Let's try again. One week later it's again on the eve of Juventus-Inter, only this time, barring sensational twists, it will be played. In fact, the Government has finally indicated the way behind closed doors and the Lega Calcio, despite a thousand controversies, had to take it: slipping again would in all likelihood have marked the definitive suspension of the tournament, with associated economic damage far greater than the "suns" missed receipts. The Italian derby number 237 (the 201st in Serie A) it will thus be much sadder than usual and not only for the empty stands: the moment of great difficulty for the country, inevitably, is also reflected in football, "forced" to amuse and entertain the people as never before, in defiance of the fear of the Coronavirus .
But that there is, and how if there is: it is demonstrated by the numerous rules established by the Scientific Committee which the players, and with them all the insiders admitted to the stadiums, will have to abide by. Serie A tries to restart with the most important match and patience if the over 170 connected countries will see it emptied of sounds and colors: the most beautiful show, moreover, must come from the pitch and that will see two top-level teams face off, albeit full of unknowns. The week off (self-imposed, it should be remembered: the Government had given the go-ahead behind closed doors from the start) has in fact further shuffled the cards, so much so that many are wondering who, between Juventus and Inter, is really favourites. First of all there will be no home factor and this obviously changes things.
From this point of view, the Nerazzurri have the advantage, but the Bianconeri too have some reason to smile: a week ago they were recovering from the physical and psychological fatigue of Lyon, but now they are fresh, rested and full ranks, as shown by the recoveries by Khedira and Douglas Costa. Sarri was therefore able to recharge the batteries of him and his players, just like Conte, whose last championship match dates back to February 16th, day of the defeat against Lazio. Since then, only two Europa League games against the modest Ludogorets, with an evident gain from the point of view of rest but also a possible loss of athletic rhythm, not to mention nervous endurance.
Then there is the component of the standings, which in the meantime has seen Lazio advance to the lead alone with two points ahead of Juve and even eight over Inter: partial tally, all right, but in the meantime, at 20.45 tomorrow, that will be the one to believe. Today we're going to try to understand a little more about lineups, though neither Sarri nor Conte will hold a press conference, always in compliance with the new hygienic-sanitary standards. We certainly know that the former has recovered all his players (including Chiellini, who trained with the group yesterday) and that the latter will be able to count on Handanovic, but not on Moses and Sensi.
Final curiosity: tomorrow evening's match, as well as a very important match in terms of the Scudetto, will also be the confrontation between Andrea Agnelli and Steven Zhang, whose visions are much more in tune than one might superficially think. The meeting in London in which they both participated on Thursday, in fact, served to strengthen a relationship that was somewhat damaged by recent events, but very solid in terms of the future. The president of Juventus, for obvious reasons, is much more exposed on football reforms, as demonstrated by the unfortunate example (at least given the message that has been passed) on Atalanta in the Champions League, but even that of Inter looks with a smile at a Superleague in which he would play a top role.
However, we will only think about this later, because now is the time to focus on the Italian derby: an event which, like the other matches this weekend, however, will not be broadcast in the clear. The request of the Minister of Sport Vincenzo Spadafora, in fact, in order to "allow free television use of upcoming football competitions which are expected to be played behind closed doors, to give a beautiful signal to all Italians, but also to limit the inconvenience associated with the containment measures in place" , was rejected by Lega Calcio itself because "the contractual obligations already undertaken do not allow it". Yet another demonstration of football in turmoil, just like the rest of the country.
