Article by Raffaele (@ItalianoCalcio)
Everything is all set-in place. What started 9 months ago has almost reached its conclusion. Juventus and Real Madrid will square off in the Champions League final. These two clubs have been the best and most consistent throughout this competition and both deserve to be the final two standing.
For Real Madrid, this will be their second straight final and they will look to be the first team to win back-to-back Champions League titles since Milan did it back in 1989-1990. Of course, we all know Real Madrid has won more Champions League titles (11) than any other club, it is in their DNA. Juventus has not won the Champions League since 1996, when they beat Ajax. Juventus were in the final two years, when they lost to Barcelona. Spanish clubs have won this competition three straight years. The last time an Italian club won the Champions League was in 2010, when Inter beat Bayern Munich. Real Madrid and Juventus met in the Champions League final once before, back in 1998, which saw Real Madrid win 1-0.
When this season started, Juventus had one primary goal in mind; win the Champions League. Juventus spent a lot of money this summer bringing in players like Higuain and Pjanic. Now the Bianconeri are just one win away from achieving this goal. When the game ended against Monaco, Allegri let out a little smile to show his happiness, but instantly walked into the locker room while his players celebrated on the field. Allegri is all business and knows the job is not done. He was quoted saying, “We've reached the crunch phase of the season and we need to give things some serious thought because we haven't won anything yet”.
Juventus has not won anything yet, Allegri is right, but at the same time, they have a shot to win everything. They are close to winning the scudetto, will be playing Lazio in the Coppa Italia final, and of course Real Madrid in the Champions League final. Juve can win the treble, something Inter did back in 2010.
Juventus are known for their stone wall defense. They have only conceded 3 goals in the Champions League and pitched a shutout against Barcelona over two legs. This time they will look to shutdown Real Madrid's attack led by their star Cristiano Ronaldo. Certainly, a lot of the build-up talk will be about Juve'sdefense vs. Real Madrid's attack. But the bigger key to watch might be how does Real Madrid's defense deal with the likes of Higuain, Dybala, and Mandzukic.
So many of storylines to consider surrounding this matchup:
• Juve's BBC vs. Real Madrid's BBC
• Higuain vs. his former club
• Zidane coaching against his former club
• Buffon vs. CR7
• Bale plays in his home of Wales (barring his recovery time)
Juventus have dominated domestically in Italy for 6 years now. This is something Antonio Conte started and Allegri has taken to the next level and put his own stamp on. The only way to put a bow tie on this run of dominance would be with a Champions League title. On June 3rd, it will all be determined.
