Juventus vs. Chievo in 2001: The Start of Something Special in Serie A

Sunday sees Chievo take on Juventus. The Flying Donkeys are now regulars in Serie A and have enjoyed a fine start to the 2016/17 season, with the Verona-based club occupying their now-customary spot in mid-table.

Yet 30 years ago, it was a different story, with 1986 marking the year that the minnows asked permission to move from Carlantonio Bottagisio to the Stadio Bentegodi. The former was essentially a local field, while the latter was home to a Hellas Verona side that had defied the odds to win the Serie A title just 12 months earlier.

It was the first time many fans in the city had heard of Chievo, hailing from a small suburb that is home to just 4,500 people, but they had earned a place in Italian football’s fourth tier.

They had done so by winning their fifth promotion in a 15-year period, while the next six years saw them stabilize somewhat. They rose one more level in that time but were rocked when club president Luigi Campedelli died of a heart attack, with ownership of Chievo passed on to his then-23-year-old son, Luca.

The younger man continued the excellent work of his father, maintaining his philosophy of always protecting the family’s main company, confectioners Paluani. That meant not spending too much money on the football club despite a lofty dream of joining Hellas in the top flight.

"Donkeys will fly before Chievo are in Serie A" was the common view, but those words would soon be returned in some style. By the mid-1990s, renowned coach Alberto Malesani had led Chievo to Serie B, their rise coinciding with a slight decline for Hellas, and the two clubs met in their first derby on December 10, 1994.

Known as the Derby della Scala, the game ended 1-1. Hellas escaped back to Serie A that season, but as the 2000/01 campaign drew to a conclusion, they were once again battling for their top-flight status while their neighbours fought for an unlikely ascent.

"The world at large finds Chievo a far more palatable phenomenon than Hellas," Tim Parks wrote in his book A Season With Verona, which covered that season. "If Chievo go up to A and Hellas down to B...could this really be the beginning of the end for the Hellas community?"

The more well-known club would survive the drop via a playoff, but Chievo’s dream became a reality: They were finally in Serie A. Many believed it could not last, but the tiny club would rock the Italian football landscape when they defeated Fiorentina 2-0 in their first top-flight fixture.

Simone Perrotta, a midfielder who would go on to win the 2006 FIFA World Cup with Italy, netted their first Serie A goal, with Massimo Marazzina adding a second.

They followed that up by repeating the same scoreline at home against Bologna, and looking back, this was a talented team. Coach Gigi Delneri had moulded Chievo into a well-drilled, hardworking, counter-attacking team that stunned the league with their pacey approach.

The Friulian boss had coaxed the best from players such as wingers Luciano and Christian Manfredini, with the duo sparkling in Delneri’s 4-2-4 framework that punished opposing teams in wide areas.

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It was something of an old-fashioned approach, with some unremarkable defenders protecting goalkeeper Cristiano Lupatelli, who inexcusably wore the No. 10 shirt throughout 2001/02.

The two-man midfield of Eugenio Corini and Perrotta ran tirelessly to shield the back four, while Marazzina and Bernardo Corradi thrived on the service provided by those aforementioned flying wingers.

Their third game of the season was to provide a real test, pitting the newly promoted side against perennial title challengers Juventus. This was no ordinary edition of the Bianconeri, either, Marcello Lippi having returned as coach in the summer after the club sacked Carlo Ancelotti.

Zinedine Zidane and Pippo Inzaghi had been sold, their respective fees allowing the Old Lady to invest in an incredible array of talent. Gigi Buffon, Lilian Thuram, Pavel Nedved and Marcelo Salas all arrived with one single mission: return the Scudetto to Turin. Capital clubs AS Roma and Lazio had both overtaken her at the summit of Serie A in the previous seasons.

While the influx of talent was incredible, the moves also allowed Lippi to unleash Alessandro Del Piero and David Trezeguet in attack for the first time, and the first two matches of 2001/02 showed just how deadly they could be.

Venezia were dispatched 4-0 on the opening day, as both strikers scored twice. The duo were also each on the scoresheet in a 2-0 victory over Atalanta in Week 2. The match with Chievo looked a no-contest on paper, as the starting XIs in the graphic below serves to highlight:

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However, as they would do for that entire campaign, Chievo ignored the lofty reputations of their opponents, made a mockery of the lowly expectations placed upon them and set about stunning the Bianconeri.

"Let's hope we don't wake up from this dream," Delneri said at his pre-match press conference. "It is a great start but our main objective is still to avoid relegation."

In the early going, it seemed Juve would overrun the visitors.

Del Piero and Nedved sliced through Delneri’s team with ease but ultimately wasted chances to put the Old Lady ahead. It was then that the unthinkable happened. Buffon came out to collect a routine corner before fumbling the ball and allowing Marazzini the simplest of goals.

The striker bagged a second with just 20 minutes on the clock, with Luciano, Corradi and Perrotta linking up wonderfully to create the chance. Alessio Tacchinardi and Igor Tudor dragged Juventus level, and the team showed the kind of fighting spirit that had been lost under Ancelotti. With just seven minutes left to play, they would take the lead thanks to a Salas penalty.

It was a tough victory but one that gave the home side the belief they could overcome any obstacle. Two consecutive league titles and a place in the 2003 UEFA Champions League final would follow, but Chievo also went on to enjoy incredible success that season.

Miracle is a word used all too often in football, and Lippi insisted the Veronese were not touched by God. "What Chievo have achieved is not a miracle,” the Juve boss said at his own pre-match press conference. "It is the product of hard and serious work and great determination."

Thanks to that approach, Chievo didn’t just survive in Serie A; they thrived, eventually finishing fifth and earning entry to the UEFA Cup while crosstown rivals Hellas were relegated.

It was a match that set the tone for two different clubs and a thrilling game that lives long in the memory for many supporters. Chievo have continued to be a tough opponent for Juventus, but the Old Lady are expected to take three points against them once again on Sunday.