(PA) Monday 21 May 2012
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Napoli coach Walter Mazzarri hailed the "extraordinary" efforts of his side after they endedJuventus' bid for an unbeaten campaign with a 2-0 victory in the Coppa Italia final.
An Edinson Cavani penalty put Napoli ahead after 63 minutes, with Marek Hamsik ensuring victory seven minutes from time at the Stadio Olimpico as Napoli won their first silverware since claiming the Serie A title in 1990.
Juventus, who recently lifted the Scudetto after going through the entire Serie A campaign unbeaten, just fell short in their bid to complete a faultless double in Alessandro Del Piero's last game for I Bianconeri.
"I am delighted, because it seemed impossible to beat Juve this year as they had never lost," Mazzarri told reporters. "The whole team has done something extraordinary in this period. Cavani, [Ezequiel] Lavezzi, Hamsik are on everyone's lips, but it is the group that is exceptional and should be celebrated as a whole."
Napoli's on-loan striker Goran Pandev, a three-time Coppa Italia winner with Lazio and parent club Inter Milan, said that this latest victory in the competition was the sweetest. "There is so much satisfaction," he said. "For me this is the fourth Italian Cup win, but it is also the most beautiful.
"We deservedly won, against great opponents, and Naples, with all its fans, has deserved this success. We were the first to beat Juventus this year and this fills us with satisfaction."
Conte content despite defeat
Juventus coach Antonio Conte threw Del Piero into his starting XI for the final game of his illustrious career at the club, perhaps with one eye on a fairytale finish, but it was not to be. His side's disappointment was completed when Fabio Quagliarella was dismissed late on, but Conte refused to be too hard on his players after the defeat.
"I'm sorry about the result," he said. "I don't like losing and nobody should do either, especially when a trophy's at stake. We'll look to learn from these moments. However, we'll congratulateNapoli on their victory. We faced a strong team, who went out in the Champions League against the eventual winners.
"What remains is the fact that our team is extraordinary - that must always be kept in mind. I must thank all my players for what they've done, in particular Del Piero who, alongside [Gianluigi] Buffon and [Andrea] Pirlo, has been one of the benchmarks of this side.
"This is a young group, born from two seventh places, so it's done something extraordinary to win the championship. We must always keep in mind what we did to win."
An Edinson Cavani penalty put Napoli ahead after 63 minutes, with Marek Hamsik ensuring victory seven minutes from time at the Stadio Olimpico as Napoli won their first silverware since claiming the Serie A title in 1990.
Juventus, who recently lifted the Scudetto after going through the entire Serie A campaign unbeaten, just fell short in their bid to complete a faultless double in Alessandro Del Piero's last game for I Bianconeri.
We deservedly won, against great opponents, and Naples, with all its fans, has deserved this success.
Goran Pandev, Napoli striker
"I am delighted, because it seemed impossible to beat Juve this year as they had never lost," Mazzarri told reporters. "The whole team has done something extraordinary in this period. Cavani, [Ezequiel] Lavezzi, Hamsik are on everyone's lips, but it is the group that is exceptional and should be celebrated as a whole."
Napoli's on-loan striker Goran Pandev, a three-time Coppa Italia winner with Lazio and parent club Inter Milan, said that this latest victory in the competition was the sweetest. "There is so much satisfaction," he said. "For me this is the fourth Italian Cup win, but it is also the most beautiful.
"We deservedly won, against great opponents, and Naples, with all its fans, has deserved this success. We were the first to beat Juventus this year and this fills us with satisfaction."
Conte content despite defeat
Juventus coach Antonio Conte threw Del Piero into his starting XI for the final game of his illustrious career at the club, perhaps with one eye on a fairytale finish, but it was not to be. His side's disappointment was completed when Fabio Quagliarella was dismissed late on, but Conte refused to be too hard on his players after the defeat.
"I'm sorry about the result," he said. "I don't like losing and nobody should do either, especially when a trophy's at stake. We'll look to learn from these moments. However, we'll congratulateNapoli on their victory. We faced a strong team, who went out in the Champions League against the eventual winners.
"What remains is the fact that our team is extraordinary - that must always be kept in mind. I must thank all my players for what they've done, in particular Del Piero who, alongside [Gianluigi] Buffon and [Andrea] Pirlo, has been one of the benchmarks of this side.
"This is a young group, born from two seventh places, so it's done something extraordinary to win the championship. We must always keep in mind what we did to win."
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