Certainly for the first time in my life, we have two teams in the Champions League Final vying for a treble. Barcelona are clear favourites, but Allegri's Juventus will be aiming to spoil the party in Catalonia come the 6th June. It promises to be a truly extraordinary and fascinating encounter.
Route to the Final
Finishing second in their group, Juventus conceded just four goals, one less than Barcelona, but only hit the back of the net seven times. Their opposition, Barcelona, netted 15 times, with only 4 teams scoring more. Barcelona defeated Manchester City in the last 16, while Juventus easily disposed of 2013 finalists, Borussia Dortmund with an aggregate score of 5-1. In the quarter finals, Barcelona faced a tricky PSG side, coming off the back of an aggregate win over Chelsea in the previous round. Away in the first leg, Neymar netted and Suarez struck twice before a Jeremy Mathieu own goal gave PSG a glimmer of hope. A Neymar brace sealed Barca their semi final place. Juventus took a narrow 1-0 lead against Monaco back to Turin courtesy of an Arturo Vidal penalty and a scoreless draw was enough to send them through.
A big test awaited Juvenuts against the reigning European champions, Real Madrid. Juve took a slim 2-1 lead to the Bernabeu through goals from Carlos Tevez and Alvaro Morata, despite a disappointing performance from the Spanish side. In Madrid, Juve defended gallantly and Madrid old boy, Alvaro Morata netted and sent the Italians to Berlin. Barcelona v Bayern Munich was undoubtedly the glamour tie. Much was expected of Barcelona due to their excellent form and they duly delivered. An astounding 3-0 victory in the Nou Camp left Guardiola's side a mountain to climb. Munich collapsed and conceded 3 goals in the last 15 minutes to effectively seal the deal in this tie. Despite this, they gave it their best crack in Bavaria with fine attacking play, but their defence was their downfall and through to the final Barca went.
A forgone conclusion?
Nobody can argue that the Spanish side will be favourites for the match. They have been quite scintillating to watch at times this season, but Juventus should not be stroked off. They were severely written off in the semi final and triumphed, so it's not a foregone conclusion that they will lose. It is definitely matches like this where, Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci will make their money. In the away leg of the semi final, they repelled every cross that was sent into the Juve box with relative ease. Against Barcelona however, they face a team who is always reluctant to cross into the box. With the lack of pace at the back, a deep line will need to be held, especially with a Barca front three that have netted 120 goals between them. The Old Lady can take confidence from their excellent record this season, conceding just 24 goals in the league alone.
The Juventus midfield will need to help the defence and plug the space in the middle of the pitch, to prevent the unpredictable movement of Messi and co dragging the centre-halves out of position. Looking specifically at the middle of the park, Juventus are well equipped in an attacking sense with Paul Pogba, Andrea Pirlo and Arturo Vidal. Defensively, they will be tested. The Chilean showed us what he could do against Real Madrid in the semi final, and he will need to replicate this if Juventus are to stand any kind of chance at leaving Berlin with their third trophy of the season. During the semi final, particularly in the second leg, Pirlo didn't look his orthodox composed self and conceded possession too often. On the other hand, from set pieces there is no one like him and he can open up even the most secure defences.
In an attacking sense, they are not be as well equipped as Barcelona. Saying that, they have useful operators in Carlos Tevez and Alvaro Morata, who read each other extremely well. Vidal from midfield is also useful in his box to box role while Stephan Lichsteiner and Patrice Evra are widemen capable of delivering a quality cross. On the bench, they have Fernando Llorente to enter the fray and he offers a plan 'B'. Differing to Morata and Tevez, The Basque man is an excellent target man and provide a good platform for crosses. Expect Allegri to turn to him if Juve aren't singing to the correct hymn sheet.
Avoiding an upset.
Barcelona have been exceptional throughout this season and are deservedly fighting for a treble on Saturday. Luis Enrique experienced some difficult situations at the start of the new year but he has got his side back on track, scoring plenty of goals and winning matches in style. To beat Juventus they cannot allow themselves to become complacent. The coaching staff probably would have viewed Juventus as the easier option but a job still needs to be done.
The attacking strength of the Catalan side is something that teams from around the globe marvel at. They need no introductions and the success is largely brought down to this trio. With Juve having an ageing defence, quick passes and flicks will easily beat the defender and leave the Italian club side on the back foot. The roaming attack also has the potential to pull the defenders out of position leaving the midfield or wingers to run onto to through balls.
There will be no prizes for guessing that Barcelona will have the majority of possession, leaving the Juve midfield starved of the ball for portions of the game. A bright start and early goal will help unnerve their opposition who haven't competed in a Champions League final since 2003. For Barcelona, the majority of their team have experienced success in a European competition before, while only Morata, Pirlo, Tevez and Evra have tasted victory in the top club competition before. This is defintitely something which could swing in the Catalonians favour.
On Saturday we will be in for a real gem of a football match. Two teams are vying for the coveted treble and two managers are hoping to add optimum success to their first season in charge. It will not be a walk in the park for Enrique's side and Allegri is likely to have a few tricks up his sleeve. For me, the nail biter of a game will edge towards Barcelona. If the Old Lady are still in with a shout with 70-80 minutes played, anything can happen. I just hope it's a moment of sheer magic rather than a costly mistake that will win the game.
Route to the Final
Finishing second in their group, Juventus conceded just four goals, one less than Barcelona, but only hit the back of the net seven times. Their opposition, Barcelona, netted 15 times, with only 4 teams scoring more. Barcelona defeated Manchester City in the last 16, while Juventus easily disposed of 2013 finalists, Borussia Dortmund with an aggregate score of 5-1. In the quarter finals, Barcelona faced a tricky PSG side, coming off the back of an aggregate win over Chelsea in the previous round. Away in the first leg, Neymar netted and Suarez struck twice before a Jeremy Mathieu own goal gave PSG a glimmer of hope. A Neymar brace sealed Barca their semi final place. Juventus took a narrow 1-0 lead against Monaco back to Turin courtesy of an Arturo Vidal penalty and a scoreless draw was enough to send them through.
A big test awaited Juvenuts against the reigning European champions, Real Madrid. Juve took a slim 2-1 lead to the Bernabeu through goals from Carlos Tevez and Alvaro Morata, despite a disappointing performance from the Spanish side. In Madrid, Juve defended gallantly and Madrid old boy, Alvaro Morata netted and sent the Italians to Berlin. Barcelona v Bayern Munich was undoubtedly the glamour tie. Much was expected of Barcelona due to their excellent form and they duly delivered. An astounding 3-0 victory in the Nou Camp left Guardiola's side a mountain to climb. Munich collapsed and conceded 3 goals in the last 15 minutes to effectively seal the deal in this tie. Despite this, they gave it their best crack in Bavaria with fine attacking play, but their defence was their downfall and through to the final Barca went.
A forgone conclusion?
Nobody can argue that the Spanish side will be favourites for the match. They have been quite scintillating to watch at times this season, but Juventus should not be stroked off. They were severely written off in the semi final and triumphed, so it's not a foregone conclusion that they will lose. It is definitely matches like this where, Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci will make their money. In the away leg of the semi final, they repelled every cross that was sent into the Juve box with relative ease. Against Barcelona however, they face a team who is always reluctant to cross into the box. With the lack of pace at the back, a deep line will need to be held, especially with a Barca front three that have netted 120 goals between them. The Old Lady can take confidence from their excellent record this season, conceding just 24 goals in the league alone.
The Juventus midfield will need to help the defence and plug the space in the middle of the pitch, to prevent the unpredictable movement of Messi and co dragging the centre-halves out of position. Looking specifically at the middle of the park, Juventus are well equipped in an attacking sense with Paul Pogba, Andrea Pirlo and Arturo Vidal. Defensively, they will be tested. The Chilean showed us what he could do against Real Madrid in the semi final, and he will need to replicate this if Juventus are to stand any kind of chance at leaving Berlin with their third trophy of the season. During the semi final, particularly in the second leg, Pirlo didn't look his orthodox composed self and conceded possession too often. On the other hand, from set pieces there is no one like him and he can open up even the most secure defences.
In an attacking sense, they are not be as well equipped as Barcelona. Saying that, they have useful operators in Carlos Tevez and Alvaro Morata, who read each other extremely well. Vidal from midfield is also useful in his box to box role while Stephan Lichsteiner and Patrice Evra are widemen capable of delivering a quality cross. On the bench, they have Fernando Llorente to enter the fray and he offers a plan 'B'. Differing to Morata and Tevez, The Basque man is an excellent target man and provide a good platform for crosses. Expect Allegri to turn to him if Juve aren't singing to the correct hymn sheet.
Avoiding an upset.
Barcelona have been exceptional throughout this season and are deservedly fighting for a treble on Saturday. Luis Enrique experienced some difficult situations at the start of the new year but he has got his side back on track, scoring plenty of goals and winning matches in style. To beat Juventus they cannot allow themselves to become complacent. The coaching staff probably would have viewed Juventus as the easier option but a job still needs to be done.
The attacking strength of the Catalan side is something that teams from around the globe marvel at. They need no introductions and the success is largely brought down to this trio. With Juve having an ageing defence, quick passes and flicks will easily beat the defender and leave the Italian club side on the back foot. The roaming attack also has the potential to pull the defenders out of position leaving the midfield or wingers to run onto to through balls.
There will be no prizes for guessing that Barcelona will have the majority of possession, leaving the Juve midfield starved of the ball for portions of the game. A bright start and early goal will help unnerve their opposition who haven't competed in a Champions League final since 2003. For Barcelona, the majority of their team have experienced success in a European competition before, while only Morata, Pirlo, Tevez and Evra have tasted victory in the top club competition before. This is defintitely something which could swing in the Catalonians favour.
On Saturday we will be in for a real gem of a football match. Two teams are vying for the coveted treble and two managers are hoping to add optimum success to their first season in charge. It will not be a walk in the park for Enrique's side and Allegri is likely to have a few tricks up his sleeve. For me, the nail biter of a game will edge towards Barcelona. If the Old Lady are still in with a shout with 70-80 minutes played, anything can happen. I just hope it's a moment of sheer magic rather than a costly mistake that will win the game.
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