The 1996 Intercontinental Cup was a football match between Juventus of Italy and River Plate of Argentina on 26 November 1996 at the National Stadium in Tokyo, Japan. The annual Intercontinental Cup, it was contested between the winners of the UEFA Champions League and the Copa Libertadores. Juventus were appearing in their third Intercontinental Cup. They had lost the competition in 1973 before winning the 1985 edition. River Plate were making their second appearance after their victory in 1986.
Watched by a crowd of 48,305, the first half was goalless. Juventus took the lead late in the second half when Alessandro Del Piero scored. They held this lead to win the match 1–0, securing their second Intercontinental Cup win.
Juventus qualified for the Intercontinental Cup as a result of winning the UEFA Champions League. They won the 1995–96 UEFA Champions League by beating Dutch team AFC Ajax 4–2 in a penalty shoot-out after the match finished 1–1. This was their third appearance in the competition. Juventus had first played Independiente in the 1973 edition, losing 1–0. In 1985 they faced Argentinos Juniors, who they beat in a penalty shoot-out, after the match finished 2–2.[3]
River Plate qualified for the Intercontinental Cup as the reigning 1996 Copa Libertadores champions. They beat América de Cali of Colombia 2–1 on aggregate to win their second Copa Libertadores. River Plate were making their second appearance in the competition. Their previous appearance in 1986 resulted in a 1–0 win against Romanian team Steaua București.[3]
From the start of the match, Juventus applied consistent pressure, as they looked to negate any chance from River Plate that may stem from their ball possession. To this purpose, they positioned their defense high up the field, and managed to suffocate their opposition courtesy of their anticipatory defending and the dynamic recovery plays by the midfield of Didier Deschamps, Angelo Di Livio and Vladimir Jugović. The game plan yielded Juventus dominance over River Plate, as the Argentine side were unable to get ahold of the ball. In the midst of this pressure, goalkeeper Roberto Bonano stepped up and held off the efforts from the Italians, denying Alen Bokšić three times. Juan Pablo Sorín also contributed to maintaining the tie by saving a shot from Zinedine Zidane that was headed for the net. During this time, River Plate were only able to force a few corner kicks. Their first shot on target came in at the 38-minute mark, through attacking midfielder Enzo Francescoli. Nonetheless, the score would remain for half-time.[6]
The Argentine team made a recovery in the second half, as they managed ball possession in Juventus' half. However, they were only able to threaten their opposition through crosses, as their attacks lacked depth. The Italian side continued to have goal prospects thanks to their offensive line, but Bonano kept fending off their efforts.[6] Among them, he succesfully defended header from striker Alessandro Del Piero in the 57th minute.[7] River Plate had a clear opportunity following a passing play by Francescoli and Ariel Ortega, in which a cross from the forward rattled the crossbar.[6] In that same play, Juventus goalkeeper Angelo Peruzzi brought down Ortega inside the area, but Brazilian referee Márcio Rezende de Freitas indicated to play on.[8] At the 74-minute mark, the Argentine side made their first substitution when Sergio Berti was replaced with fellow midfielder Leonel Gancedo.[6] Nine minutes from injury time, the Italians found the opening after a corner was taken by Di Livio, which was met by a Zidane header.[7] The ball then fell to Del Piero, who unleashed a shot from the edge of the six-yard box to put his team ahead. During the final minutes, Juventus had counter-attacking chances to extend their lead while River Plate attempted to find the equaliser. Their coach, Ramón Díaz, switched strikers when he subbed in Marcelo Salas for Julio Cruz. Neither squad would manage to score any further goals, however, and thus the match ended 1–0 to the Italian side.[6]
Juventus reached the final of the 1996–97 UEFA Champions League, which they lost to Borussia Dortmund 3–1.[9] They would win the 1996–97 Serie A, however, which qualified them to the 1997–98 edition of the tournament.[4] River Plate followed a similar suit, as they were also unable to retain their continental title.[10] Nevertheless, they were crowned champions of the 1996 Torneo Apertura, the first of the three consecutive league titles they would go on to win.[11]
12Stokkermans, Karel; Magnani, Loris (30 April 2005). "Intercontinental Club Cup". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation (RSSSF). Retrieved 9 February 2026.
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