As Juventus take on Barcelona in the final of the UEFA Champions League in Berlin, there is no question in anyone’s mind that they are the top two teams in Europe right now. It promises to be a beautiful Saturday night – early Sunday morning of you are in India – as the biggest prize in club football is up for grabs.
About Barcelona, there has never been a question about their credentials – but for Juventus to beat other claimants for the top honors in Europe, such as Chelsea, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid, is quite something – it is a validation of everything manager Massimiliano Allegri has set out to do with them.
Juventus and Barcelona enter the Champions League final in Berlin already as Champions – Juventus have won the Serie A quite easily and Barcelona recovered well early in the year from a dangerous slump in form and won the Spanish La Liga quite comfortably in the end as well.
The question many are asking is, whether Luis Enrique a great coach, or just a lucky man who has the greatest three-man attack in the world playing for him – Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez. Well, if Barcelona win the treble this Saturday, then there won’t be anyone out there who would dare to doubt Enrique. But till he does that, Luis Enrique may not get the respect he truly deserves from football fans all over the world.
What about Juventus? Juventus are a perfect team, strong at the back, compact midfield and a fast attack. They have creativity in the middle of the park with Claudio Marchisio and the sublime Andrea Pirlo, who seems to get better even as he gets older, combined with the dynamic power of Paul Pogba. Up front, there is Real Madrid’s own Alvaro Morata, who sent his old club out of the competition in the semi-final, and the marvelous Carlos Tevez.
Juventus are a terrific counter attacking side who are good on the ball too. And they need to be at their absolute best against Barcelona, who have a completely rejuvenated Messi, who has never looked better.
Barcelona have also been helped by the fact that Ivan Rakitic has proved himself to be a capable replacement for the legendary Xavi. He has in fact freed Iniesta to do his own thing and express himself better. Pique looks solid in the defense and Javier Mascherano has never been better.
What about the front three? Has there ever been a better front three in football? There is a perfect understanding between the trio of Messi, Neymar and Suarez, and they seem to gel perfectly together. They have been playing well since Messi moved to the right and Suarez to the center, with Neymar to the left – which means the balance couldn’t have been better.
Juventus will have a hard time managing them. But if there is one flaw with this perfect clash, it is that Suarez’s old enemy Giorgio Chiellini is unlikely to feature as he is out with a torn calf muscle. What a tragedy!
So, who will win? Hard to say, but we give Barcelona a slight edge. But anything is possible, really.
Watch Barcelona take on Juventus in the final of the UEFA Champions League live on Ten Action at 12:15 AM on Sunday!
