Juventus (or Iuventus) as any Latin buff would know, is a word that equates to the English youth. It’s one of the most fitting titles this current incarnation can be christened; the Old Lady is young once more.
This upcoming match, which will conclude an amazing UEFA Champions League campaign, is undoubtedly the culmination of efforts from a generation of Juventus players who have strived to achieve this feat time and again but never quite attained it.
Not necessarily the flashiest of teams, nevertheless, Juventus are simply a winning machine — churning out victories has become habitual for the boys from Turin. Likely the swansong for several key players in a club reaching the final for the first time since 2003, the importance of this match cannot be understated. However, though many supporters of Barcelona and neutrals will sway popular opinion, they are no pushovers. It’s the work of UEFA coefficients and of unfortunate circumstance that they’ve been mislabelled as such.
Dominating Italian football since 2012, this story certainly resembles Mourinho’s Inter of 2010. Building upon the work of a previous coach like Mancini for Inter, Allegri has perfected Conte’s recipe with his own flavour. It cannot be stressed enough how this current edition of the Bianconeri has been in the making for almost a decade. With the demise of Italian football in the Calciopoli scandal, the reputation of the club was tarnished — this is their chance at redeeming not only themselves, but also Italian football as a whole in what has become a landmark year for Italian clubs in Europe.
What Does the Champions League Final Mean to Juventus?
The “Old Lady” of Italian football, Juventus are Italy’s darling. Supported by roughly half of the population (as their fans will be keen to remind you), when Juventus prosper, so goes the Italian national team as history has proven time and again. In 1934, 1982 and 2006 when Juventus won the Scudetto, Italy were victorious in the World Cup thanks to a strong core hailing from Turin.
The seeds were planted for a rebirth; the suffering Juventus have endured finally ceased. Whether one agrees as to whether their punishment was rightly inflicted or not, it has created a beast set out for vengeance. Antonio Conte successfully acquired the key cogs that would be the basis for Max Allegri’s version and all for the better. Where Conte failed to adjust tactically, Allegri has excelled. Conte had been notorious with the Italian media for his reluctance to adjust from his rigid tactics of the 3-5-2 system.
The semi-final against Real Madrid proved everyone wrong. Allegri, who had been trodden upon by supporters earlier in the year, is indeed the man to lead this club to glory. Four straight Scudetti and every Italian football supporter can assure you — yes, Juventus have been the real deal for a while now.
A mixture of youth and veterans, pace, strength and finesse are how they will take on Barcelona. The duo of Morata and Tevez in particular have proven deadly; Tevez has a chance to become Capocannoniere (he’s just behind 38-year old Luca Toni), and Morata’s Champions League exploits have been well documented. It is incredible looking back at how Juventus essentially dumped former Serie A Capocannoniere Ciro Immobile for the relatively unproven Alvaro Morata. Morata always had the pedigree, but the move infuriated the fans — the Neapolitan Immobile had a penchant for scoring goals in bunches and now is languishing with an underachieving Borussia Dortmund side. It’s fair to say Juve outsmarted everyone with the seemingly glaring error proven false.
Though much of the media in the upcoming week may focus on the exploits of the young Frenchman known as Paul Pogba, it’s easy to forget that he was absent for 60 days with injury. He may grab the headlines, but Vidal, Marchisio and Pirlo are a trio in midfield that can change matches in a split second. Plus, who can forget the backline of Evra, Barzagli, Bonucci, Chiellini, Lichtsteiner and Buffon?
To put in perspective just how impressive Juventus have been domestically these past few years, we can look no further than AS Roma, ever the bridesmaid. They have come the closest to the Old Lady, finishing second more times than any club over the past 15 years. In 2013-2014, Roma’s greatest ever season point-wise, Juventus still managed to be 17 points ahead of them with 102, the Italian record for most points in a season.
Juventus traditionally have dominated the Italian football landscape; continentally they have failed to deliver so often on the promise domestic displays have brought. This is the opportunity to change that, to spell all of the negative attitudes away and regain respect. The question is, can they stop Lionel Messi and friends? Come Saturday, we shall see.
