Juventus vs. AC Milan: The Supercoppa Italiana Adds to Historic Serie A Rivalry

The 2002/03 campaign was a special one for fans of Serie A. For the second consecutive season, Juventus won the league title, re-establishing themselves as the peninsula’s dominant force after watching both AS Roma and SS Lazio pip them to the Scudetto in the years prior to Marcello Lippi’s return.

It was confirmation of the special bond the successful coach shared with the Bianconeri, and the catalyst for their triumphs had been the sales of Zinedine Zidane and Pippo Inzaghi. Joining Real Madrid and AC Milan, respectively, their lucrative departures funded moves for Pavel Nedved, Gigi Buffon and Lilian Thuram.

With a new core to the team, strikers Alessandro Del Piero and David Trezeguet were given much more playing time together, going on to spend a decade as partners and delivering goals by the bucketful.

Del Piero, Trezeguet, Juve pic.twitter.com/cikB6Idd1U

— Αυτόματος Πιλότος (@Andreas180877) August 17, 2016

Yet Inzaghi also helped to inspire something of a revival at Milan too, his predatory instincts crucial in a team that created chances galore and relied on him and Andriy Shevchenko to finish them.

The Rossoneri finished third in Serie A and were 11 points behind Juventus, but the two sides met in that year’s UEFA Champions League final. Nedved—who would win the Ballon d’Or for his impact on the season—missed the clash through suspension, his absence robbing the Old Lady of her usual incisive edge.

Perhaps it was therefore no surprise that the game ended goalless, a penalty shootout needed to separate the two Italian giants after a 120-minute stalemate. Buffon and Dida were exceptional throughout, meaning the spot-kicks became even more pressured and the final score was 3-2.

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For Juve, only Del Piero and Alessandro Birindelli converted their efforts, and Trezeguet, Marcelo Zalayeta and Paolo Montero all went missing. Milan only did marginally better; misses from Clarence Seedorf and Kakha Kaladze were negated by successful attempts from Serginho, Alessandro Nesta and Shevchenko.

It was enough for coach Carlo Ancelotti’s men to lift the famous old trophy, completing a double when they clinched the Coppa Italia—at a time when the final was played over two legs—thanks to a 6-3 aggregate victory over AS Roma.

That meant that on Aug. 3, 2003, just over two months after their Champions League meeting at Old Trafford, Juventus and Milan would once again go head-to-head in the Supercoppa Italiana.

Il 23 dicembre alle 17.30 a Doha la sfida tra @juventusfc e @acmilan per aggiudicarsi la Supercoppa TIM! https://t.co/5YddKLC1dh pic.twitter.com/acDt99QXvc

— Serie A TIM (@SerieA_TIM) November …

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