Gennaro Gattuso on Wednesday hailed the “God of football” after he lifted his first coaching trophy as SSC Napoli beat Juventus 4-2 to win the Coppa Italia on penalties for the sixth time.
The final had ended 0-0 in an empty Stadio Olimpico in Rome.
Paulo Dybala and Danilo both missed their spot-kicks for Juventus, who have been Coppa Italia champions for a record 13 times, while Arkadiusz Milik slotted in the winner for Napoli past veteran goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon.
Photo: AFP
It is the first trophy for the southerners since 2014 and also a maiden coaching trophy for Gattuso, who took over from Carlo Ancelotti in December last year.
For former Italy World Cup winner Gattuso, his first coaching success comes after the death of his 37-year-old sister Francesca from a rare illness.
“In life, you cannot accept some things, but football has given me a lot and a great passion,” the 42-year-old former AC Milan great said. “I feel I have a great responsibility. I know I cannot give up and I have never done so in my career. I saw a team tonight that wanted to win. We deserved it.”
“There’s a God of football, who makes you reap all that you’ve sown,” Gattuso added. “I am proud of what my lads have done. Now we must continue with this spirit also in the championship, to recover the disadvantage.”
Napoli have been reborn under Gattuso and are now sixth in the league table, but the defeat was a worrying sign for Maurizio Sarri’s Juventus, who also lost the Supercoppa Italiana final to SS Lazio in December last year.
The 61-year-old former Napoli coach had also been chasing his first coaching trophy in Italy, and the second in his career after leading Chelsea to the UEFA Europa League last season.
“There is disappointment for the lads, for the club, for the fans,” Sarri said. “At this moment, we lack brilliance to make the game dangerous and without that brilliance, it becomes more difficult.”
The final was played behind closed doors, in the silence of the Stadio Olimpico, which on Wednesday was to have hosted Italy versus Switzerland in the UEFA Euro 2020.
Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo missed a chance to break the deadlock after five minutes, having also missed a penalty in a goalless semi-final, second-leg match against AC Milan last weekend.
“It’s unusual — two 0-0 draws for us — but that just shows the lack of sharpness after such a long break,” Sarri said. “Ronaldo’s in the same shape as the others, like Paulo Dybala and Douglas Costa. He is lacking the sharpness to do what works best for him.”
Napoli had the best opportunities of the first half, with Lorenzo Insigne’s curling effort denied and Buffon clearing Diego Demme from close range.
Buffon pulled off a last-minute save on Nikola Maksimovic to send the game into penalties, with extra-time scrapped to minimize injuries after the coronavirus shutdown.
Sarri said he hoped that the players would “put the anger and hunger from this disappointment” into their Serie A challenge, as the eight-time reigning champions are just one point ahead of second-placed Lazio in the table.
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