Intriguing cup final – Juventus vs Palermo. The best Italian team at the time against mid-table second division club. The rich North vs impoverished South. Football mafia vs the Sicilian one ? Two clubs using pink colour at the final… well, Juventus did not, but pink was their original colour. One may speculate endlessly, but it was a brave performance by Palermo so far and very unusual case in Italy – second division club going all the way to the final. And may be winning the Cup ? The ambition was certainly there. And more than ambition… the regular time ended without a winner. The stars of Juventus prevailed at last in the overtime : 2-1. Palermo excelled, but… Juventus had all the stars.
Unione Sporiva Citta di Palermo were old, as most Italian clubs are – founded in 1900. ‘Aqile’ (the Eagles), however, were small and contrary to their nickname rarely flied high – second division was their natural habitat, occasional adventures into first division was too much for them. 1978-79 was not outstanding season for them – they were in the upper half of second division, but not able to challenge the best. The cup tournament was their chance, partly because most of the big Italian clubs were not at their best this year.
Palermo reached the final and tried to win, but at the end lost. They were unfortunate, in a way, but really they outdid themselves – without stars, without any worthy players, the most they could do was heroics. Palermo never won anything – cup finals were their biggest achievement : they already played a final in 1974, this was their second attempt. They lost again…
There was much at stake for Juventus too – the season was mediocre, they needed a trophy. As the cup itself was concerned – Juventus won it in 1965 for the last time. And so far the cup was not their tournament – they won it only 5 times. Since Juve were the best team in the 1970s… they needed the elusive trophy badly. They won it with dificulties, saved the season, added their first cup after more than 10 years, confirmed their leading position. It was not convincing win, but the cup was theirs.
A squad capable of much more than struggling against second division team and clinching victory in extra-time, but winning the 6th cup in the club’s history after a very long drought.