Juventus-Real Madrid: The Reactions Of The Italian Press

Following yesterday's 3-1 win over Real Madrid, the Italian press obviously celebrates the triumph of the Bianconeri and the domestic final with redundant titles and editorials.

"La Gazzetta dello Sport" titles: "A Juve of phenomenons. Trezeguet opens, Del Piero doubles, Buffon saves a penalty, Nedved makes it 3-0: then Zidane, but only for the honour". Best players: Tacchinardi 8, Buffon, Thuram, Zambrotta, Nedved, Del Piero 7.5. Worst players: Hierro, Raul, Figo, Cambiasso 5.

In his editorial, titled "A soccer lesson" former director Candido Cannavò writes: "In the inebriating Juve night, which shakes the history of Italian soccer, the unembarassed "habla habla" of the Spanish press shuts down in a mortifying silence. They laughed at us for months, beyond any reasonable limit, as if Moses gave them the tables of soccer. And now we see them on their knees, stunned by the terrible lesson suffered in what they defined as "the home of soccer's troglodytes. The immense joy for Juve's performance and for the all-Italian final lays firstly on this juicy revenge. The usual calcio, which destroys instead of creating? Not at all: this time, the beauty only belongs to the Bianconeri".

"La Stampa" titles: "Real Juventus make another magic: goals, show, triumph". Correspondent Marco Ansaldo writes: "Perhaps it was because they were facing Real Madrid, who are considered as the best team in the world, but we think that Juve have never been as joyously great as they were yesterday against the Merengues. The Bianconeri displayed a superb performance, which would have been absolutely perfect if Nedved didn't pick up a lame yellow card for a useless foul on McManaman. Pavel deserved this final more than anyone else, and his tears at the end of the match were the only sad episode of the night. Juve's qualification was in jeopardy only in the last minutes, but it would have been unfair if Real advanced: and now, hopefully, the Spanish press will stop talking about the catenaccio".

Finally, "Il Corriere della Sera": "Juve hand Real a lesson: 3-1, and now an all-Italian final". In his editorial, Giorgio Tosatti writes "A Juve of warriors and workers, with wide injections of talent, revolutions the continental hierarchies, become the star of the season, gives our soccer the honour compromised in Korea. If they want, on May 28th the adorers of Spanish soccer can watch a movie while the entire world will be connected with Manchester".