Match summary
In 1996, Juve won the trophy for the second time against another Argentinian side, River Plate, who were also aiming for their second success. The highly competitive final remained delicately balanced until, with nine minutes left on the clock, a shot by the Argentine playmaker Ariel Ortega bounced back off the crossbar. From the clearance, Zinedine Zidane headed the ball on to Alessandro Del Piero, who buried the ball in the back of the net and River Plate's hopes with it.

Key player
Dubbed "Pinturicchio" by Giovanni Agnelli, who likened his delicate touch on the ball to the brush strokes of the Italian renaissance painter, Alessandro del Piero is a one-off character in Italian football.

Spotted by Franco Causio while at Padova, Del Piero, whose idol remains the Frenchman Michel Platini, is both an accomplished finisher and a playmaker par excellence, capable of lighting up a match with a single flick of the boot. His achievements with Juventus speak for themselves: six league titles between 1995 and 2005, a Champions League trophy and a Toyota Cup triumph.

When on song, Del Piero can be truly astounding, such as during the 1997-98 season, when he netted an incredible 32 times. But he is very much a confidence player prone to extreme highs and lows, with a tendency to be brilliant one week, then off-colour the next. Plagued by injury during his career, Del Piero has consistently shown great strength of character by returning to top form to silence his detractors.

After a somewhat disappointing season in 2004, he suddenly woke up ten days from the end to save Juve with some crucial goals, most notably against Milan. This year, Del Piero is not even guaranteed a place in the starting line-up for Juventus or Italy, but far from letting his shoulders droop, he is dreaming of FIFA World Cup TM glory in Germany, an achievement that would see him surpass the feats of Platini himself.

Coach
Always immaculately attired on the sidelines, the Tuscan Marcelo Lippi is a star in his own right, on a par with the top players. Lippi may be a man of few words, with the type of phlegmatic personality more commonly associated with the British, but his name will remain forever associated with the history of Juventus, whom he steered to five domestic titles, one Champions League success, a Toyota Cup and an Italian Cup.

After a modest career as a player, primarily with Sampdoria (1962-1979), Lippi set about establishing himself as one of the most renowned tacticians in the world. Highly demanding and punctilious in the extreme, Lippi rules his teams with a rod of iron, and his training sessions are meticulously analysed by coaches worldwide.

"You just have to know how to manage certain situations and sometimes how to be effective rather than spectacular," he states, refusing to be pigeon-holed.

After a fruitless spell with Inter, Lippi swiftly returned to winning ways with Juventus (he took charge again there in 2001) and had intended to draw a line under his coaching career at the end of last season.

I wanted to call it a day, but the Italian Federation contacted me and it's an honour to be able to try a new experience with the Squadra Azzurra," enthuses Lippi, who is targeting qualification followed by FIFA Wold Cup triumph in order to end his career on the ultimate high. Unless, that is, the football bug again refuses to slacken its grip...

Juventus beat River Plate 1-0
Venue: Tokyo
Stadium: National Stadium
Attendance: 48,305 spectators
26 November 1996
Referee: M. Rezende (BRA)
Goals: Del Piero (81')
Juventus : Peruzzi, Ferrara, Porrini, Torricelli, Montero, Di Livio, Deschamps, Jugovic, Zidane, Boksic, Del Piero.
Coach: M. Lippi.
River Plate: Bonano, Diaz, Berizzo, Ayala, Sorin, Astrada, Monserrat, Berti, Ortega, Francescoli, Cruz.
Coach: M. Diaz
Man of the match: Alessandro del Piero (Juventus)