Alain Boksic and Andy Cole, Pippo Inzaghi and Dwight Yorke, Alessandro Del Piero and David Beckham. Juventus Manchester United was the queen of European football in the 90s. Before Massimiliano Allegri and Jose Mourinho there were Marcello Lippi and sir Alex Ferguson. Before Ronaldo and Lukaku, Bobo Vieri and Van Nistelrooij. The Delle Alpi stadium and, above all, the old Comunale. Old Trafford, on the other hand, always remained there. A European Cup each for the two teams in those years. The bianconeri with the final in Rome in 1996, the red devils with the daring final in Barcelona in 1999. Before and after there were 13 precedents between the two teams, let’s analyze the last 5 in Turin.
Cup Winners’ Cup 1983 – 1984.It is the return of the semifinal of a competition that no longer exists. Trapattoni’s Juventus have the advantage of the home factor after the 1-1 in England. The bianconeri win 2-1 with goals from Boniek and Paolo Rossi in the 90th minute, interspersed with a draw by Whiteside. Juve thus accesses the final, which will see them triumphant against Porto in the match in Basel.
Champions League 1996 – 1997. According to Gary Neville, Juventus in 1996 “were the strongest European team we have ever met”. And indeed that team, the new European champion, could show off quality in abundance in every part of the field: from Peruzzi to Ferrara, from an emerging Zidane to Del Piero, with Vieri and Boksic in attack. And it was the Croatian striker who scored the decisive goal in the debut match of group C.
Champions League 1997 – 1998. A year later, again during the group stage, Juve Manchester and the final match of group B. English already qualified, Juve must win and hope that in group D Rosenborg will not win against Athens in Athens. Olympiakos. In this way the bianconeri would pass among the best runners-up. At 84 ‘in Turin the game is still blocked at 0-0 while the Norwegians are winning in Greece. In a minute everything changes: Inzaghi scores with an assist from Zidane, Djordjevic equalizes from a free-kick for Olympiakos. At Delle Alpi you can celebrate.
Champions League 1998 – 1999.The two teams meet for the third consecutive year, this time in the semifinals. On the first leg, Giggs had made up for Conte’s goal in time. It was Ancelotti’s Juve, who took over from Conte, on the hunt for a historic fourth consecutive Champions League final. It will not go like this for Manchester’s incredible comeback on the return leg. After Inzaghi’s deadly brace, United comeback 2-3 with Calypso Boys Yorke and Cole together with captain Roy Keane.
Champions League 2002 – 2003.In the early 2000s the Champions League had a second group stage that preceded the knockout stage from the quarter-finals onwards. In February 2003, Ferguson’s team beat Delle Alpi again with a sharp 0-3. Giggs’ brace and Van Nistelrooij’s goal annihilate Lippi’s Juventus. The bianconeri will then qualify with a goal from Tudor in the game against Deportivo La Coruna.
