A tale of cigarettes, grappa, time travel and hopefully goals

Season 6 – 2002/03

As we roll on into Season 6, Dario Snr’s transfer marker wheeling and dealings are limited. A young German striker, descended from a famous diving forward and an Italian schoolboy with a little ponytail join Juventus.  Fowler and Peruzzi leave due to their limited game time.  Apart from the fact that Dario Jnr has called in sick the Juventus squad is looking strong.

Dario’s “injury” means that he misses the first two games of the season, and with that, the opportunity to become a two time Supercoppa Italiana winner, as Juventus beat Inter 3-1.  He also misses the Coppa Italia 2^nd round in Florence.  Juventus make light work of Fiorentina winning 5-2.

It’s September by the time the young Bisonte makes and appearance, coming on as a 63^rd minute substitute at home to Sampdoria.  Dario pops up in the 90^th minute to secure a 4-2 win despite Juve playing close to ¾ of the game with 10 men.  Tatanka is up and running for the season.

A week later in Naples Dario misses the opportunity to make it two in two, blasting a penalty high and wide, despite this, Juve still win 2-1.

The Champions League game against Porto gives Dazza the opportunity to make up for the penalty miss.  A brace helping Juve to a strong win.

The penalty miss is nothing but a distant memory as the little Bisonte scores a wonderful hat-trick against Milan.

Juventus keep winning, but there are no goals for Dario against Lazio or Bari, however he scores another Champions League goal in the match against CSKA Sofia.

Dario continues to draw a blank in the league, but Juve continue to win, it’s two more Serie A games without a goal.  He continues to find the net in the Champions League though.

After failing to score in the league since his hat-trick on 22^nd September, Dario finally gets a couple of goals away to Verona in early November.

He follows up the two goals against Verona with another two against Porto, he seems to be enjoying his Champions League football this year.

His love of Champions League football continues in the home match against CSKA Sofia, as Jnr scores his second hat-trick of the season, taking his Champions League tally to nine goals in five games.

He follows up his hat-trick with a lovely double against Roma on the first day of advent.

Juve have made it to the Coppa Italia quarter-finals, hoping to defend the trophy they won last year.  They make light work of Perugia in the first leg and Dazza is on the score sheet again, another two goals.

Dario doesn’t get any goals against local rivals Torino, fortunately Del Piero scores a hat-trick and Juve win 3-1.  Dazza and Delli are running each other pretty close this season, rumour on the training ground is that the top scorer gets a magnum of grappa from runner up.  With Delli’s hat-trick in mind, and the fact it’s a Champions League game, Dazza pops up with another brace, his total after the group stage is 11 in six games.

Following Perugia in the cup it is obviously Perugia in the league.  The young Bisonte gets another goal and Juve get another win. It is mid-December and so far they have only lost one game to Inter.

Four days later, and it’s the second leg in the Coppa Italia quarters.  Perugia keeper Kocic plays a blinder, as Perugia win 1-2, however the initial 4-1 drubbing is enough to see Juve into the semis, two games away from playing to defend their trophy.

The Bisonte seems to be hitting some stronger league form as he scores another two goals, this time it’s away to Palermo in the last game before the winter break.

As January rolls around it seems a good time to check on how this bet between Dazza and Delli is progressing.  With a magnum of grappa on the line it is tight like a tiger.

 With this in mind, Dario sees Pescara at home as the ideal opportunity to open a little gap. To Delli P.

However, Delli comes right back again in the game against Udinese the following week.  The competition isn’t doing any harm to team moral and performances, when we look at the League table Juve are 13 points clear at the halfway stage.

The next game is away to second place Sampdoria, it’s a back-and-forth affair, neither team giving up. Despite Tatanka scoring a hat-trick it ends all square, Montella scoring the equaliser in the 77^th minute.

Napoli visit the Delle Alpi next, Dario gets another, Del Piero has gone off the boil a little of late.

A 1-0 away win against Milan follows the Napoli victory with Raul scoring an 89^th minute winner.  The victory celebrations are cut short when at training the next day club captain and central defensive rock Alessandro Grandoni breaks his pelvis.  Fifteen months on the side lines for him, will an aging Maldini be enough to fill the gap?

The loss of Grandoni doesn’t seem to have affected the team, they destroy Reggiana in the first leg of the Coppa Italia semi-final.  Dario with his highest return in a single game, four goals, scored in a 10 minute period (ignoring the half time break) he shares his grappa and cigarettes with the whole team to celebrate.  Young Bisonte’s 36 goals so far are a new club record.

Delli outscores Dazza for the first time in a while as Juve beat Lazio 4-0, but is it too little too late for Del boy, has he given Jnr too much of a head start?

 For the first game in a long time Dario is not on the score sheet, however a single goal from Delli sees Juve beat Bari, is Delli beginning to make his come back?  There are no goals for either of them in the 2^nd leg of the Coppa Italia semi-final, fortunately Reggiana only manage a 0-1 win so Juve a back in the final for the second successive year and the third time in four years.

In a 5-1 demolition of Atalanta Dazza gets a single goal.

The following week Delli P scores two to Dazza’s one, as Juve beat Bologna at home.

As we roll into March we return to Champions League football and a quarter-final against Benfica.  It all goes wrong for the little Bison. In a moment of madness before half time he is shown a red card, meaning he will miss the next two games.  Fortunately Juve manage a 2-2 draw and two away goals.

Del Piero scores two against Reggiana in the league in another 2-2 away draw.  This is followed up by a 1-1 draw with Verona.  The home match against Benfica ends in a 1-0 win as Juve progress to the Semis despite Dario’s absence.

Another league draw and another goal for Delli before an away match against Barcelona in the Champions League semi-final.  Dario is suspended for this one and Del Piero takes full advantage, Barca are destroyed at the Nou Camp, surely this will prove to be an insurmountable lead.

It’s a win and a draw in the League before Barca turn up at the Delle Alpi.  Dazza doesn’t score in any of those games and Delli adds another to his total.  The second leg is a little anti-climactic after the 5-0 drubbing but Juve to enough to progress to the final.

Local rivals Torino come to their home stadium as the away side and Dazza and Delli do the business, with the help of the Icelandic super-man.  The win makes Juve Serie A champions for the third year in a row.

Just before the Champions League semi-final was the first leg of the Coppa Italia final.  Sampdoria come to the Delle Alpi and manage to leave with a 0-1 lead going into leg two.

There are six games left before the end of the season, the second leg of the Coppa Italia, the Champions League final and four league matches.  With the Serie A title in the bag you might think the Coppa Italia and Champions League take priority, however Dazza and Delli have other ideas, they are currently tied for goals and there is a magnum of grappa on the line.

The second leg of the Coppa Italia is another great game of football.  Everything is looking positive for Juve when they take a 2-0 lead in the 61^st minute, however Sampdoria score straight from the kick-off to make it 2-1 before equalising in the 77^th minute making it 2-2 on the night but 2-3 on aggregate.  Juve give it everything in the last ten minutes.

And it is just enough.  Back to back Coppa Italias!  During the celebrations Delli whispers in Dazza’s ear “42 to 41, young Bisonte”.

The high of the cup win is followed by a loss to Perugia in which neither Dario or Delli score.  Juve get back to winning ways a week later in a 3-0 win against Palermo, and with neither Delli or Dario scoring again. There are three games left at it is still 42 to 41.  Delli makes it 43-41 against Pescara in the penultimate league game, however his extra effort to secure the magnum ends in injury, two weeks out means he will miss the last two games.  Can Dario score three in two, oh and win that illusive Champions League without his mate Delli?

Well in the final league game of the season Dazza scores in Juve’s 3-0 win against Udinese making it 43 to 42 in favour of Delli P.

So what about the Champions League final, the opponents are Man Utd and the venue is the Olympiastadion, Munich, Germany.  Despite Man Utd bosting two of our attacking cast-offs, Robbie Fowler and Stephane Guivarch, they are limp up front and can’t cope with Juve’s fast attacking football.

Come the final whistle Juventu’s team rejoice, all that is apart from Dario, who looks a little dejected.  Papa Bison comes over a bottle of grappa in one hand a cigarette in the other.  “What’s wrong little Bisonte?” he asks.  “You have finally won the Champions League at the third attempt, scored 42 goals and secured the treble,” “this is true” says Jnr, “however to have beaten Alessandro………. well.”

A quick round up of the season’s stats show some strong numbers from the young Bisonte despite losing his bet with mate Delli.

As the sun sets on a wonderful season Papa B, Little B and Delli P sit round a fire, finishing off the last of the grappa that Alessandro has brought round to share with them.  Young Dario tells Alessandro he must leave Italy, he needs to grow and develop if he wants to best his friend in the future.  He tells Delli that he has three offers, Man Utd, Real Madrid and Barcelona, but which should he choose.  “I have always loved the beauty of a melting candle” replies Alessandro.