Day 2 : 26th May 1998

Results

Italian Championship

Day 2
 
JUVENTUS 2-1 AS ROMA
PARMA 3-1 FIORENTINA
SAMPDORIA 3-2 LAZIO ROMA
NAPOLI 1-4 MILAN AC
BOLOGNA 1-1 INTER MILAN
 

 
Pos Team Pts Gf. Ga. Diff.
1 Sampdoria 6 6 3 3
2 Milan AC 4 5 2 3
3 Parma 4 6 4 2
4 Juventus 4 5 4 1
5 Inter Milan 4 3 2 1
6 Napoli 3 5 5 0
7 Bologna 2 2 2 0
8 Lazio Roma 0 3 5 -2
9 AS Roma 0 2 5 -3
10 Fiorentina 0 2 7 -5
 
  Top scorers
 
1. WEAH George (MILAN AC) 5
2. VERON J-L (SAMPDORIA) 4
3. ZIDANE Zinedine (JUVENTUS) 3
4. CALDERON J-L (NAPOLI) 3
5. DEL PIERO Alessandro (JUVENTUS) 2
6. AYALA R-F (NAPOLI) 2
7. BENARRIVO Antonio (PARMA) 2
8. CHIESA Enrico (PARMA) 2
9. CESAR GOMEZ (AS ROMA) 1
10. VAGNER Rogerio (AS ROMA) 1
 
JUVENTUS              2 - 1           AS ROMA
for Juventus : Del Piero(53'), Zidane(95')
for Roma : Vagner(79')
This game was really tied but Zidane was the best player on the field and after a key pass on the first goal he freed his team. But in this game, Juventus was not in a good shape and Roma could have won or at least obtained a draw for this game.

PARMA                    3-1            FIORENTINA
for Parma : Benarrivo(21', 86'), Baggio(36')
for Fiorentina : Bigica(80')
Parma did a serious game even if their attackers did not touch any ball in this game. But hopefully their defender Benarrivo showed his abilities and scored two important goals. But in this game Fiorentina and Batistuta were not really successfull.

SAMPDORIA            3-2            LAZIO ROMA
for Sampdoria : Veron(35', 89'), Montalieri(57')
for Lazio : Casiragi(15'), Mancini(46')
The audience saw a wonderfull game today ! Lazio leeds the game half of the time and should have obtained a draw, at least. But they had to face Veron who is still in a great shape and scored twice with one goal at the last minute.

NAPOLI                     1-4            MILAN AC
for Napoli : Calderon(69')
for Milan : Weah(23', 30', 36', 58')
What a great game by George Weah ! Four goals in the same game ! He prooved he was one of the greatest scorers in the world ! Against that, Napoli could not have done anything, and if they reduced the score with Calderon that is because Milan had stopped to push.

BOLOGNA                 1-1            INTER MILAN
for Bologna : Baggio(38')
for Inter : Zanetti(69')
The first half of the game was definitely for Bologna but when they succeed in scoring on a penalty they backed in defense letting Inter make the game. Then Inter scored and continued to push and could have won at the end of the game.
 

French Championship

Day 2
 
 
PARIS-SG 0-3 MARSEILLE
MONACO 2-4 METZ
BORDEAUX 2-1 LENS
NANTES 1-1 GUINGAMP
LYON 1-3 AUXERRE
 
 
 
 
Pos Team Pts Gf. Ga. Diff.
1 Metz 6 6 3 3
2 Marseille 4 5 2 3
3 Nantes 4 4 1 3
4 Guingamp 4 6 4 2
5 Auxerre 4 4 2 2
6 Bordeaux 3 3 3 0
7 Lens 1 3 4 -1
8 Paris-SG 1 1 4 -3
9 Monaco 0 5 9 -4
10 Lyon 0 1 6 -5
 
Top Scorers
 
1. BOFFIN Danny (METZ) 2
2. HENRY Thierry (MONACO) 2
3. GUIVARCH Stéphane (AUXERRE) 2
4. BANCAREL Anthony (GUINGAMP) 2
5. ROUXEL Lionel (GUINGAMP) 2
6. DROBNJAK Anto (LENS) 2
7. RAI (PSG) 1
8. PIRES Robert (METZ) 1
9. BLANCHART Jocelyn (METZ) 1
10. RODRIGUEZ Bruno (METZ) 1
 
PARIS-SG                0 - 3             MARSEILLE
for Marseille : Gravelaine(18'), Marquet(30'), Jambay(65')
What a great victory for the Olympique de Marseille ! Three goals for and zero against in Paris.
And in fact, the reason of this victory is not bad luck for Paris but indeed Marseille was the only team on the field and won with right. They should be soon at the top of the league. Beware Metz !

MONACO                2-4                METZ
for Monaco : Henry(60', 74')
for Metz : Pires(9'), Rodriguez(15'), Boffin(47', 93')
What a great game ! Just at the beginning of the game, Metz took Monaco at its throat and succeded in scoring twice. Then just after half-time Boffin who was the best player on the field scored a third goal. After that we discovered a great attacker and scorer Thierry Henry. He is only 20 and showed in this game that he should be a great player and that Monaco has great young players that might help to have great results. After this game and the one of the first day, Monaco is the team who produces the best play and if they have not won already it is cause of bad luck and I am sure they will win soon. Until now, they are my favourite team in this league !

BORDEAUX            2-1                LENS
for Bordeaux : Papin(59'), Laslandes(66')
for Lens : Ziani(74')
During this game, Bordeaux was very agressive in their way of playing. Not agressive with faults but agressive because motivated. Their trainee seems to have found the right words to speak to his players. They scored twice with justice having more actions than Lens. At the end of the game, winning 2-0 they lost part of their motivation and Lens scored.

NANTES                  1-1                GUINGAMP
for Nantes : Gourvennec(50')
for Guingamp : Rouxel(85')
In this game, Nantes had definitely no luck. If Guingamp did a great game for the first day, this one was a really poor one but their goalie Angelo Hughes did miracles and their defense too. And they had a lot of luck to score. On the side of Nantes, Jocelyn Gourvennec did a really great game making good passes, tackling and finally scoring.

LYON                        1-3                AUXERRE
for Lyon : Kanoute(18')
for Auxerre : Guivarch(9'), Compan(31'), Diomede(60')
As you might not know, this game was one of defense and realism. Auxerre won this game thanks to its everywhere defense. We even could see Guivarch tackling. They had in fact not much more than three actions. Lyon on the other side did not defend that good and was not realistic at all. Maybe theyr need a better scorer like George Weah.

Rumors of Transfers

There is something like a state of war between Marseille and Guingamp about the player Edmundo. Offers have risen to reach 160M yesterday. How far will they go ?

There was an exchange of players : Sbrizzo from Napoli came to Metz last week and Kachloul did the other way. Metz is definitely the most active team on the transfer market. Dunga seems to have agreed to go to Metz too to reinforce their defense for 40M. But the problem is the salary which is too low for him.

Fohla seems to be very interested in signing at Paris-SG even if they did a really poor beginning. "Paris is a really great team with a great manager" said Fohla yesterday. He will go to Paris for 45M

Auxerre should soon reinforce their defense with two southern american players : Rotchen and Gamboa should come to Auxerre during next week.

Interview : Kenneth Lee, Manager of Metz
Reporter : Kenneth Lee, you are now the leader of the french league after this great win in Monaco 4-2, what are your concepts about tactics ?
K. Lee : Thank you, Cedric...although I must say I am shocked that my tactic actually produced such splendid results.
I am especially proud of my defenders who although have aged, are playing at their prime, especially against a magnificent team like Monaco. There really isn't much about tactics I employed that isn't already practiced by major clubs in other leagues. All I can say, is that, it is probably useful to build a team from the bottom up i.e. defence to midfield to attack. Once you are confident of conceding less goals, you can thus concentrate on netting some yourself.
Reporter : With the activity you show on the transfer market, you seem to still need some players, what kind of players do you need ?
K. Lee : Right now, I need a miracle if I'm going to face all the top clubs in this competitive league. I hope that there will be openings for me to purchase players that are more relevant to my team tactics. This could also mean that I am releasing some of my good players as well, due to non-conformity.
Reporter : Why did you buy Sbrizzo from Napoli ?
K. Lee : I reiterate my earlier remark about defense. Furthermore, the manager of Napoli had so kindly offered me this defender for free. It is this kind of friendship that promotes goodwill in a game. Alwin Ho is a legendary manager.
Reporter : Were you disappointed not to get Batistuta from Fiorentina ?
K. Lee : Although I felt that much time was squandered in the process, there are always cogs in the machine such as what had happened. However, it is useful to give your word and stick by it. I almost fell prey to that deal, as I had depended a lot on it.
Reporter : What are your pronostics for the following of the league ?
K. Lee : It's going to be one hell of a long and competitive season. My best wishes to all managers.
Reporter : Thanks for answering and good luck !.