3rd June 2017 Kickoff: 1945hrs Juventus v Real Madrid – Football – Europe – Champions League The European club season is nearing the end for 2016/17 but there is the small matter of the biggest game of all – the UEFA Champions League final. This year’s showpiece takes place in Cardiff and pits current holders Real Madrid against the all conquering Italian champions Juventus who are chasing their first triumph in this competition since 1996. In a repeat of the 1998 final where Real edged out their opponents 1-0, it really is a clash befitting of such an occasion and there can be no arguments that both teams have been the two best club sides in Europe this campaign. It promises to be one not to be missed.
This will be Juve’s second Champions League final in three seasons but they will be hoping for much better fortunes against this Spanish opponent having lost out 3-1 to Barcelona last time. Similar to 2015, Juve are again looking to complete a famous treble by winning this competition and it would cap off their greatest ever season if they managed to achieve it. Since qualifying top of their group before Christmas, there has barely been a moment’s worry for Max Allegri’s men as they have coasted their way to the final. It’s not often you can say that but with aggregate scores of 3-0, 3-0 and 4-1 against Porto, Barcelona and Monaco, respectively, in the knockout stages underline just how dominant this Juventus team have been thus far. There was a feeling two years ago that they carried a fair bit of fortune en route to the final in Berlin and could easily have been eliminated a number of times. That’s certainly not the case this time around and as the majority of their squad is still the same, you have to think the experience of the Barcelona defeat will stand them in good stead for this one.
Another Champions League final and another appearance for Real Madrid. Whilst their opponents will be playing in their second final in three seasons, Real are preparing to play in their third in four seasons. Unlike Juve, the Spanish giants can fondly recall their participation in those games having won both – strangely enough against their city rivals Atletico. Winning never gets boring around the Bernabeu, especially when history can be made and that’s the case on Saturday. No club has have retained the trophy since it switched to being the Champions League in 1993 – Zinedine Zidane’s can be that team. Of course, Real are no strangers to winning European club football’s biggest prize in consecutive years having won it five years in a row in the 1950’s/60’s, but we’re now in a more competitive era which is why so many holders of the trophy have failed to oblige the following season. It’s actually only the first time since 2009 that the current champions have even contested the final which indicates how hard it is to go back to back. With their first La Liga title since 2012 in the bag, attention now very much switches to becoming champions of Europe for a 12th time.
It’s fair to say that Italian football has not been at its strongest in recent seasons which makes Juventus’ return to this stage even more remarkable. The club continues to take all before them domestically and that includes their rivals best players. Gonzalo Higuain was the latest to be poached from an Italian opponent for an eye-watering £75m. Considering Higuain will be 30 at the end of this year, it was a remarkable amount of money for his services but an indication that the club felt they were close to achieving their goal of winning the Champions League. The sale of Paul Pogba certainly allowed them to part with that amount of money and it has proven to be a shrewd piece of business thus far. Higuain’s goals in the first leg of their semi final against Monaco were significant for a number of reasons but from a man who has suffered so much disappointment in his career – both individually and collectively – he could be on the cusp of removing all of that hurt and doing so against his former employers who deemed him not good enough.
It was difficult to gauge how good Real’s triumph was last season as they were handed a kind passage to the final and because it took a penalty shootout to separate the two Madrid teams. There can be no doubt how good this Real team is, however, as they have came through every test that has been put in front of them – and with something to spare, too. Napoli, Bayern Munich and Atletico (again) have all tried and failed to get the better of them over two legs this season but Zidane’s men have gotten stronger game by game. It’s been made all that more impressive considering that it has been done without the services of one of their Galaticos in Gareth Bale. The Welshman has been troubled with injuries throughout the season and looks set for a place on the bench as the mercurial Isco continues to deputise. The natives in Cardiff may not be best pleased about that but there’s no doubting how impressive Isco has been.
Juventus v Real Madrid Betting Tip
This final really does have everything and many side stories in addition. A clash between two Latin giants; two domestic champions squaring off against each other; the current holders returning; Higuain’s personal quest against his former employers and even the small matter of Zidane coming up against the team he made his name with during his playing days. For regular readers of this column you will hopefully have taken my advice back in August and backed Juventus outright. We came extremely close last year to landing the spoils with Atletico Madrid only to be denied in the cruelest of way – let’s hope for better this time around.
I am happy to side with my ante-post bet for the majority of my interest in this one but there is one bet I am really keen on. The match itself pits two very different styles against each other as the formidable defence of Juve meets the most lethal attack in the games – inclusive of Cristiano Ronaldo. If there is one team capable of stopping Real’s gluttony of attacking stars then it’s Juventus but to do that for the whole 90 minutes is an incredible ask. Champions League finals are often close affairs and I expect that to be the same again on Saturday with little to choose between them. Recent finals have also seen a strong trend in both teams scoring within 90 minutes. Both teams to score has landed in 10 of the last 12 finals and it looks more than likely to happen again this weekend.
Both teams to score 21/20 @ Betfair
