Cristiano Ronaldo never had an opportunity. Arkadiusz Milik converted the decisive spot kick during a penalty shootout as Napoli won its sixth Italian Cup following a 0-0 draw with Juventus.
Ronaldo was likely Juventus’ last penalty taker but after Paulo Dybala had his shot saved and Danilo blasted high over the goal, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner could only stand at midfield and watch as Napoli won the shootout 4-2.
Afterward, Ronaldo appeared on the verge of tears.
“He was a touch sad at the result,” explained teammate Juan Cuadrado. “It’s always a lottery when it goes to penalties.”
Ronaldo had an honest check out the goal five minutes in but his effort was pushed away by Napoli’s second-choice goalkeeper Alex Meret. because the match wore on, he made less of an impression .
Juventus coach Maurizio Sarri said Ronaldo is struggling to regain his famous acceleration speed after the shutdown forced by the coronavirus pandemic.
“Unfortunately that’s normal when you are not playing games,” Sarri said.
The game went straight to penalties without overtime being played — a precautionary measure for players still getting back to shape in just their second match of the restart.
In the half , Napoli captain Lorenzo Insigne hit the post with a place kick .
Juventus controlled most of the possession but Napoli had the higher chances as Juve’s 42-year-old goalkeeper Gianlugi Buffon made a series of inauspicious saves — until the shootout.
Napoli coach Gennaro Gattuso, still mourning the recent death of his younger sister, was visibly emotional afterward.
Napoli was in complete disarray when Gattuso was hired in December amid a player mutiny over a forced training camp ordered by club president Aurelio De Laurentiis.
“Life and particularly football has given me such a lot quite I gave thereto ,” said Gattuso, who besides a trophy-laden career with AC Milan also played on the Italy team that won the 2006 World Cup .
“In life, you usually consider your parents and family first, so naturally what happened is tough to simply accept .
“I have such passion for football, i do know that i can not abandoning even for a second.”
While it had been played in an empty stadium, the ultimate was another sign of the return to normalcy during a country hard-hit by the coronavirus.
The nearly 35,000 who died from COVID-19 in Italy could have filled half the 70,000-seat Stadio Olimpico.
In an impromptu awards ceremony, Napoli president Aurelio Del Laurentiis and Juventus counterpart Andrea Agnelli placed the medals around players’ necks. Italy’s president usually does the honors.
The game was broadcast nationally on free-to-air RAI state TV and was expected to draw an outsized audience.
