Juventus are the full package, a complete unit rammed with the right blend of youth and experience who are just as capable going forward as they are in defence.
In this season’s Champions League alone the Old Lady have scored 21 and conceded just three, only one of which has come in the knockout stages. Real Madrid on the other hand have scored 32 but have conceded 17, seven of which have come in the knockouts.
The Spaniards may be more prolific going forward, but they have left themselves far too open at the back and therefore aren’t as well-balanced an outfit.
This approach going forward from Real especially won’t go down well against Juve, who will be able to defend, counter and take advantage of their sloppiness at the back in the final.
You also have to look at where the goals are coming from. Real’s top scorer Ronaldo has scored 31.25 per cent of his side’s goals, that’s 10 of their 32 total, which represents an over-dependency on one player; whereas Juve’s top scorer Gonzalo Higuain has only scored 23.8 per cent of his side’s goals, five in 21, showing they aren’t as dependent on one person.
On the whole, you would also have to say that Juventus have beaten harder opposition, in a better manner, to get this far.
They dispatched of Barcelona 3-0 on aggregate in the quarter-finals, and impressive best-newcomers Monaco 4-1 on aggregate in the semis.
Take into consideration that this also represents a last chance for the likes of ageing Juve keeper Gianluigi Buffon (a two-time Champions League runner-up); and redemption for a side, which, rocked by a 2006 match-fixing scandal, hasn’t won a Champions League title in over 20 years; and you would have to say Juve need and want it more.
Italian football also needs it, the last Italian winner, Inter Milan in 2010, was seven years ago now, and that same 2006 scandal, which rocked the entire nation, has often been cited as a reason for the country’s wider decline. There’s also the fact that no side has won the Champions League back-to-back, so Real Madrid can’t possibly win it, can they?
