Gattuso triumphs amid tragedy

Gennaro Gattuso hailed the "God of football" after he lifted his first coaching trophy as Napoli beat Juventus 4-2 on penalties to win the Italian Cup for the sixth time on Wednesday.

The final had ended 0-0 in an empty Stadio Olimpico in Rome.

Paulo Dybala and Danilo both missed their spot-kicks for record 13-time Italian Cup champion Juventus, with Arkadiusz Milik slotting in the winner for Napoli past veteran keeper Gianluigi Buffon.

It is the southerners' first silverware since 2014, and a maiden coaching trophy for Gattuso, who took over from Carlo Ancelotti in December.

Former Italy World Cup winner Gattuso's first coaching success comes after the recent death of his 37-year-old sister Francesca from a rare illness.

"In life you cannot accept some things, but football has given me a lot and a great passion," said the 42-year-old former AC Milan favorite.

"I feel I have a great responsibility. I know I can't give up and I have never done in my career. I saw a team tonight that wanted to win, we deserved it. There's a God of football, who makes you reap what you've sown. I'm proud of my lads. Now we must continue with this spirit also in the championship, to recover the disadvantage."

Napoli has been reborn under Gattuso and is now sixth in the Italian league standings as it targets the Champions League qualification places when Serie A returns this weekend after a three-month absence due to the coronavirus.

But the defeat was a worrying sign for Maurizio Sarri's Juve, which also lost the Italian Super Cup final last December to Lazio.

The 61-year-old former Napoli coach had also been chasing his first coaching trophy in Italy, and second in his career after leading Chelsea to the Europa League last season.

"There is disappointment for the lads, for the club, for the fans," said Sarri. "At this moment we lack brilliance to make the game dangerous, and without that brilliance, it becomes more difficult."

Rusty Ronaldo

The final was played behind closed doors, in the silence of Rome's Stadio Olimpico which should have hosted Italy versus Switzerland in Euro 2020 on June 17.

Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo missed a chance to break the deadlock after five minutes, having also missed a penalty in a goalless semifinal, second-leg match against Milan last weekend.

"It's unusual, two 0-0 draws for us, but that just shows the lack of sharpness after such a long break," said Sarri."Ronaldo is in the same shape as the others, like Paulo Dybala and Douglas Costa, he is lacking the sharpness to do what works best for him."

Napoli had the best chances of the first half with Lorenzo Insigne's curling effort denied and Buffon clearing Diego Demme from close range.

Buffon pulled off a last-minute save on Nikola Maksimovic to send the game into penalties with extra time scrapped to minimize injuries after the coronavirus shutdown.

Sarri said he hoped Juve would "put the anger and hunger from this disappointment" into its Serie A challenge with the eight-time reigning champion just one point ahead of second-place Lazio.

Agence France-Presse