Juventus Primavera COPPA ITALIA FINAL – Second Leg – Bianconeri Unable to Repeat Viareggio Success

After watching the first team put in a string of superb performances, rising to the occasion thrice in a week to see off three of their biggest rivals, all eyes were on the Primavera last week as they travelled to the capital for the Second Leg of the Coppa Italia on March 22nd against Roma. Could they match Antonio Conte’s side who saw off Milan, Fiorentina, and Inter over an eight-day period and secure their second trophy of the campaign? As ever, Adam Digby has it covered.

The performances of the Primavera under Marco Baroni have, in recent weeks, been increasingly erratic, mixing superb performances and victories with some utterly inept displays ending in disappointing results. There seemed to be no middle ground, no close calls or gallant losses: when it came to Juventus at this level it was all or nothing. Add in the fact that their last Final appearance – February’s triumphant Viareggio success – saw the coach abandon his principles and go for the kind of pragmatic display that would leave Gigi Delneri smiling under his moustache, fans could be forgiven for heading to the imposing Stadio Olimpico with some trepidation.

Yet once the whistle blew (on a match televised live across the country and attended by some 22,232 people), the Bianconeri showed none of the nervousness that blighted their performance in front of a similar audience in the first leg. Seeking to overturn a 2-1 deficit from that encounter at Juventus Stadium, Baroni made just one change, opting to start Ouasim Bouy in place of Stefano Beltrame. After a superb effort from Roma’s Amato Ciciretti smashed into the post, the former Ajax man had Juve’s best chance of the opening period: scything through the Giallorossi midfield and then embarrassing defender Federico Barba, the Dutchman would similarly trouble the goal frame as his shot crashed off the crossbar.

Halftime came and went with the game till in the balance, Stefano Padovan struck inches wide when he perhaps should have gone down for a penalty after a rash challenge from the struggling Barba, before Giallorossi keeper Mirko Pigliacelli made a superb stop from an Elio De Silvestro effort. Not to be outdone, Juve’s own number one Laurenţiu Brănescu would make arguably an even better save after Ivorian striker Tallo waltzed past a stranded Juve defence.

Time began to slip away from the Bianconeri – who of course needed to score twice to win the trophy – when their best chance came with just under 20 minutes remaining. It fell to Yussif Chibsah and sadly for all who hold the Old Lady dear, despite losing his marker in the penalty area the Ghanaian midfielder could only steer his shot wide of the post. It was a chance which, had it fallen to any other player in the Juve front six, would have surely changed the game as despite throwing on Beltrame, Alberto Libertazzi, and Giuseppe Ruggiero, the Bianconeri would have no further opportunities to draw level.

Huge credit must go to Roma who, after losing to Juve at Viareggio, were clearly the better team over this two-legged tie and richly deserved to see captain Federico Viviani follow in the footsteps of Francesco Totti, and lift the Coppa when the full-time whistle blew. Giallorossi coach Alberto De Rossi was rightly proud of his team and told Corriere dello Sport that it was that same Viareggio Cup loss which his team had used to inspire them:

We won this trophy with the first 20 minutes of the Viareggio final. In that first half we showed the worst of ourselves and we have gone over that first half many times in order to start again from there. We weren’t looking for revenge, we only wanted to start playing again as we know we can.

[video_lightbox_youtube video_id=K76tNl6LTSs width=640 height=480 anchor="{ Match Highlights }"]

	Coppa Italia, Final 2nd Leg ROMA-JUVENTUS 0-0 (2-1 agg.)
Brănescu Untersee, Gouano, Rubin, Liviero Gabriel Appelt, Chibsah Spinazzola, Bouy (46′ Beltrame), De Silvestro (78′ Ruggiero) Padovan (56′ Libertazzi) (BENCH: Sluga, Schiavone, Magnússon, Margiotta)

Baroni was proud of the display in the final but also acknowledged the performance of their opponents, as he told the club’s official website; “We paid a heavy price for the first-half in Turin when we allowed the occasion to get the better of us. Games like these, however, represent great opportunities for youth players to further mature. Chibsah could have opened the game up with twenty minutes remaining, but I have to say that Roma deserved to win over the two games. I must congratulate our opponents, but also my players, for the splendid tournament they’ve had.”

Juventus must now pick themselves up and throw everything they have at winning the league title, which now enters a critical phase. After being given three days off to recover what has been a hectic recent schedule they began training again on Monday without five players away representing the Italy U-19s as Coach Alberigo Evani called up Gianluca Rubin, Andrea Schiavone, Elio De Silvestro, Stefano Beltrame and Stefano Padovan. Fiorentina and Torino, in second and third place respectively could only draw last weekend, which puts Juventus three points clear with a game in hand.

Only six matches remain and they must finish in the top two in order to qualify for the playoffs, starting this week when Sassuolo visit Vinovo.

Giovanissimi

In stark contrast to the up and down nature of the Primavera, the Giovanissimi (U-15) side continue to be a model of consistency under Claudio Gabetta. They followed up last week’s tough draw in the Turin derby with a hugely impressive 5-0 win over Savona thanks to goals from Luca Clemenza, Francesco Mollica and a hat-trick from the excellent Riccardo Cabella.

With just three games to go they sit top of Group A and face 4th-place Sampdoria next week while Torino and Genoa – currently second and third respectively – face off in a round of fixtures which, should results pan out, see the two Turin clubs secure their places in the playoffs. Seeing both teams, as well as the Allievi – themselves second in their own league table – doing so well bodes well for the future of the club and we only hope every side can taste success come the end of the season!

In bocca al lupo ragazzi!