Teamwork the key, says Lippi

By Marcus Christenson in Turin

Marcello Lippi hailed a "great" Juventus FC side after they had beaten Real Madrid CF to reach the UEFA Champions League final.

Impressive victory
Juventus reached their seventh European Champion Clubs' Cup final in the most impressive manner, defeating Madrid 3-1 on the night, and 4-3 on aggregate, in a remarkably entertaining game. David Trezeguet, Alessandro Del Piero and Pavel Nedved scored the goals, but it was the relentless teamwork from Lippi's side which won them the place in the final against AC Milan at Old Trafford on 28 May.

Lippi delighted
The Juventus coach was naturally delighted with his team after a pulsating game, saying: "We wanted to see a great Juventus and tonight we saw a great Juventus."

Fast start
Juventus started the game at lightning speed and took the lead after 12 minutes when Nedved burst down the right and supplied the cross which enabled Del Piero to nod down to Trezeguet, who scored at the near post. Del Piero then turned Michel Salgado and Fernando Hierro inside out to score a second. Nedved added a third with a powerful shot before Zinedine Zidane scored a late consolation on his return to Turin.

'Defending as a team'
Despite Juventus’s formidable attacking approach, Lippi chose to praise his team’s defending. "I think we saw the most beautiful aspects of Juventus tonight with a capacity and knowledge of how to defend with almost all its players, which is what you have to do against Real," he said.

Nedved suspended
There was only one regret, as Nedved picked up his third booking with a late challenge by the halfway line with eight minutes to go, meaning he will now miss the final. "We are obviously very sad for him because he has been one of the key players and if we win the final it will be dedicated to him," Lippi said.

Dignified in defeat
Madrid, meanwhile, are now left to complete the possibility of ending the season without a trophy. However, while they have fallen to third place in the Primera División and were seemingly stunned by a relentless Juve, coach Vicente del Bosque offered nothing but congratulations to their opponents.

'Deserved victory'
"Do I think it is fair that Juve won?" he asked. "Well, considering that they scored more than us over the two games then you have to say that they deserved it. The only thing that remains to do is to congratulate them."

Tactical dilemma
Del Bosque had trained with three central defenders most of the week leading up to the game against Juventus, but in the end decided not to deploy the tactic. "It was a possibility that we thought about but in the end we decided not to change too much ahead of a Champions League semi-final," he explained.

All-Italian affair
So while Madrid ponder what might have been, Juventus can look forward to the first ever all-Italian Champions League final, when they will seek to add a European trophy to the Serie A title they have already claimed - albeit without Nedved. "I have to admit that I have cried because of the yellow card," the suspended Czech said. "It very painful because I have been looking to get to a Champions League final all my career and now I won't be able to play in it."

'Wonderful season'
Team-mate Del Piero was sympathetic, adding: "I am really sorry for Nedved, he has had a wonderful season. Let's just hope that we won't be blaming a defeat against Milan on the fact he wasn't there."