli will be heading into this Final with a some what lack luster performance in the Serie A. A 5th place finish after a season which saw the team make the 2nd round of the Champions League eventually losing to Chelsea FC on aggregate. This could be the only silverware they will challenge for even for the near future as key players could be heading elsewhere next season.
Road to the Final -
vs Cesena (2-1)
vs Inter Milan (2-0)
vs Siena (1-2) loss 1st leg
vs Siena (2-0) win 2nd leg
vs Juventus ???
A full strength side will travel to Rome for the final with danger men obviously being Hamsik, Cavani & Lavezzi. But Juve should be aware of other players such as Italian international Maggio, Colombian Zuniga and off the bench Macedonian striker Goran Pandev.
Probable line up -
De Sanctis, Maggio, Cannavaro, Dossena, Aronica, Dzemaili, Inler, Gargano, Hamsik, Cavani, Lavezzi.
Key Players -
A good match up will be on the right side as Maggio will be up against Caceres. Two players that love going forward to assist in attack.
Cavani has been the talk of the town with his possible switch to Juventus for the 2012/2013 season so expect a high intense match from the Uruguayan. Also a player that causes havoc every time he meets Juve is the playmaker Hamsik. The Slovakian is among one of Napoli's founded treasures over the past few years and his goals have helped them climb up the Italian ranks to where they belong.
Ezequiel Lavezzi is another hot topic has he could play his last game for Napoli with speculation that he is heading to Inter Milan to join Argentinian team mates Cambiasso and Zanetti.
Napoli play a very attacking style of play which last time they met Juve they failed to capitalize on and were caught out on the counter and on set pieces. Their 1st encounter with Juve this year saw the Sky Blues shoot to a 3-1 lead but let that slip and that has been the case all season. They tend to lapse concentration at the crucial parts of the match. This problem also saw them say goodbye to the 3rd and final spot in the Champions League next year and demoted them to the Europa League instead.
LAST 5 MEETINGS:
Juventus v Napoli (3-0) 2012
Napoli v Juventus (3-3) 2011
Juventus v Napoli (2-2) 2011
Napoli v Juventus (3-0) 2011
Napoli v Juventus (3-1) 2010
Juventus last won the Coppa Italia in 1995 beating Parma 3-0 on aggregate back in the day when the final held 2 legs to find a winner.
Napoli last won the title in 1987 beating Atalanta 4-0 on aggregate which of course was the Napoli side of the little Maradona.
So both clubs are hungry to have the Coppa Italia symbol on next years jerseys. Juve of course already have added the Scudetto to the jersey and would like to complete the jersey with their 10th Coppa Italia crown.
STADIUM:
In front of an already sold out Stadio Olimpico in Rome of 80,000 fans, this match should have it all. The stadium that plays host to the Roman clubs of AS Roma and SS Lazio. Apart from having the running track between the fans and the pitch, it truly has an amazing atmosphere and one fitting for a final of this capacity.
Prediction:
Juventus v Napoli (2-1) - (Del Piero, Caseres & Cavani)
Chiellini is a big absentie for black and white and filling his shoes will not be easy but I dont see Juve ruining a perfect season in a Stadium they have not lost in quiet sometime.
