Verón inspires Inter victory

Argentinian midfielder Juan Sebastián Verón ensured FC Internazionale Milano walked away with the first silverware of the Italian season, as he struck the only goal of the Super Cup final in extra time to defeat Juventus FC.

Defensive absentees
Several Juventus players were struggling for fitness with French defender Lilian Thuram and goalkeeper Gianluca Buffon ruled out. Robert Kovac made his debut, while Antonio Chimenti was preferred to loan signing Christian Abbiati in goal.

Signings benched
Roberto Mancini's side also had fitness worries with international duty taking its toll on recent purchases Luís Figo and Walter Samuel who began as substitutes, though Pavel Nedved started despite missing training.

Goal disallowed
Inter began the brighter as Verón and Obafemi Martins went close to breaking the deadlock. Dejan Stankovic and Esteban Cambiasso squandered further chances to hand the Italian Cup holders the lead, before David Trezeguet almost scored against the run of play for Juve, though his effort was ruled out for offside on 42 minutes.

Verón victorious
The Serie A champions came closest to scoring in the second half as well, with Patrick Vieira striking a post from a dipping free-kick 23 minutes after the restart. However, it was Inter who would go on to strike the decisive blow when Verón's powerful effort beat Chimenti after ten minutes of extra time.

Sixteen-year wait
It is only the second time in their history that Inter have walked away with the trophy from the Italian season curtain-raiser, having previously triumphed in 1989. Serie A begins next weekend, while before that Inter play FC Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday in the home leg of their UEFA Champions League third qualifying round tie, having won 2-0 in Ukraine.