Even een voorproefje voor morgenavond
Neill on the night Vaessen broke Juve's hearts
Juventus v Arsenal
Champions League Q/F Leg 2
Stadio Delle Alpi
Wed, Apr 5, 2006, 7.45pm
On the eve of the Champions League tie in Turin, Arsenal.com remembers the day Arsenal became the first club to defeat Juventus at home in a European tie.
It happened in 1980 when Terry Neill’s side went to Turin in the Cup-Winners’ Cup second leg. They took a shaky 1-1 draw to Italy and looked like going out until 19-year-old striker Paul Vaessen headed home a cross from Graham Rix with three minutes left.
Neill, who will be co-commentating for Arsenal TV Online on Wednesday, talks about that fateful Italian evening
Terry, tell us about the first leg at Highbury
“It was a very tense night that finished 1-1. We had a bit of help from Roberto Bettega, who scored an own goal.
“I think I can say with the fullness of time that I overreacted a little bit after the game. Bettega made an outrageous tackle on David O’Leary just in front of me in the dug-out.
“I went a little bit mad afterwards. Managers today are prone to do it but I was one of the first. Thankfully in the end it was all sorted out. But it was a tight tense game that night but we knew we were going to have that situation over the two legs.”
Did you think it was enough?
“Well we knew what we were up against in the second leg, especially given Juve’s fantastic record at home in Europe. But we just set our stall out to play patient and not to be rash about things.
“You have got to say they were a little bit negative on the night. They had something to protect while we had nothing to lose. But we did not go gung-ho, it was a game of patience for us. Thankfully young Paul Vaessen nicked the winner three minutes from time.”
What was in your mind when you put on Vaessen for David Price with 15 minutes left?
“The longer the game went on with Juve having the away goal, the more we had to take, what Don Howe and I called, a calculated risk. As I said it was not gung ho — five up front or something like that — we just made a few tactical changes I suppose on that night, for once, Don and I were tactical geniuses. If we had lost we would have been bums of the week.
“But it was all down to the players really and patient football. It would have been so easy in that atmosphere to get carried away. But we had good players and a good side. We had a lot of experience in European football and it worked well that night.”
Vaessen looked to be a talent coming through. What sort of character was he?
“He was tall, leggy with a good touch. It was tragic that not so long after that game he sustained a knee injury that he never recovered from. We will always remember him.”
What single memory stands out for you?
“Overall the thing I remember from the two legs was the absolute dignity of an old international adversary — [Juve coach] Giovanni Trapattoni. He shook my hand immediately after the game. We got back to the dressing room and, to say the least, we were quite pleased. After a respectful time there was a knock on the door, he came in and shook hands with Don, myself and the whole team. Then he presented me with my very own Juve shirt which I have treasured. It was the mark of a great man. His dignity that night in Turin was immense and the man grew in stature in my estimation.”
Was that your best night in European football?
“It would certainly rank up there. We were the first team to beat Juve at home in a European tie. That is why I keep referring to Giovanni Trapattoni. He must have been well aware of the reaction he would get in Turin being the first coach defeated. He took it like a man and I admired him immensely for that.”
Click here to send Terry Neill an e-mail ahead of the Juventus game on Wednesday. Arsenal TV Online subscribers will be able to hear him answer them on commentary during the game.
[ Tuesday, April 04, 2006]
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