Juventus entered Rome’s Stadio Olimpico on Wednesday in search of history. The Bianconeri had gone two decades without winning the Coppa Italia, not lifting it since Marcello Lippi’s first season as coach back in 1995. In the opposing corner was a Lazio side hungry to add some silverware to their own remarkable campaign, which sees them on the brink of returning to the Champions League after an eight-year absence.
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Stefano Pioli and Max Allegri are arguably the front-runners for the Coach of the Year award on the peninsula, both men getting the majority of their decisions correct in difficult circumstances as each made vital improvements to the team he inherited. The former – himself a European Cup winner with Juventus as a player – has turned around Lazio’s fortunes, arresting a slide that saw them slip to a ninth-place finish in 2013-14.
Now sitting pretty in third, Pioli’s achievements were somewhat matched by the man sitting in the adjacent dugout, with Allegri improving on the relentless success enjoyed by the Old Lady under Antonio Conte. Allegri has married a wonderful attacking freedom to the defensive solidity that was already in place, unleashing the potential that had perhaps been previously restrained. The likes of Carlos Tevez, Roberto Pereyra and Alvaro Morata have all thrived, although the Bianconeri were forced to cope without the latter in the final.
.@chiellini: “Suarez? I bear no grudges. I’ll mark him like I marked Benzema, Messi like I marked Ronaldo and Neymar like I marked Bale.”
— JuventusFC (@juventusfcen) May 19, 2015
Like Claudio Marchisio, the Spanish striker was suspended due to his booking in the semi-final win over Fiorentina, while Allegri was bold enough to start the match with Gigi Buffon beside him on the bench. Marco Storari has deputised for the World Cup winner throughout this competition, and Allegri resisted the temptation to recall his number one in pursuit of cup glory. Sadly for the Turin giants, Storari’s first act of the final was to pick the ball out of his goal after being beaten by a strong header from Stefan Radu just four minutes in.
Luckily for those of a black and white persuasion, the Lazio lead would not last long, a free kick just seven minutes later presenting Andrea Pirlo with an opportunity to restore parity. His ball into the box picked out Patrice Evra perfectly, the Frenchman heading back across goal in the direction of Giorgio Chiellini. Usually Juve’s most cumbersome player, the big defender swivelled quickly, despatching a well-struck overhead kick beyond Etrit Berisha.
“We did well to never give in, remain united and fight for every ball, then we have players who can change a game. We really wanted this trophy and now will enjoy it to the full.” – Giorgio Chiellini
In Buffon’s absence, Chiellini was handed the armband and he was the undisputed leader of the side during a tricky encounter. It has not been a season to remember for Chiellini. Prior to this final, the usually reliable Tuscan had failed to match his own high standards in an error-strewn campaign, punctuated by embarrassing slips against both Borussia Dortmund and AS Monaco in the Champions League. Fortunate not to be sent off for a ludicrous handball against the latter, he was also responsible for the penalty scored by Cristiano Ronaldo at the semi-final stage of the same competition last week, his rash challenge on James Rodriguez handing the Spanish side a lifeline from which Juve were fortunate to recover.
.@chiellini: MotM vs Lazio, Rating 8.90, Goals 1, Interceptions 7, Tackles 2, Clearances 8, Key Passes 2 @juventusfc pic.twitter.com/BMMNkbiVqq
— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) May 20, 2015
The Juventus captain won two tackles, seven interceptions and made eight clearances as his equaliser – remarkably his first goal of 2014-15 – seemed to spark the old Chiellini into life. From the moment he roared in celebration he turned in an excellent display in a match that threatened to go to penalties before Alessandro Matri popped up with a late winner in extra-time.
Just like that, Juventus ended their drought in knockout competitions, which spans an incredible sixteen years, clinching only the third domestic double in their history. The Champions League final still remains, as does the dream of even greater glory when Juventus face Barcelona on June 6. For now they will enjoy their tenth Coppa Italia triumph, built upon a throwback performance from a revived Chiellini.
