Thursday, February 18, 2010
Ajax – Juventus In History
The two most important appointments saw Ajax and Juventus play in the final of the top continental trophy. In 1973, it was a goal in the opening minutes by Johnny Rep that decided the Champions Cup final. In 1996 in Rome, the final of the Champions League, saw Marcello Lippi’s Juventus beat Ajax after penalties following the 90 minutes which ended in a 1-1 draw with goals by Ravanelli and Litmanen.
The Old lady visited Amsterdam five times, collecting 2 victories, as many draws and one defeat.
The first time was on the 11th December 1974 in a UEFA Cup tie, the predecessor of the Europa League. The Dutch team won 2-1 with goals by Blankenburg and Muhren with a penalty scored by Damiani in between with Juventus making it through to the quarter-finals thanks to the 1-0 victory in Turin.
The next encounter dates back to 1978 in the Champions Cup. It was Causio who in the dying moments of the match equalized the goal scored by Van Dord scored 4 minutes before.
In 1997 Ajax-Juventus was the first leg of the semi-final of the Champions League. Lippi fielded two young strikers, Amoruso and Vieri, who repaid him with a goal each. The only goal by Litmanen was useless.
Finally in September 2004, Juve beat Ajax at the Amsterdam Arena in the first match of the Champions League which would later see Liverpool’s triumph in Istanbul. It was Pavel Nedved who scored the match winner with a poisonous shot from outside the area.
Fabio Capello fielded the following formation: Buffon, Birindelli, Thuram, Cannavaro, Zambrotta, Camoranesi, Emerson, Blasi, Nedved, Ibrahimovic, Del Piero. Ajax, who at the time were coached by Koeman fielded this line-up: Stekelenburg, De Jong, Heitinga, Grygera, Maxwell, Obodai, Snejider, Van der Vaart, Pienaar, Sonck, Mitea: a formation full of players which are still playing today for important clubs.
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