As football fans across the world get into the frenzy of Saturday’s UEFA Champions League Final between Juventus and Barcelona FC, the odds seems to favour Barcelona for the trophy.
With talismanic player, Lionel Messi in fine form alongside his Barcelona attackers, the Spanish side are odds-on favourite to clinch an unprecedented treble this season.
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| Lionel Messi |
But Naij.com brings you four key reasons the Argentine may not be able to inspire his team to victory over the Italian side making its Champions League final for the first time in 12 years.
1. Pressure To Score In Record Third Final
If Lionel Messi scores against Juventus, the FC Barcelona forward will make UEFA Champions League history by becoming the first player to find the net in three different finals. His goals against Manchester United in the 2009 and 2011 finals were the other two times he has netted in a UCL final.
With the kind of player he is and the way Barcelona is structured, Messi is likely to be the focal point of a predictable three-pronged attack including Luiz Suarez and Neymar, and the Blaugrana may play into the hands of the Juventus’ defenders who are already aware of the situation on ground.
2. Juventus’ Mean Defence
This match against the Bianconeri will present Messi with the most difficult defence to penetrate of all the teams he has played against this season. Seven goals conceded and six clean sheets in all of their twelve matches played in the Champions League this season means that Juventus are by far the side with the best defensive record this season.
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With Barca’s prolific forwards on fire this season, they are more likely to run riot at any defence but in Juventus, they shall meet a really strong resistance and this may yet prove as one of the biggest test of the season for the la liga 2015 champions nay Messi.
3. The Juventus players want to make history
Since their Caciopoli scandal in 2006, they have returned to win and dominate the Serie A but have never been able to replicate their successes in the Champions League when it mattered most. But since the employment of Massimiliano Allegri as the manager of the Italian club early last year, they have grown in confidence and are looking more like a Champions league winning side again.
Messi’s major target, Gianlugi Buffon, is the only surviving player from Juventus’ last appearance in a Champions League final, and he poses the greatest threat to the Barcelona forward’s attempt to re-emerge as the all time leading goalscorer in the competition. With their sights set on the elusive UCL trophy, it will take more than a miracle for Messi to run riot against Juventus.
4. The Italian Side Factor
The singular fact that Juventus is an Italian team is a big issue for Barcelona. It is common sense for any experienced coach not to underrate any Italian side. Such was their negligence at the 2006 World Cup that they took the entire world of football by storm and won the competition in a dramatic fashion, the same Buffon was in goal for them in that competition.
The experience in the team is such that every department, from defence to the front, has players who have either won a Champions League medal before or have played in the final of a major competition before. While at 27 years of age, Messi could be seen as a veteran of the Champions League already, he is not likely to have the final say against Juventus when the pair meet tomorrow.
The stage is now set for an epic finale as football enthusiasts and lovers shift their attention to Berlin for top notch football action.
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