Can Juventus defy the writing on the wall in Berlin

And then there were two.

A journey that started with 32 sides in the group stage will now draw to a close in front of 75,000 fans inside the Olympiastadion in Berlin. Millions more will watch on in Turin, Barcelona and elsewhere.

On their way to the final, both Barcelona and Juventus have conquered the best Europe has to offer. For Barcelona it was former coach Pep Guardiola’s juggernaut in the semi-final, for Juventus it was the defending champions of Europe themselves. Before that, the likes of French and English champions were also tamed.

Group Stage Progress

Now just 90 minutes separate the two sides from glory and a historic treble.

With the best front trio in world football and a certain Lionel Messi among them, Barcelona are the clear favourites but it would be folly to write off the Italians. With question marks surrounding the state of Italian football and a lack of domestic competition for the Old Lady, the Bianconeri are out to prove a point. None more so perhaps than coach Massimiliano Allegri, whose appointment was criticised by almost everyone associated with Italy’s most successful club.

Player Focus

Now they lie on the brink of history and there is a quiet confidence in the Juventus camp. This Barcelona side may intimidate many, but with the likes of Gianluigi Buffon, Andrea Pirlo and Carlos Tevez among their ranks, Juventus are certainly no pushovers themselves.

Taming the beast that is Barcelona

But Juventus know the task that lies ahead will not be easy and they are under no delusions about their chances.

“Against Real we might have had a 35 per cent chance of going through, so I guess the chances of now winning the trophy against this Barca side are even slimmer,” said Buffon.

However, all is not doom and gloom for Juve.

Barcelona may have the best attack but if there is one defence that can shut out the Blaugrana then it is the one that will take to the Berlin pitch in Juventus colours. Defensive leader Giorgio Chiellini may be ruled out of the tie but the serial Serie A winners welcome back Andrea Barzagli from injury, and the meanest defence of Europe relies on more than just one man to keep out opposition attackers.

Juventus are built around Andrea Pirlo dictating play in midfield and the Old Lady may be the team in the world with the personnel in the middle of the park to match Barcelona’s. Paul Pogba, Arturo Vidal and Claudio Marchisio can all run from box to box throughout the game, just as easily threading open a defence as providing cover to the back four.

With the trio harrying opposition midfielders and Pirlo’s range of passing, Juventus are extremely dangerous on the counter — perhaps Barcelona’s only weakness.

The possession conundrum

While the side that won the treble six years ago focused primarily on short passes to dominate possession, Jose Enrique has managed to implement a much more versatile form of attack, with long passes, counters and quick interchanges between a fluid front three all just as likely to produce a goal as Barcelona’s fabled tiki taka.

Allegri cannot afford to rely on producing a clean sheet in this match and needs to ensure his side do not focus so much on defending that they negate their own attacking threat in the process.

The Spanish trio of Andres Iniesta, Xavi and Sergio Busquets nullified Andrea Pirlo in the Euro 2012 final — leading to Spain winning 4-0 — and Enrique will be sending them out with the simple instruction of ‘more of the same’. However, the 36-year-old is not the easiest man to keep quiet and can produce a game-changing pass in the blink of an eye even from deep inside his own half. This means that Barcelona’s attacking trident will have to defend from the front.

It will be very easy to roll over in the face of the Barcelona juggernaut but Allegri’s men are surely made of sterner stuff than that.

The Catalans though will be walking out as the firm favourites and will settle for nothing less than a fifth Champions League crown and a second treble, and in the process, one hell of a farewell for Xavi. Is the writing already on the wall in Berlin?

Published in The Express Tribune, June 6^th, 2015.

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