No fairytale return for Zidane

By Marcus Christenson

It was the most beautiful day. There was none of the fog or smog that normally cloud the marvellous views that Turin can offer and, approaching the magnificent Stadio Delle Alpi, the Superga Hill was clearly visible to the left and the Alps to the right.

Haunting feeling
But despite the stunning clearness of the day, there was something brooding. The milling Juventus FC fans, who had started to turn up at the ground at around noon, seemed to have this uneasy feeling that the past was going to come back and haunt them. The past, of course, was personified by Zinedine Zidane, the former Bianconeri star who left for Real Madrid CF in the summer of 2001.

First return
Wednesday night's game was the Frenchman's first return to the Delle Alpi and the Juventus fans were unsure how to greet their former hero. Giovanni Paulumbi, for one, insisted that Juventus fans had nothing but respect for Zidane who, he said "was and is a consummate professional, an honest man and a great personality. He had a choice to make and left us but that doesn't take away what he did for us".

Cattaneos divided
But the issue had certainly divided the Cattaneo family with father Gianluigi shouting that "he [Zidane] had left for the money" and that "he was going to get booed tonight" while the somewhat calmer Cattaneo Jr, Maurizio, said that Zidane "was both a hero and a traitor".

Black cat
La Repubblica newspaper, meanwhile, blamed Zidane's move to Madrid on his wife Veronique, who wanted to live in a prettier place, and also wondered why the Frenchman had won so much with Madrid and France and no European titles with 'La Vecchia Signora'. It even went so far that some supporters wondered whether Zidane was "il gatto nero" - the black cat - who brought bad luck.

'Magnificent person'
Juventus coach Marcello Lippi, however, had begged the Juve tifosi to treat Zidane with the respect he deserved. "Please don't boo him, he is a magnificent person and deserves better," he said. And the Juve faithful heeded the coach's advice. There were, naturally some boos and jeers for the Frenchman when the teams were announced but during the game the whistling and jeering was less than expected when Zidane was in possession of the ball.

Thunderous crowd
Anti-Zidane banners were also few and far between in the sell-out and thunderous crowd of 67,299. The Juve fans chose to celebrate their 27th league title, won at the weekend, with banners such as 'Dopo il 27, adesso il 28 maggio' - after the 27th, now 28 May - the date of the UEFA Champions League final.

Quiet start
Zidane, meanwhile, had a quiet start to the game, perhaps coming to terms with the fact that the fans this time were against him. He created and executed a free-kick which only resulted in a corner early on and then forced Buffon to a low save just before half-time.

Helpless bystander
True, there were also the customary little flicks, turns and back-heels to which the Turin crowd had grown accustomed during the Frenchman's time in Italy, but in the end he could only watch on as David Trezeguet, Alessandro Del Piero and Pavel Nedved scored the goals that took Juve to the final.

Precise consolation
It was a sad homecoming for the elegant No5, who simply trudged back to the halfway line after his precise late consolation goal, and how typical that it was Nedved, the man who replaced him at Juventus, who finally killed of his dreams of defending the Champions League crown he had won so majestically last year.