Foot & Soccer Soccer Match Reports, Football News
Both Inter and Milan took advantage of the firesale caused by Lazio’s financial problems to strengthen their squads for title challenges but, ultimately, neither proved capable of keeping up with Juventus.
The Bianconeri had started slowly but they found their feet in the second half of the season – in spite of an injury to top scorer Alessandro Del Piero – to claim a second consecutive Scudetto.
Having taken some time to prove his worth following his 2001 arrival from Lazio, Pavel Nedved enjoyed the best year of his career to claim the Ballon d’Or, while Mauro Camoranesi, a summer signing from Verona, was the revelation of Juve’s campaign.
Unfortunately, the shine was taken off their Serie A success when they were upset by Milan in the Champions League, with the Old Lady losing a third successive final, this time on penalties, after a 0-0 draw at Old Trafford.
CHANGES
Lazio were forced to sell a host of star players because of the involvement of club president Sergio Cragnotti in a financial scandal. Hernan Crespo joined Inter as a replacement for Ronaldo, who departed for Real Madrid after his World Cup-winning heroics with Brazil during the summer, while Biancocelesti captain Alessandro Nesta reluctantly left for Milan, where he managed to become an even better defender.
The Rossoneri also acquired Rivaldo – though the Brazilian never hit the heights he had at Barcelona – and pulled off an absolute masterstroke in persuading city rivals Inter to take the feckless Francesco Coco in exchange for the classy Clarence Seedorf.
The Nerazzurri also had their fingers burned by Fabio Cannavaro, although nobody could have foreseen that he would flop at San Siro given his previous excellence at Parma.
The most notable coaching change, meanwhile, saw former Stadio Olimpico favourite Roberto Mancini return to Rome to take charge of cash-strapped Lazio.
SEASON SUMMARY
An opening-day defeat at home to Chievo did not bode well for Lazio but Mancini’s men emerged as…
Source link : https://www.footballcritic.com/season-reviews/pavel-nedved-earns-the-ballon-dor-after-guiding-juve-to-the-title-serie-a-in-2002-03/109
Author : [email protected] (Martin Macdonald)
Publish date : 2024-07-24 12:00:00
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
