What is the significance of jersey numbers in soccer

Six minutes later, however, Ignazio Abate took Milito down inside the box and the Argentinian striker converted the resulting penalty to tie the game. They took on Novara, who defeated Catania 3-2 in the fourth preliminary round. For the 13th season in a row, Milan started the Coppa Italia directly in the round of 16, as one of the eight best seeded teams. By winning against Cagliari on that same evening, Juventus regained a four-point lead over Milan with only one game left to play, thus securing the title. Juventus News 24 (in Italian). However, they failed a couple of chances to stretch their lead and Novara managed to equalise two minutes from time after with a free kick by Ivan Radovanović.