Lazio v Juventus Coppa Italia final: Sprightly Aquile look to derail Bianconeri success train

Date: 19th May 2015 at 10:00am
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Wednesday night will see two of Italy’s best sides meet in the Coppa Italia final, both with different reasons for wanting success and seeing triumph as a fine way to mark impressive seasons.

Lazio v Juventus Coppa Italia

Recently re-crowned Serie A champions Juventus are looking for their 10th Coppa Italia title, a feat that would represent their third Italian double. Meanwhile, Lazio won the competition as recently as 2013 and will be looking to regain the trophy at their home stadium.

For Juventus, a team accustomed to titles and silverware, the prospect of adding another trinket to their expansive trophy cabinet would serve as notice of their domination over the current Italian football landscape. The Bianconeri have been untouchable domestically, and cornering the market in trophies would only serve to underline that fact.

Massimiliano Allegri’s side have already impressed with the way they swept to the Scudetto, but it is a rare achievement to win both Serie A and the Coppa Italia in the same season. Their last double came in 1994-95 and before that, one has to go back to 1959-60 when Giampiero Boniperti lifted both trophies.

BONIPERTI GIAMPIERO - JUVENTUS

History records few examples of Italian clubs winning such a double, demonstrating how difficult a two-pronged attack on trophies has been. As well as the Bianconeri’s pair, Inter have two and Torino, Lazio and Napoli one each.

Of course, completing the double would represent the first two legs of a possible treble — a feat to match that of the Inter side of 2010.

With their coach joining the club under a red and black cloud, to go on to win a double in 2015, especially having already reached the Champions League final, would represent a real marker for Allegri.

He has already proven himself to be an astute appointment as Bianconeri coach and another trophy would only strengthen the argument that his side have progressed since the surprise departure of Antonio Conte last summer.

The same could be said of his opposite number, of course. Stefano Pioli will go into the final looking to secure a seventh Coppa Italia for the Biancocelesti and ensure their spectacular revival season has a tangible reward at the end of it.

Stefano Pioli Lazio

It is evident that Lazio’s greatest recent successes have come in the Coppa Italia. In fact, five of their previous wins have come in the seasons since their opponents’ previous triumph (1995).

Additionally, their route to the final has been arguably more difficult and certainly more circuitous than the Bianconeri’s, as Juventus were spared rounds three and four by virtue of their presence in UEFA Competition.

Lazio have dispatched Bassano Virtus, Varese, Torino and AC Milan en route back to the Stadio Olimpico, with 2013 Coppa Italia hero Senad Lulic — adding to his knockout reputation in the capital — scoring the goal that eliminated Napoli in the semi-final.

Lazio v Roma - Coppa Italia - Lulic celebrates

Their form in Serie A may well yet see them reach the Champions League in place of the Partenopei, but reaching the final here (and securing a place in the Supercoppa Italiana next season) ensures that Pioli has already delivered European football for next season in one form or another.

Even so, there are no physical rewards for finishing second or third, so the Coppa Italia represents an opportunity for Pioli to win a first piece of silverware as a coach, and comes against a side with which he won a Serie A himself as a player way back in 1985-86.

His arrival at Lazio (like that of Allegri at Juventus) was something of a surprise, and supporters took a while for his methods to convince. However, Pioli has come to his own in the second half of the season, and his side have surged up the table.

Stefano Pioli Lazio

With a team based on the acuity of Stefan de Vrij and the inspiration of Felipe Anderson, Pioli has overseen something of a revolution in the Aquile ranks.

While Miroslav Klose remains a potent threat, Lazio’s goals have come from a wide range of sources. Indeed it is not out of the question that six Biancocelesti players end up with 10 goals to their name by the seasons end; four have already achieved that mark.

Cup finals should be a showpiece occasion, and this season’s Coppa Italia brings together the two sides who have demonstrated by far the best Serie A form in 2015, and who both possess no end of attacking potential. For a competition that can sometimes seem to slip under the radar, this final is one that can exhibit all that is good about Italian football.

Whether it is Lazio who triumph, and earn Stefano Pioli a first trophy, or Juventus who emerge victorious and use it as a stepping stone to a more prestigious date in Berlin, it promises to be one of the most enthralling of finals.

Allegri v Pioli

 

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