In May 2000, Juventus were shocked by lowly Perugia on the last day. Alessandro Calori scoring the most consequential goal of his career. The defeat bequeathed second place Lazio the Serie title.
A decade later, Carlo Ancelotti Juve’s manager at that time, hopes to avoid that ‘tragedy’ against Wigan. The defeat established Ancelotti’s ‘loser mentality’, a tag he struggled to shrug off till AC Milan beat Juve in the 2003 CL final on penalties.
Of course, defeat or a draw against Wigan on Sunday still does not mean that Chelsea have lost the title but it puts their destiny out of their hands and entirely on Man Utd’s match against Stoke on the same day.
Sir Alex is pulling for a Wigan upset.
“I wouldn’t say it’s a sealed result against Wigan by any shadow of a doubt,” said Ferguson.
“They’re a good team, they’ll have a go and you never know. It’s a crazy game.”
Chelsea strides into Sunday with all the confidence in the world but Ancelotti’s words still betray the scars of that fateful day ten years ago.