Juventus treble dream alive

Juventus players celebrate after winning the Coppa Italia on Wednesday night. Photo by AFP

Rome- Juventus claimed its 10th Coppa Italia title with a 2-1 extra-time victory over Lazio on Wednesday at the Olimpico Stadium in Rome, Italy.

Claiming the Italian domestic cup ensured that the team from Turin will enter the Champions League final on June 6 with a chance to claim an Italian and European treble.

Already, Juventus had secured its fourth straight Serie A league title.

However, the Old Lady of Italian Football had not claimed the Italian cup in 20 years.

Exactly one week after claiming a Champions League final berth, Juventus lined up a strong side in the domestic cup final. As is often the case in cup competitions, first-choice goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon made way for second-choice stopper Marco Storari.

Also, Alvaro Morata, who was the hero of the Champions League semifinals, was suspended and replaced by compatriot Fernando Llorente. Save for those changes, Juventus lined up a strong side that included Andrea Pirlo, Carlos Tevez, Paul Pogba and Arturo Vidal.

In spite of the strong lineup, the famous black and white stripes could not avoid going down early after Lazio captain Stefan Radu struck a powerful header from a set piece. However, the Italian league champions would level the score with an acrobatic piece of invention from Juventus captain Giorgio Chiellini.