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Friday 22 May 1998 Previous News 1 Next

‘WE DESERVED TO LOSE'
ADMITS JUVENTUS SUPREMO

Club President Storms Away From Game In Disgust

JUVENTUS' night of misery was compounded when their president Gianni Agnelli stormed from the ground in disgust as Real Madrid struck the only goal of the European Cup Final. The former boss of Italian car giant FIAT, which owns the Serie A champions, left within seconds of the decisive moment when Predrag Mijatovic fired into an empty net in the 67th minute after a defensive mix-up.

As Agnelli charged from the impressive Amsterdam ArenA with 23 minutes of the match still remaining, he told reporters: The result is right. In a final like this whoever scores the first goal goes on to win, and they scored it.

Agnelli was clearly unimpressed with what he had seen as star names such as Alessandro Del Piero and Zinedine Zidane failed to reproduce their best form. While Real were elated at winning a place in the record books with their ninth success in European competitions, Juventus created a record of a different kind, becoming the only team to lose successive European Cup Finals.

Zidane admitted: "We played for 20 minutes and then gave up. We got it all wrong. Real played better than us and that's that." Fellow underachiever Del Piero could offer no satisfactory explanation for his own disappointing night, saying: "I didn't play well. On the contrary... It really annoys me, it's something that has only happened to me on a couple of occasions and that's why I feel really bad."

Inter Milan's World Footballer of the year, Ronaldo, an armchair spectator of Real's controlled 1-0 victory sympathised with his opposite number at Juventus, Del Piero. ''I feel very sorry for Del Piero,'' said the Brazilian. ''It's been a tough end to the season. Del Piero has been one of the stars of 1998 and for what he's done up to now he didn't deserve to lose.''

However the 21-year-old Inter striker acknowledged the better side had won on the night: 'I have to say Real Madrid deserved to win, they showed real fighting spirit - precisely the way I'd expected Juventus to be. The really fantastic player for me was defender Roberto Carlos. He's Brazilian, but he fought like an Italian. A final like that one is an honour for football and one that rewards the best team on the field.''

Ronaldo finished by throwing down the gauntlet to Marcello Lippi's Juve side, who Inter will join in next season's Champions League if they come through the preliminary round unscathed. He said: ''Juventus are a very good team but, from what I've seen this year, the most international side in Italy is Inter. Next year, I hope Inter and Juventus can face each other for the European Cup.''

Wednesday's victory may just have saved the job of beleaguered Madrid coach Jupp Heynckes, who was facing the sack after his team finished fourth in the Spanish League. Judging by the way the players and supporters celebrated their first European Cup success for 32 years, even despotic club president Lorenzo Sanz will think twice before kicking him out.


MADRID'S PARTY IS
WRECKED BY YOBS
 
CELEBRATIONS turned to violence as a drunken mob fought pitched battles with police after Real Madrid's victory in the European Cup Final. An estimated 500 anti-riot officers fired rubber bullets and teargas at the missile-throwing crowd during the two-hour disturbance in the Spanish capital.
Reports claimed two policemen were seriously hurt during the riot, which followed Real Madrid's 1-0 defeat of Juventus on Wednesday evening. The emergency services treated hundreds of people for drink-related injuries and 50 people, including 30 police officers, sustained injuries during the fighting.
The celebrations had begun peacefully with around a million people taking to the streets to celebrate Real's first success in the European Cup for 32 years. During the evening, revellers formed a Conga that stretched back more than a kilometre and motorists descended on the capital hooting their horns. Tempers boiled over just before midnight though as fans tried to storm the historic Cibeles Fountain, where the team were scheduled to make a victory appearance after returning from Amsterdam yesterday.
Vandals smashed bus stops and set fire to rubbish bins during the wrecking spree as mounted police baton-charged the crowd. After the hooligans were dispersed, an army of city workers moved in to clear away the wreckage. A police spokesperson said; We were separating the violent groups from the rest. Every time that Real Madrid wins there are celebrations here and we were waiting for something to happen."
Real's fans have a long history of violence and the Ultra Sur, a group of hard-core followers, have been blamed in the past for post-match clashes with police. European soccer officials were outraged last month when, just before the start of the European Cup semi-final first leg against Borussia Dortmund at the Bernabau, rowdy fans climbed the netting at one end of the pitch and pulled down one of the goals. The game was delayed 75 minutes while a replacement set was brought from the training ground.

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