Champions League final – Barcelona vs. Juventus
Juventus look to upset Barcelona in the Champions League final at the Olympiastadion in Berlin, which decides which team replaces former Champions of Europe, Real Madrid. Much to the surprise of most football fans, Juventus have been a breath of fresh air in the Champions League, as Spanish and German giants looked set to dominate Europe once again. On their road to the final, Juventus fell second in their group to Atletico Madrid, yet went on to defeat Borussia Dortmund (5-1 aggregate), Monaco (1-0 aggregate), and, finally, Spanish ‘Galacticos’, Real Madrid (3-2 aggregate). This impressive feat has caused mass footballing buzz around Europe as the Italian side looks to shake the odds and claim European glory.
Juventus
While it may be shocking at first glance, upon closer inspection of the Italian outfit, (currently on their fourth consecutive Serie A title) they have a fantastic mixture of experience, power and precision. Juventus boast Gianluigi Buffon in goal, and the world renowned and adored Andrea Pirlo in central midfield. To top it off, Giorgio Chiellini sits in centre back while former Manchester United player, Patrice Evra, holds the left back position, with lethal striker, Carlos Tevez, up front. These players combined flaunt 22 league titles between Serie A and the Premier League, with three Champions League triumphs; they are not new to the biggest stages in football. It is Buffon, Chiellini, Pirlo, and Tevez who form the spine to this Juventus side.
Juventus do not just ride the waves of experience and class; their potential to hurt Barcelona as they have the rest of Europe comes in the form of Stephan Lichtsteiner, Arturo Vidal, Alvaro Morata, Claudio Marchisio and starlet Paul Pogba. While Pirlo graces Juventus with precision passing and vision, it is Pogba, Vidal and Marchisio who bring power to the game. When up against a Barcelona midfield fluent in the passing game, it is specifically Vidal and Pogba who can take control and physically limit Barcelona’s passing plan. Vidal alone holds an average of 4.5 tackles per game in the Champions League; the highest of any Juventus or Barcelona player.
Juventus, having the components needed to dominate the midfield, then have consistent goal threats in Tevez and Morata. The former Real Madrid striker, Morata, haunted his previous team scoring in both legs, showing a strong sense of positioning to slot in two key goals that sent his team to Berlin. Tevez has been in fine form this season scoring 20 goals and creating seven others in 31 appearances in Serie A. His form has continued in the Champions League where he has seven goals and an assist in 12 appearances. Tevez is guaranteed to start the tie, and with the latest form of Morata and his exceptional positioning, he may start once more with Tevez.
However, given the prowess of Barcelona’s counter-attacking football, leaving too much up top may see Barcelona take an early advantage.
To quell this, Juventus have the pace of Lichtsteiner to stay toe-to-toe with the likes of Lionel Messi and Neymar. The 31-year-old Swiss right back showed off his pace against Real Madrid making marauding runs up the line. Often Lichtsteiner was able to capitalise, getting back to block and generally frustrate Cristiano Ronaldo. With three goals and five assists in Serie A, Lichtsteiner can ease pressure on his own back line by threatening the likes of Jordi Alba, Gerard Piqué and Javier Mascherano offensively.
Barcelona
Juventus may have the components, hunger and underdog status required to pressure Barcelona, in their favour, but Barcelona hold the best front line in world football. Striker Luis Suarez up front, supported on the wings by Neymar and Lionel Messi (recently described by Pep Guardiola as “the best player of all time”) will make the Juventus defence call on every ounce of experience and skill in order to keep them out of goal.
While Juventus caused an upset against Madrid, Barcelona were tearing Bayern Munich apart with incredible counter-attacking football. Worryingly for Juventus, it appears Barcelona no longer feed off Messi for all their scoring success, as he failed to net once in the 5-3 aggregate victory over Bayern, where Neymar and Suarez stole the show.
The Barcelona defence showed signs of weakness with Bayern winning in Germany 3-2 on the night, coming back from a goal deficit twice. However, German in-form Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen is proving why he should be considered one of the world’s best, with pivotal saves during both legs. Yet, focus is still very much on Barcelona’s attacking trio and whether they will perform to their best one last time this season in front of the millions watching. With a stupendous 115 goals this season combined, it looks very likely they will find the back of the net at least once at the Olympiastadion.
Sergio Busquets and Ivan Rakitic will be under considerable pressure to perform in the midfield. Busquets recently suffered a slight muscle injury, however, is now back in training and will be expected to start once more. Rakitic will be favoured, with his 89.4% pass success rate in the Champions League key to controlling the Spanish side’s midfield, along with an incredible 91.8% pass success rate from Busquets. However, with Juventus enjoying a packed midfield, Barcelona can be pressured into making mistakes.
Can Juventus upset Barcelona in Berlin?
Yes, is the short answer. This is football – the beautiful game – and this is also the Champions League final, in which anything is possible. Juventus will have to work solely to their strengths in able to deny Barcelona’s counter-attacking football if they wish to secure their first Champions League victory in nineteen years. Likewise, Barcelona will have to bring their best football this season in order to control a match against a powerful and hungry Juventus side, who recently secured the double with the Coppa Italia, beating Lazio in extra time.
The Champions League final is setting up to be one of the most exciting in years, with an underdog success story waiting to happen.
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