The 1996 UEFA Champions League final was a football match played on 22 May 1996 between Ajax of the Netherlands and Juventus of Italy. The match ended in a 1–1 draw after extra time, forcing a penalty shoot-out, which Juventus won 4–2.[2] It was the club's second triumph in the competition.
 Match programme cover | |||||||
| Event | 1995–96 UEFA Champions League | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| After extra time Juventus won 4–2 on penalties | |||||||
| Date | 22 May 1996 | ||||||
| Venue | Stadio Olimpico, Rome | ||||||
| Referee | Manuel Díaz Vega (Spain) | ||||||
| Attendance | 70,000[1] | ||||||
Route to the final edit
| Ajax | Round | Juventus | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opponent | Result | Group stage | Opponent | Result | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Real Madrid | 1–0 (H) | Matchday 1 |  Borussia Dortmund | 3–1 (A) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Ferencváros | 5–1 (A) | Matchday 2 |  Steaua București | 3–0 (H) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Grasshopper | 3–0 (H) | Matchday 3 |  Rangers | 4–1 (H) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Grasshopper | 0–0 (A) | Matchday 4 | Rangers | 4–0 (A) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Real Madrid | 2–0 (A) | Matchday 5 | Borussia Dortmund | 1–2 (H) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ferencváros | 4–0 (H) | Matchday 6 | Steaua București | 0–0 (A) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Group D winner
Source: UEFA | Final standings | Group C winner
Source: UEFA | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Opponent | Agg. | 1st leg | 2nd leg | Knockout phase | Opponent | Agg. | 1st leg | 2nd leg | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Borussia Dortmund | 3–0 | 2–0 (A) | 1–0 (H) | Quarter-finals | Real Madrid | 2–1 | 0–1 (A) | 2–0 (H) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Panathinaikos | 3–1 | 0–1 (H) | 3–0 (A) | Semi-finals |  Nantes | 4–3 | 2–0 (H) | 2–3 (A) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Match edit
Details edit
Ajax  | 1–1 (a.e.t.) |  Juventus |
|---|---|---|
Litmanen  41' | Report | Ravanelli 13' |
| Penalties | ||
Davids  Litmanen  Scholten Silooy | 2–4 | Ferrara Pessotto Padovano Jugović |
         Ajax |     Juventus |
|  |
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Linesmen: |
Aftermath edit
Although Juventus won the 1996 Champions League final, the victory remains controversial because of accusations of doping.[3][4] The Juventus team has been accused of using erythropoietin (EPO) and the matter went to trial in 2004.[5] In November 2004, club doctor Riccardo Agricola was given a 22-month prison sentence and fined €2,000 for sporting fraud by providing performance-enhancing drugs, specifically EPO, to players between 1994 and 1998,[6][7] Leading hematologist Giuseppe d'Onofrio said that it was "practically certain" that midfielders Antonio Conte and Alessio Tacchinardi had taken EPO to overcome brief bouts of anemia, and that it was "very probable" that seven other players – Alessandro Birindelli, Alessandro Del Piero, Didier Deschamps, Dimas, Paolo Montero, Gianluca Pessotto and Moreno Torricelli – had taken EPO in small doses.[8]
In April 2005, the Court of Arbitration for Sport gave the following advisory opinion, in part: "The use of pharmaceutical substances which are not expressly prohibited by sports law, and which cannot be considered as substances similar or related to those expressly prohibited, is not to be sanctioned by disciplinary measures. However, regardless of the existence or not of any judgement rendered by a State court, sports authorities are under the obligation to prosecute the use of pharmaceutical substances which are prohibited by sports law or any other anti-doping rule violation in order to adopt disciplinary measures."[9] In December 2005, Agricola was acquitted of the charges by Turin's court of appeal.[10] In March 2007, in the final verdict by the Supreme Court of Cassation, stated: "that in the years of 1994 to 1998 there was no ascertained positive case of doping substances by Juventus players, that the purchase of erythropoietin or its administration to the athletes of the club does not emerge from any act of the trial, and that the same expert had identified the possibility of an administration of erythropoietin in distant terms from the sure evidence ("very probable" and in two cases "practically certain"): it is that therefore, the judgement of probability and not of certainty, did not allow for a statement of responsibility."[11] The verdict also went on to say: "In response to the conclusion taken, the territorial court notes that there were no deferred values higher than the limits set in the various antidoping protocols and that the situation of the Juventus players, both with reference to the average hematological values, and in relation to that of material balance, did not differ from the national average population.[11]
See also edit
- 1973 European Cup final – contested by the same teams
- 1995–96 UEFA Champions League
- AFC Ajax in European football
- Juventus F.C. in European football
References edit
- ^ a b "2. Finals" (PDF). UEFA Champions League Statistics Handbook 2016/17. Nyon, Switzerland: Union of European Football Associations. 2017. p. 1. Retrieved 22 April 2017.
- ^ "Why Ajax still feel 'cheated' by Juve's 1996 Champions League triumph". The Independent. 9 April 2019.
- ^ "Juventus vs Ajax: Revisiting the Doping Scandal That Tarnished the Champions League final of 1996". Sports Illustrated. 10 April 2019.
- ^ Pitt-Brooke, Jack (1 June 2017). "Juventus' controversial European past casts dark shadows ahead of Champions League final against Real Madrid". The Independent.
- ^ "Zidane admits using creatine in Juventus doping trial". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 26 January 2004.
- ^ "Juve doctor convicted of doping". uefa.com. 26 November 2004.
- ^ "Judge Convicts Juventus Doctor". apnews.com. 26 November 200.
- ^ Dunne, Frank (1 December 2004). "The drug scandal that blackens the name of Juve's team of the Nineties". The Independent.
- ^ "ADVISORY OPINION Pronounced by the COURT OF ARBITRATION FOR SPORT" (PDF). coni.it. 26 April 2005. p. 27. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 June 2012.
- ^ "Juventus doctor wins doping appeal". uefa.com. 14 December 2005.
- ^ a b "Repubblica Italiana La Corte Suprema Cassazione Sezione Seconda Penale In Nome Del Popolo Italiano" (PDF). Supreme Court of Cassation. 29 March 2007. pp. 40–42. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 September 2011.
External links edit
- 1995–96 UEFA Champions League at UEFA.com
- 1995–96 UEFA Champions League at Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation