Frayed Roma nerves were finally settled yesterday as the club claimed their third Italian title by beating Parma 3-1 at the Olympic Stadium in Rome on the last day of the season in a game that, in the end, proved disarmingly predictable.
Neither a nervous start by the new champions nor a premature pitch invasion five minutes from time, both also eminently predictable, could stop a Roma triumph which, in years to come, will doubtless be primarily associated with the names of coach Fabio Capello, Argentine striker Gabriel Batistuta and captain Francesco Totti.
Normally in professional football, motivation is the key to success. So it proved yesterday. For Roma, this was "the game of a lifetime", whilst for Parma, it was merely the final, unwelcome stop before the summer holidays.
In the end, apart from a nervous 20 minute opening period from Roma, the outcome of this match was never in doubt. Not only was Parma's motivation questionable but the visitors yesterday were reduced in both numbers and spirit by their midweek Italian Cup final loss to Fiorentina. With no less than eight first team players ruled out by injury, Parma coach Renzo Uliveri fielded a side made up of reserves and youngsters such as 19-yearold Paolo Cannavaro, brother of Italian international Fabio.
It was one of the Parma walking wounded, defender Gigi Sartor, who inadvertently set Roma on their way in the 20th minute. Completely misjudging a cross from the right, he headed it to the feet of Roma's French left back Vincent Candela.
The Frenchman had time to look up and set up a perfect chance for an unmarked Totti who struck home the all-important first goal with a majestic strike with the outside of his right foot. At that point, it was de facto all over.
With the exceptions of Yugoslav striker Savo Milosevic and Frenchman Lillian Thuram, Parma from that point on were quite happy to follow a policy of non-belligerence.
Twenty minutes later, the visitors conceded a second goal on the counter-attack when, following a Parma free kick, Brazilian Cafu sent Batistuta away on a long run down the right. The Argentine made it into the penalty area only to see his well-struck shot saved by Gigi Buffon. The rebound, however, went to Vincenzo Montella, who knocked home his 13th goal of the season.
With Roma 2-0 up at half-time, it was definitely all over now. That was not lost on city rivals, third-placed Lazio, who abandoned the chase at the interval, dropping a one-goal lead away to relegation battlers Lecce to finally lose 2-1 to two second half goals from Gaetano Vasari.
Up north in Turin, Juventus, who had started off the day in second place, two points behind Roma and one clear of Lazio, stuck more manfully to their task, going on to register a 2-1 win home win against Atalanta. This game, too, ended with a pitch invasion and with confirmation from club president Umberto Agnelli that coach Carlo Ancelotti is to be replaced next season by his immediate predecessor, Marcello Lippi.
Back down south at the Olympic Stadium, only two issues remained to be resolved. Firstly, would Batigol get his name on the score sheet and secondly, would he do so before the impending pitch invasion by ecstatic Roma fans?
The answer to both questions came in the 78th minute when Batistuta got on the end of a brilliant long ball from Montella, turning Fabio Cannavaro in the Parma area before striking home a left-footed drive that left Buffon no chance.
By now, the Roma players were understandably more worried about their personal safety than about Parma. Four minutes after Batistuta's goal and clearly distracted by the impending invasion, Roma hardly even noticed when Parma striker Marco Di Vaio slotted home the least applauded goal in the history of football.
After that not even the premature pitch invasion five minutes from time, leading to a 10-minute suspension of play by referee Stefano Braschi, could upset the celebrations. For much of the build-up to this game, Roma fans had been speculating when and where actress, pin-up star and ardent Roma supporter Sabrina Ferilli would do a long promised strip-tease to celebrate the title. Following the pitch invasion, however, it was the Roma players who were left half-naked as fans pulled shirts, socks, shorts and boots off them.
After the game captain Totti summed up his club's happy moment when saying: "This is a huge satisfaction. This is a dream that I carried around with me in my schoolbag as a little boy. This is the dream of every Roma fan."
At the end of this last day of a long drawn-out Italian season, Roma are the champions, Juventus second, Lazio third and Parma fourth, with all four qualified for the Champions League. For the record, AC Milan, Inter Milan - who yesterday parted company with coach Marco Tardelli - and Fiorentina qualify for the UEFA Cup whilst Napoli, Vicenza and Bari are relegated.
