15 April 2022
The first Juventus-Bologna games played by Mark Iuliano were not only important for the defender that at 23 was preparing for his debut season in Serie A - with recently crowned European champions no less - but also for the team overall. It was season 1996-97 and Juve had just paraded the Intercontinental Cup recently lifted in Tokyo in front of the Delle Alpi faithful. That year, the five-goal thriller with Bologna would seal scudetto glory for the Bianconeri. From then on, the defender would emerge as an unexpected goalscorer and carve out his own personal space in the history of the fixture.
FIRST STRIKE
Iuliano's first goal in a Juventus-Bologna match arrived in season 2002-03. The cross for the goal was supplied from a corner kick, and the defender’s quick thinking warded off defeat with only four minutes remaining. Considering the Rossoblu were leading through a Beppe Signori penalty, the celebration with Ciro Ferrara and Mauro Camoranesi shows the delight, and relief, of the Juventus players.
SHOULDER RESPONSIBILITY
The following year the result was in Juve’s favour. The foundations of the 2-1 win were set by Iuliano with the game’s opening goal. That it was to be his game was evident from how the goal came about. A cross from Pavel Nedved was deflected by defender Juarez and struck Iuliano on the shoulder before finishing behind a stunned Gianluca Pagliuca in the Bologna goal.
ANOTHER EX-PLOIT
In the same season, Iuliano also found the net in the away fixture at the Dall'Ara. The team celebration captures the importance of another of the defender’s goals against the side from Emilia that he played for in season 1992-3, four years before joining Juve. His finish on 56 minutes would prove enough to give Juve all three points.
