Napoli stunned a powerful Juventus side 4-2 on penalties to win the Coppa Italia 2019-20 – the first major top-flight football prize after the resumption of football in Europe since the COVID-19 lockdown – at an empty Stadio Olimpico in Rome on Wednesday.
The final had ended goalless after the play of 120 minutes and stoppage time. For the 13-time Italian champions, Paulo Dybala and Danilo missed from the penalty spot before Arkadiusz Milik scored the winner past veteran Gianluigi Buffon to give Napoli their first major trophy since 2014. It was the new coach Gennaro Gattuso’s first trophy after he joined in December last year replacing Carlo Ancelotti.
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Napoli looked the better team throughout the night with Juventus failing to create much outrage among Gli Azzurri defenders. Lorenzo Insigne had almost given Napoli the lead in the first minute before Buffon denied them their second chance to open the scoring, clearing Diego Demme from close range.
The Portuguese superstar Ronaldo continued his patchy form as he had missed the first genuine chance of the game to score in the sixth minute. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner failed to break the deadlock, having also missed a penalty in the semi-final against AC Milan last weekend.
Meanwhile, Buffon’s class and years of experience were at the display again in the very last minutes of the game when he pulled off a save on Nikola Maksimovic to take the game into the penalties.
Napoli have resurrected under the former AC Milan great and World Cup winner with Italy, Gattuso, and will now be looking to improve their fate in the Serie A and book a Champions League slot. They are currently placed at sixth.
“In life you cannot accept some things, but football has given me a lot and a great passion,” said the 42-year-old Gattuso as quoted by PTI via AFP.
“I feel I have a great responsibility. I know I cannot give up and I have never done 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.
“I am proud of what my lads have done. Now we must continue with this spirit also in the championship, to recover the disadvantage.”
But the defeat was a worrying sign for Maurizio Sarri’s Juventus, who also lost the Italian SuperCup final last December to Lazio.
The 61-year-old former Napoli coach had also been chasing his first coaching trophy in Italy, and second in his career after leading Chelsea to the Europa League last season.
“There is disappointment for the lads, for the club, for the fans,” said Sarri.
“At this moment we lack brilliance to make the game dangerous, and without that brilliance, it becomes more difficult.
“It’s unusual two 0-0 draws for us but that just shows the lack of sharpness after such a long break,” said Sarri.
“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.
With PTI inputs
