Juve won't see pasta last sixteen

Aaaaaahhhhh.

I don't think anyone is disagreeing with you, there

I met a Torino fan in Italy - he said that most Juve fans come from outside Turin.

To be fair, the auld guy was a bit mental.

 

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/neil-lennon-wants-revenge-for-dodgy-1499520


SOMETIMES Neil Lennon bristles with indignation. Yesterday, he bristled with pride.

Pride that a team he leads was able to take its place in the draw for the last 16 of the Champions League.

Now he is determined to ensure pride doesn’t come before a fall against Juventus in February.

The draw could have been kinder, he knows that. Then again, Celtic avoided Manchester United, Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich, who would have been as tough if not tougher to overcome.

So Lennon looked forward to a reunion with the Old Lady of Turin in the knowledge his last experience of meeting her was one of the best nights of his life.


On Hallowe’en 2001, he was in Martin O’Neill’s team and played in a game he will never forget, a 4-3 win over the Italians at Parkhead that had just about everything.

But Juventus also hold painful memories and being robbed of a result in the Stadio Delle Alpi by a last-minute penalty decision still provokes a shake of the head from the Irishman 11 years on.

In fact, Lennon took the chance to ask then-Juve boss Marcello Lippi about Nicola Amoruso’s dive that earned his team a 3-2 win when the coaching legend visited Scotland last year.

He said: “It was when he was here for a coaches’ forum. I said, ‘OK, 11 years ago, over in Turin – was it a penalty?’ He said: ‘Ah, some decisions you get, some decisions you don’t.’

‘Great, it f****** destroyed us for 11 years!”


O’Neill infamously lost the plot that night, such was his devastation at the decision that cost his team a point – and ultimately a place in the last 16.

Lennon added: “To be fair, you couldn’t blame him because there was no contact between Joos Valgaeren and Amoruso but they got the penalty and we all felt incensed.

“We had come back from 2-0 down, I think David Trezeguet scored both. We didn’t play well in the first half but did really well in the second.

“If a decision like that had gone against me as a manager, I’d have been incensed. It was huge because of the way the game had gone and the team we were playing, one of the favourites to win the tournament.

“They had Pavel Nedved, Edgar Davids, Trezeguet, Allesandro Del Piero, Marcelo Salas, I think Gianluigi Buffon was playing. It was a team littered with world-class stars.

“When we got it back to 2-2, everyone thought the least we would get is a point. Then the decision that went against us cost us the game.

“But the 4-3 game here is probably one of the highlights of my career. Juventus in front of a packed house, Lubo Moravcik at his best, Didier Agathe at his best, Henrik and Chris Sutton playing so well – they were all the ingredients for an epic night.

“Trezeguet scored two, Del Piero scored with a free-kick. It had everything you could want. I’m hoping for more of the same from these ties.”

Celtic have surpassed expectations by getting this far but the manager doesn’t want the journey to end in Juventus’ new stadium on March 6.

He added: “This is the most excited I’ve felt since I took over the job – and proud. With the players, there was a real sense of anticipation today. They’ve all gone away looking forward to what should be two of the best nights of their careers.

“Juventus are formidable. The Italian teams are always tough and this team are consistently excellent.

‘They are well clear at the top of Serie A, won it comfortably last year, topped a group with Chelsea and Shakhtar – and beat Chelsea 3-0. Not many teams do that.

“They are formidable, they know each other well and have a lot of flair with people like Sebastian Giovinco, Andrea Pirlo and others.

“The majority of that Italian team that got to the Euros was made up of Juventus players. It is a great club with magnificent
tradition, they have been out of the picture for a few years but I think this team fancy bringing the glory days back.

“I have a soft spot for Juventus as well because growing up they were the Italian team of that era, late 70s and early 80s. They had Michel Platini, Roberto Bettega, Zbigniew Boniek and people like that.

“They were fantastic and I have my own memories of playing against them.”

Early next year, his players will have the chance to make their own memories and while Lennon has confidence in them, he can’t help wish a few of his old team-mates could turn back the clock and help him out.

He added: “I would love to have a Henrik or a Chris or a Paul Lambert or a Stilian Petrov in the team in Turin.

“Paul had won it before and you just can’t buy that sort of experience.”

 

Enjoyed that vermicelli maccheroni, ec.