AS THE likes of Milan and Ajax have already discovered during the present decade, the time to worry in football is when people start calling your club unbeatable. In front of a crowd of 59,000 in the Olympiastadion here last night the gilded players of Juventus relinquished the European Cup to an unheralded Borussia Dortmund team.
The Germans scored two first-half goals through Karlheinz Riedle and then responded to Alessandro Del Piero's 64th-minute reply by polishing off the Italian threat with a goal from the 20-year-old forward, Lars Ricken, who found the net with his first touch after arriving as a substitute.
Juventus, who captured their 24th Italian league championship last week, took the field not in their famous black and white stripes but in the blue strip they wore to take their second European Cup victory against Ajax in Rome a year ago. But many famous old faces were present to remind them of their traditions, including Omar Sivori and Michel Platini.
If that were not enough, four members of the Dortmund starting line-up - Andreas Moller, Paulo Sousa, Jurgen Kohler and Stefan Reuter - once turned out in their opponents colours.
Marcello Lippi, the Juventus coach, chose the experienced Alen Boksic, whose season has been marred by injury, to partner the 23-year-old Christian Vieri in attack, leaving Del Piero on the bench.
Dortmund's 1966 Cup Winners' Cup victory was their first and, until last night, only European success in their 88-year history and they have just surrendered their hold on their domestic championship.
Thanks to the guile of Zinedine Zidane, the industry of Angelo Di Livio and the power of Didier Deschamps and Vladimir Jugovic, Juventus imposed themselves on the early midfield exchanges.
The intensity of the match was reflected in the challenges on Stephane Chapuisat and Deschamps which earned bookings for Sergio Porrini and Paulo Sousa in the 21st and 24th minutes.
Dortmund had hardly presented a threat when they scored just before the half-hour. Moller's left-wing corner was flicked away by Angelo Peruzzi to Jugovic, whose clearance went only to Paul Lambert on the right wing. The former Celtic man's instant return was met at the far post by Riedle, who controlled the ball with his chest before smashing it past Peruzzi.
Four minutes later Paolo Montero seemed happy to concede another left-wing corner while intercepting Chapuisat's cross, but Moller's flag-kick went straight to the head of Riedle, who headed home, again unattended.
The appearance of Del Piero at the start of the second half was hardly a surprise. Making the most of their greater strength tip front, Juventus regained the initiative.
Klos turned Jugovic's curling 5-yard shot around the post, was almost beaten as Boksic tried to loop the ball inside the angle, and saved again as the Croatian met Di Livio's cross. And there was a gathering confidence behind a move begun by Del Piero, who launched Vieri with a long ball down the inside-right channel. Vieri crossed for Boksic at the far post, but Sammer's anticipation ended the danger.
After 64 minutes Juventus reduced the deficit. Boksic's strength took him past Kohler on the left, his low cross finding Del Piero who guided the ball home with a brilliantly deft touch.
Ottmar Hitzfeld, the Dortmund coach, replaced Riedle with Herrlich after 67 minutes, but it was a second German substitution, three minutes later, that appeared to settle Juventus's fate. Lars Ricken had been on the field less than half a minute when he found himself racing down the right to meet Molter's pass and lobbing Peruzzi to give his side a 3-1 lead.
