With so much on the line who will emerge as the victors?
Stakes
are incredibly high in the upcoming match-up between Juventus and Real
Madrid. Both sides are determined to be one of the two teams that would
compete in the league's finals.
Juve
want to put an end to a decade-long drought of not being able to make
it to the last two. Despite dominating the domestic competition, the
Bianconeris failed to make a final appearance in the Champions League
since their heartbreaking lost against Milan in 2003. On the other side,
Los Merengues are seeking to go down in the history books as the first
squad to successfully defend the Champions League trophy.
Andrea Pirlo who holds the fourth place as the most capped player in the Italian national team has more reasons for wanting to emerge as a champion. He is said to be playing on his final season in the Serie A and winning the Champions League would seal his very successful stint. After a free transfer from AC Milan last 2011, he has won the Scudetto each year. Apart from that, he won it twice when he was under Ancelotti as part of the Red and Blacks.
“It
would actually be a dream way to end my time in Turin, by winning the
Champions League,” the midfielder said. “But I wouldn’t stop playing
altogether because I’m going to continue for as long as I still have the
desire to train every day. Certainly I wouldn’t stay in Italy – Juve
will be my last Serie A club, no matter what.
“The
United States is an option, but there’s nothing definite yet. I’m still
only thinking about Juve, and besides – let’s get our hands on that
trophy first and then we’ll see.”
With
the imminent reunion between Pirlo and Carlo Ancelotti, both has
expressed their respect towards each other. While Pirlo thought of the
latter as his father, Real's coach see him as a brother.
Even
if Luka Modric and Karim Benzema are still expected to be out of the
lineup because of their knee injuries, the Spanish club are glad to
welcome back their midfielder Gareth Bale. The Welsh has fully
recovered from the calf injury he received against their match at Malaga
last month. He is believed to be a key player to fully retain their
title.
Real
Madrid are slightly favored in this clash but their boss was quick to
insist that his former club should not be underestimated. “Juve have
improved their experience in the Champions League,” he said.
“They
won the league on Saturday and are confident with players with a lot of
experience and really good quality. This is the strength of this team
and Juventus have always had a strong, competitive side, so it’s hard to
win here.
“Having
said this, we want to realize a dream after winning the Champions
League last year by playing another final this year. There are 180
minutes between now and reaching that objective and, at the moment,
we’re in good form.
“We
had a bit of a problem in January and February, but the players are
confident. We have confidence of getting to another final and
we’re-trying to do our best.”
Game is on May 6, 02:45 at Juventus Stadium in Torino.
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