'Juventus and Man Utd knew each other by heart'

Angelo Di Livio confirms Juventus and Manchester United “knew each other by heart” due to their repeated meetings in the 1990s.

The two sides clashed repeatedly in the Champions League in the second half of the decade, as recounted in today’s Football Italia blog.

“In those years there were two teams that always gave us a lot of trouble: Ajax and Manchester United,” Di Livio told TuttoJuve.

“We considered the English to be a great rival and a great team, they had quality players in their squad.

“We almost always beat them, apart form that semi-final where we went up 2-0 and then lost 3-2.

“The turning point was that goal Roy Keane scored, because their determination and strength increased while we became nervous.

“Sadly we couldn’t reach a fourth final in a row, it would have been an extraordinary achievement.

“We knew each other by heart, there was a lot of mutual respect between [Marcello] Lippi and [Sir Alex] Ferguson.

“The Scottish Coach would praise and compliment us in Press conferences and we really liked that. The same respect went to the United players from us, because of the many matches we played and fought.

“There was huge mutual respect, we beat them many times but they won perhaps the most important game.

“I remember well when we beat them 1-0 at Old Trafford in 1996. That was the game that allowed us to go to the end in the competition for the second year in a row, and I still have some fantastic emotions from that wonderful evening.”