Champions Juventus broke AC Milan’s record of 42 matches unbeaten as they finished the Serie A season undefeated with a 3-1 win over Atalanta BC on Sunday.
It was also the perfect send-off after 19 years with the Old Lady for club captain Alessandro Del Piero, who took the armband for the final time in a Serie A game in Juve’s colors and netted his team’s second goal.
Youngster Luca Marrone scored the opener and Andrea Barzagli netted a last-minute penalty as Juve finished the season with 84 points, four clear of last year’s champions Milan.
Photo: AFP
The only blips were a late own-goal by Stephan Lichsteiner and an injury to centerback Giorgio Chiellini that could put his Euro 2012 participation at risk.
The victory meant Juve took their unbeaten run in all competitions to 43 games, including the final match of last season, a record for an Italian team.
They also produced the first unbeaten Serie A campaign since AC Milan in 1992 and the first since Italy moved from an 18 to a 20-team league.
“The aim was to remain unbeaten and to celebrate with our own fans,” coach Antonio Conte said. “We managed that and that had never happened in a 20-team league. This is a legendary season because in the future no one will ever be able to beat what we’ve done, only equal it. No one ever gave us anything and that’s reason for great pride. Del Piero played like a champion once again, but I told him the season isn’t over because he must been decisive again on Sunday in the Italian Cup final against Napoli.”
If they avoid defeat in next weekend’s final, Juve will become the first team to go an entire season unbeaten in the league and cup, although they were helped by not playing in Europe.
Their clash with Atalanta was little more than a glorified friendly.
The game descended into near farce in the second period when Conte decided to substitute Del Piero so he could receive a rapturous ovation from the fans.
He got that, but the sight of a league match being held up for at least a couple of minutes to affect a substitution while all his teammates joined him in the center-circle to salute him seemed like a scene from a testimonial match.
With the game ongoing, he then embarked on a lap of honor to salute the fans.
Milan finished their season with a the perfect party scenario as 38-year-old Filippo Inzaghi scored the winner on his 300th and final appearance for the club before retiring in a 2-1 win over Novara Calcio.
“I’m spent, now it’s hard to give up everything, my legs are there, I don’t have any pain,” the man of the moment said. “After the cruciate knee ligament operation, I got well again. Playing a long way from Milan is so hard, but I will return to this club.”
With popular stalwarts Inzaghi, Gennaro Gattuso and Alessandro Nesta all making their final bow in a Milan shirt, the match took time to come to life.
Gattuso captained the side, but looked a shadow of his former self, while the biggest cheer of the afternoon was reserved for Inzaghi’s entry from the bench.
It was Inzaghi’s 156th goal in Serie A and just to top things off, it was fellow veteran Clarence Seedorf who played the pass.
Udinese secured third place and the final Champions League qualification position with a 2-0 win at Catania.
Emblematic captain Antonio Di Natale gave them a 19th-minute lead on a counterattack and Diego Fabbrini sealed the victory in the 58th minute.
That result rendered SS Lazio’s 3-1 win over Inter meaningless, although it was enough for them to finish fourth.
Diego Milito gave the visitors the lead from the penalty spot, but goals from Libor Kozak, Andrea Candreva and Stefano Mauri gave the Romans victory.
Napoli finished fifth, just above Inter, after their 2-1 win over AC Siena.
Fiorentina drew 0-0 with Cagliari, Cesena lost 3-2 at home to AS Roma and Parma defeated Bologna 1-0.
Lecce joined Cesena and Novara in Serie B after their 1-0 defeat at Chievo Verona. They could not have survived anyway as Genoa beat Palermo 2-0.
Additional reporting by staff writer
Shohei Ohtani and his wife arrived in South Korea with his Los Angeles Dodgers teammates yesterday ahead of their season-opening games with the San Diego Padres next week. Ohtani, wearing a black training suit and a cap backwards, was the first Dodgers player who showed up at the arrival gate of Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul. His wife, Mamiko Tanaka, walked several steps behind him. As a crowd of fans, many wearing Dodgers jerseys, shouted his name and cheered slogans, Ohtani briefly waved his hand, but did not say anything before he entered a limousine bus with his wife. Fans held placards
Taiwan’s Tai Tzu-ying yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals at the All England Open, beating Kim Ga-eun of South Korea 21-17, 21-15. With the win, Tai earned a semi-final against China’s He Bingjiao, who beat Michelle Li of Canada 21-9, 21-9. Defending champion An Se-young defeated India’s P.V. Sindhu 21-19, 21-11. An on Wednesday cruised into the second round, unlike last year’s men’s winner, Li Shifeng, who suffered a shock defeat. South Korea’s An, the world No. 1, overcame Taiwan’s Hsu Wen-chi 21-17, 21-16 to set up the match against Sindhu. In other women’s singles matches, Taiwan’s Sung Shuo-yun lost 21-18, 24-22 against Carolina Marin of
EYEING TOP SPOT: A victory in today’s final against Storm Hunter and Katerina Siniakova would return 38-year-old Hsieh Su-wei to the world No. 1 ranking Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens on Thursday secured a spot in the women’s doubles finals at the BNP Paribas Open after dispatching Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez 6-2, 7-6 (7/5) at Indian Wells. Hsieh and her Belgian partner Mertens, who won the Australian Open in late January, coasted through the first set after breaking their opponents’ serve twice, but found the going tougher in the second. Both pairs could only muster one break point over 12 games, neither of which were converted, leaving the set to be decided by a tiebreaker. Hsieh and Mertens took a 6-3 lead,
DOUBLES PAYBACK: Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Martens avenged their defeat in the quarters at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open against Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei on Wednesday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California. Hsieh and partner Elise Mertens of Belgium dispatched Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani 6-1, 6-4 to set up a clash against Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez for a spot in the final of the WTA 1000 tournament. Hsieh and Martens made a blistering start to their rematch after they lost to Schuurs and Stefani in the quarter-finals at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open last month, winning three games without reply at the start of the first set