20 June 2013
Thirty-four years ago to the day, Giovanni Trapattoni’s men registered a 2-1 victory over Palermo after extra-time at Naples’ Stadio San Paolo to achieve the club’s sixth Coppa Italia crown.
The Bianconeri boasted an unbeaten record of three wins and one draw in the first round, which saw them emerge top of a tricky group comprising Fiorentina, Monza, Nocerina and Taranto.
A two-legged quarter-final meeting against Inter was then successfully negotiated by Juventus as they produced a convincing display in Turin to take a 3-1 lead to the San Siro. Although the Nerazzurri did prevail in the return fixture, Trapattoni’s men managed to sneak their way through to a last four clash with Catanzaro.
Following a 1-1 draw in the semi-final first-leg in Calabria, Juve coasted to a resounding 4-2 success on their home patch in order to book a spot in June’s final against Palermo.
Underdogs Palermo (from Serie B) took a surprise lead early doors in the tournament final and actually succeeded in holding onto the advantage for much of the encounter. However, Sergio Brio snatched a dramatic equaliser for the ten-man Bianconeri late on in the piece to force extra-time. Just as both sides looked resigned to a penalty shootout, Franco Causio popped up three minutes from the final whistle to net the crucial winner.
After experiencing unsuccessful Serie A and Champions League campaigns, Juventus salvaged the season thanks to their first Coppa Italia trophy in 14 years.
