Soccer-Juventus target record Italian Super Cup triumph in Doha

By Jacopo Lomonaco ROME, Dec 21 (Reuters) - Juventus will be aiming for a record seventh Italian Super Cup title when they face Napoli at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium in Doha, Qatar on Monday looking for their third straight triumph. The two teams have met twice in the annual showdown between the Italian champions and the domestic cup winners with one victory apiece and Napoli will be out to avenge their defeat. Although the Naples club demolished Juve 5-1 in their only Super Cup victory in 1990 when Diego Maradona was the team's inspiration, Juve won a controversial game 4-2 in 2012 in China. Antonio Conte's side got a fortunate 74th minute penalty in Beijing when trailing 2-1 before Napoli had two players sent off late in the game and then scored an own goal in extra time. Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentis was so appalled by the refereeing that he did not allow his club to take part in the trophy ceremony and they will be determined to avenge that loss. "We know how to hurt them," Napoli captain Marek Hamsik told reporters on Sunday the day after a 0-0 draw at Roma in Serie A. "If we play with the same intensity we displayed against Roma we have a good chance to beat them. We usually don't fail in these kind of matches." Napoli beat Fiorentina 3-1 to win their fifth Coppa Italia last season and earn a place in the annual Super Cup clash with the winners of the scudetto who are having a successful season. Serie A leaders Juve have already booked a last 16 spot in the Champions League and will face Borussia Dortmund over two legs in February and are now targeting another trophy. THIRD GOAL "This is our third goal of the season, from a chronological standpoint," Conte's successor as Juve manager Massimiliano Allegri told a news conference on Sunday. "The first one was to maintain first place in the (Serie A) table and the second was to qualify for the knockout stage in the Champions League." Conte's resignation before the start of the season was a shcok but it has not changed Juve's winning habits. They have a three-point lead over AS Roma in the domestic standings and are 12 points clear of third-placed Napoli as they bid for a fourth straight Italian league title. "We were curious to see how solid our group was," said captain and goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon. "We wanted to show that our results didn't depend on one person only. "Our former manager had done an incredible job but without the club and the sense of responsibility that we as players have, we would have never achieved these results." However, Napoli know anything can happen in a one-off game and manager Rafa Benitez is confident his side can upset the club known as the 'Old Lady' of Italian football. "It's true that they are ahead in the table but in a final the only things that matter are desire, mental strength and intensity," Benitez told a news conference on Sunday. (Editing by Ken Ferris)