[goal.com]Resident Paisan: Inter's Demise Good For Juventus

Former referee Massimo De Santis, who was banned for four years this past July after he was found guilty of conspiring to fix Serie A games during the 2004-05 season, claimed last week that Inter Milan president Massimo Moratti paid a private firm to spy on him and his wife. The disgraced ref said Inter paid someone to take photographs of him and tap his phone in order to eventually blackmail him. If that wasn’t enough, De Santis said the club also tried to spy on its former temperamental star Christian Vieri by tapping his phone.

Now, Italy’s soccer federation says it will start a probe into De Santis’s claims. In Italy it is illegal to tap a phone without a judge’s permission. So, if the allegations turn out to be true (Moratti has vehemently denied any involvement), then Inter could be charged with violating the laws that govern the federation’s “fair conduct” clause -- an offense that carries a fine, but not a point deduction.

The latest chapter in the ongoing scandal comes on the heels of the biggest match-fixing scandal in the country’s history after Juventus was relegated to Serie B and point deductions were leveled against AC Milan, Fiorentina, Lazio and Reggina. Ironically, Inter Milan was awarded last season’s Scudetto after Juve was stripped of the title when phone conversations revealed that the former club’s general manager, Luciano Moggi, was given a say as to what referees should officiate which league games.

Angry Juve fans now want Inter stripped of the title given to them this summer. Frankly, I can’t blame Juve fans. You would be upset too if your team was stripped of two titles and demoted. Even though Inter has been playing over the past few weeks like they deserve that tiny shield stitched to their jerseys, these new allegations their jerseys, these new allegations should give league officials some agida.

The Nerazzurri are a very wealthy club, but also one that has had little success over the past 15 years. Inter is notorious for failing to properly evaluate talent (they axed Brazilian defender Roberto Carlos back in 1996) and have the uncanny ability to make bad management decisions (coaches Marcello Lippi, Hector Cuper and Gigi Simoni were all each fired less than 10 games into the season).

While Inter has been playing its best Serie A soccer in years, the fact that it’s 0-2 in the Champions League has given Nerazzurri fans some reason to worry. But amid all the talk that Inter may have been behind a plot to wiretap De Santis and later blackmail him, let’s not lose sight of the excitement currently being generated by Juventus in Serie B. I don’t know if the Old Lady will climb back into Serie A this season, but what I do know is that the Bianconeri have cleaned up their image and are making friends wherever they play in the second division.

There was a time not too long ago when Juve was the team everyone loved to hate. And for good reason: They always seemed to win and always appeared to get some extra help from referees. The wins are still there, but they’re not getting any help from the refs. Alessandro Del Piero, Gianluigi Buffon and the rest of the team aren’t the villains of years past. They mostly resemble a rag-tag group of young players, veterans and a few World Cup winners trying to wipe out a 17-point deduction imposed on them for Moggi’s sins.

For once, Juventus is a club people across Italy – and the world -- are starting to like, dare I say, even root for. I found myself doing just that over the past few weeks. This is a team that has received a great deal of empathy from a great number of people around the world. Seeing Del Piero and Buffon tough it out in the toughest second division on the planet just two months after lifting the World Cup trophy is more than a bit humbling. Del Piero’s and Buffon’s loyalty to the team is unprecedented in modern sports, where money can lure a player anywhere and love for a team only lasts as long as the paychecks keep coming.

Juventus is also a team that is getting respect from its opponents even before the players take to the field. Once on it, Juve has shown that being humbled for a season, or more, may have done it some good as its tries to cleanse its image. Inter could, or could not, need some cleansing of its own. Hopefully, the truth will come out. In the meantime, Juventus seems to be basking in its newfound identity.

严惩国际米兰就能够抚慰尤文受到的伤害吗?

前裁判德桑蒂斯曾经在今年六月因为04-05赛季充当操纵比赛的同谋而东窗事发，被判处为期四年的禁赛。他在上周揭露国际米兰主席莫拉蒂曾经聘请私家侦探监视他和他的妻子。这位污点裁判表示，国际米兰请人偷拍他的照片，制作他的电话录音以达到逼迫勒索他的目的。这还不够，德桑蒂斯又披露说，国际米兰也曾经通过他的电话录音来监视他们喜怒无常的前球星维埃里。

现在，意足联称，他们将对德桑蒂斯言论的真实性展开调查。在意大利，超越法律许可的窃听他人电话是违法行为。因此，假设指控是确凿的（莫拉蒂言辞激烈地否认自己在窃听门中有任何插手），那么国际米兰将被控触犯这样一条国家法律——“公平行为”条款。他们会被处以罚金，但不会对球队进行扣分。

在这个国家的历史上，电话门事件可谓是最大的体育欺诈丑闻。电话录音揭发出尤文的前总经理莫吉指派裁判执法比赛。事件的结果是尤文因此而降级，AC米兰，佛罗伦萨，拉齐奥和雷吉纳也被扣分。国际米兰从中受益，继尤文被剥夺两届联赛冠军头衔后，他们被授予05-06赛季的意甲冠军。而现在，丑闻的事态继续蔓延。

愤怒的尤文蒂尼要求国际米兰把上赛季从他们手中抢走的冠军交还球队。坦率地说，尤文球迷的这种要求无可厚非。如果你深爱的球队被剥夺两届冠军又被降级，你也会不好受。尽管过去几周国际米兰球场上的表现一直都证明着他们应得那面三色盾，新的指控还是会给官员们施压。

国际米兰是一个财大气粗的俱乐部，但同时，也是十五年来少有建树的球队。他们因为不能识才而声名狼藉（1996年，他们抛弃了巴西后卫罗伯特.卡洛斯），他们的管理决策能力也糟糕至极（教练里皮，库珀，西蒙尼都在不到十场比赛后就下课）。

在意甲赛场上，当国际米兰踢着他们在近年来最好的足球时，他们在欧冠0:2惨败的事实也让球迷们忧心忡忡。然而在谈论国际米兰可能是监听德塞蒂斯电话并对其进行敲诈勒索的幕后主使的同时，我们不该忽视身处乙级的尤文正因此而兴奋。我不知道老妇人是否能在下赛季就回到甲级赛场，我知道的是，斑马军团已经重建了他们的形象。除此之外，不管他们在乙级联赛的哪个场地比赛，他们都在与人为善。

尤文成为众矢之的，这是不久前发生的事。论其原因，如果说得婉转些，那是因为他们似乎一直在赢球，也一直得到裁判额外的照顾。而现在，尤文依然在球场上获胜，但他们是不依赖裁判帮助而获胜。皮耶罗，布冯，还有其他的队员，已然和从前不同。他们中大部分是平民阶层的年轻球员，还有一些老队员和寥寥几个世界冠军。他们为了消除因莫吉的罪过而强加于球队的-17分而全力以赴着。

这一次，尤文正成为全意大利，乃至全世界都开始喜欢的球队。我敢说，所有人都在爱它。我发现过去的几周里，我就是如此喜欢着这支球队。尤文，它有着来自世界各地数量庞大的球迷群体，他们给予它无限的关注。看看布冯和皮耶罗吧，他们在赢得世界杯仅仅两个月后就随队降级，这是一种奇耻大辱。在当代体坛，这样一个金钱至上的世界，无论在何处，钱都能吸引和诱惑任何一名球员，而所谓的对球队的爱不过是为了维持住源源而来的薪水。但皮耶罗和布冯不然，他们的忠诚是空前的。

尤文同时也是在球员进场前就能得到对手尊重的王者之师。现在的这支队伍，体现在人们眼前的，是在乙级征战一赛季的忍辱负重。或许，更多的是他们正在努力净化自身的形象。而国际米兰，他们的形象呢？或许需要净化，或许毫无必要吧。希望真相能早日大白天下。与此同时，尤文可能正沉浸在他们全新的身份之中。