Some 80 metres separate the penalty areas at the Turin Olympic Stadium. A very long 80 metres at times, such as when Jörg Butt strode the distance in the 30th minute. All eyes were trained on the Bayern keeper at that moment, as he made his way towards the home penalty spot for a kick which everyone knew would have a decisive impact on the outcome. Butt was fully aware of one thing: he had to score.
“In that situation, you have to close your mind to everything else,” the seasoned campaigner explained afterwards. Facing him in the Juve goal, and an equal model of concentration, was Gianluigi Buffon, one of the world’s best between the sticks. Butt had beaten Buffon from twelve yards once in the past, for Leverkusen against Juve in 2002. A year earlier, in Jörg’s debut Champions League season with Hamburg, he also netted a penalty against Juventus, whose keeper at the time was Edwin van der Sar.
Topics of this article