Juventus were celebrating a
record-extending 15th Italian Cup on Thursday having beaten
Atalanta 1-0 at the Olimpico the previous night via a Dusan
Vlahovic strike to leave La Dea nursing 60 years of hurt.
The Bianconeri thus extended their lead in the cup tally over
second-placed Inter on nine, alongside Roma, seven for Lazio,
six for Napoli and Fiorentina, five for Milan and Torino, four
for Sampdoria and three for Parma.
Serbia centre forward Vlahovic, who struck in the fourth minute
and had another goal disallowed in the second half for offside,
said:
"A big thank you to everyone because we know what we did this
year and the difficulties we had, but in the end we achieved the
two goals we set ourselves at the beginning of the year:
qualification for the Champions League and the Coppa Italia. Now
I am already thinking about how to win more trophies next year:
we are Juventus and the DNA of this team is this."
Coach Massimiliano Allegro, who was red carded for frenzied
foulplay protests near the end, said:
"It was an important night, playing a final is always a
wonderful event. It is a team victory. It was not easy and I am
very happy for the boys, they did a good job and gave a joy to
the club, the fans and me. We went through three hard months
that will be of great growth, Juventus is an important club and
we got what we needed to get: the Champions League and playing a
Coppa Italia final that the boys then did well to win. This
victory is thanks to everyone, the players did really well.
Winning is never easy, but it is in Juventus' DNA. This victory
should be celebrated, but from tomorrow Juventus must prepare
again to win again."
As for his tie-tearing-off, shirt-ripping antics, Allegri said:
"it's normal to get excited in a cup final".
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © Copyright ANSA
