Milan - Relegated giants Juventus Tuesday savoured their first day as Serie B leaders, a position secured jointly with Bologna after the end of the lower division's 15th round of games.
In-form Napoli could have clinched sole possession of first place, but drew 1-1 at Cesena late Monday, leaving them one point adrift of the leading duo alongside Piacenza.
The unbeaten Turin powerhouse thus lead the standings with 28 points, but are ahead of Bologna thanks to an awesome 27-6 goal difference despite a nine-point penalty received in a match-fixing trial held last summer.
A sports tribunal of the Italian football federation (FIGC) also stripped the club of the Serie A titles won in the last two seasons, inflicting point deficits also on AC Milan, Fiorentina, Lazio and Reggina.
Didier Deschamps, Juve's French coach and former midfielder, told La Gazzetta dello Sport that one of his side's secrets is that they never have looked at the standings, 'and we will never do it. What I want is to secure the Serie A without play-offs, so to have time to plan for the future.'
Serie B rules grant direct promotion to first- and second-placed teams, a third berth being available to the winner of a play-off among the four runner-up sides. A third-placed side, however, can secure direct promotion leading the fourth-placed by at least 10 points.
Besides the point-deficit, which an arbitration panel last month reduced from 19 to nine points, Juve have been troubled by an impressive series of absences since the start of their first-ever lower-division season.
World champion Alessandro Del Piero and Frenchman David Trezeguet are gradually recovering from long injury lay-offs, while flagbearing playmaker Pavel Nedved was recently suspended for five games.
It appears, though, that the experience and charisma of players like keeper Gianluigi Buffon and forward Mauro Camoranesi, both world champions like captain Del Piero, should allow the Old Lady a safe return to the arena where they played a starring role in the past seasons.
Deschamps declined to comment on the question often recurring among commentators: 'Where would Juve be if they were in the Serie A?'
'I don't know where we could be in the standings? What is true is that the Serie B is our daily bread. This league is a discovery for all of us. It is so physical and tough that even the big clubs risk losing points.
'Let's say that this is our year in purgatory, then, tomorrow, we'll see what happens.'
© 2006 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur 
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