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Roma want Italian Cup to earn fans' forgiveness June 10, 2005, 20:30
Winning the Italian Cup is the only way to get AS Roma fans to forgive their team for a terrible nine months, according to coach Bruno Conti.
Inter Milan start as favourites when the teams line up in the first leg of the final on Sunday (kickoff 1930 GMT) after Roma's poor form left them flirting with relegation this season. "Maybe for Inter winning it would be a small consolation. For us, however, it is the only way to get our fans to forgive us," Conti was quoted as saying in Corriere dello Sport today.
Following Fabio Capello's departure for Juventus at the end of last season, four different coaches tried to make Roma competitive. The 2001 Italian champions had to battle until the penultimate round of matches to stave off relegation. Inter finished third in Serie A, 14 points behind champions Juventus. But Inter coach Roberto Mancini has warned his players to take nothing for granted when they visit the Olympic Stadium.
"Mancini's right -- Roma are worth more than their final standing in this year's Serie A championship," Conti said. "There's a lot of skill in the side and the lads are very eager to get their hands on the Cup."We'll have to play well at the Olympic Stadium, defend sensibly and use our heads, but in my opinion the Cup will be won or lost at the return leg at the San Siro (on June 15)," the 1982 World Cup winner added.
Conti can take consolation from the fact he will not have to deal with the string of suspensions and injuries that so often decimated his squad during the last part of the season. Roma captain Francesco Totti has recovered from a muscle strain to lead the attack alongside Vincenzo Montella or Antonio Cassano. The only absentee will be midfielder Daniele De Rossi, who is suspended. French international Olivier Dacourt is expected to take his place.
For the visitors, an injury to Christian Vieri means Adriano and Obafemi Martins are likely to start together up front. Victory in the Cup would give Inter their first piece of domestic silverware since they last won Serie A in 1989. It would also extend Mancini's excellent record in the competition. He won the Cup with Fiorentina in 2001 and guided Lazio to victory 12 months ago. - Reuters 新闻出自：http://www.sabcnews.com/sport/soccer/0,2172,106323,00.html 文章大意是说孔蒂希望用意大利杯冠军来使罗马球迷原谅罗马本赛季的糟糕表现。此外孔蒂认为罗马应该在第一回合的比赛中必须用脑子去踢，去防守；同时认为胜负的关键取决于第二回合在圣西罗（梅阿查）的表现。在伤停方面，罗马首回合只有德罗西因红牌缺阵，达科特将会顶替他的位置。国米方面维埃里无法出场，阿德和马丁斯很可能首发。 | 
发表于 2005-6-11 01:06:00
发表于 2005-6-11 21:33:00
