Juventus vs Real Madrid: Comparing the Champions League finalists

Sport360 staff 20:11 02/06/2017
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Mail
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • WhatsApp
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • It’s easy to simplify Saturday night’s final in Cardiff as the best attacking side in world football against the game’s best defensive outfit, but the reality is both teams are far more nuanced in their strengths and weaknesses.

    Madrid’s best attributes may lie in the final third but their backline issues are not as drastic as in previous years; while Juventus under Massimiliano Allegri have grown into a fluid offensive unit to compliment their obvious defensive discipline.

    Sport360’s Serie A and La Liga experts, Adam Digby and Andy West discuss the merits of each team going through five major departments in the matchday squad…

    GOALKEEPERS

    Adam: Obviously a position of great strength for Juventus, with Gigi Buffon arguably the greatest player ever to pull on a pair of gloves, his longevity only adding to his already fantastic legacy. Now 39 years old, he is clearly coming towards the end of his career, but he remains a fantastic goalkeeper who is in full command of his area and is excellent at organising the defence in front of him.

    Strong on set pieces and corners, he is rarely beaten from long range and continues to shine in one-on-one situations with strikers shrinking when confronted by the Juventus captain. In truth, Buffon has no real weaknesses despite his advancing years and Real Madrid will find it difficult to beat him, particularly when he is so well protected.

    Andy: Keylor Navas is widely regarded as Real Madrid’s weakest link, and there is every chance the Costa Rican international will be jettisoned at the end of the season as David de Gea heads to the Bernabeu. That perception is not entirely fair, however, because Navas has generally performed very well ever since inheriting the goalkeeping position vacated by iconic captain Iker Casillas.

    They were very big gloves to fill, but Navas has done so more than capably – even if he occasionally looks as though he’s on the verge of a disastrous error. Indeed, sometimes he does quite literally drop the ball, but he also has a habit of rapidly making up for his mistakes with jaw-dropping saves.

    Distribution is certainly not among his strong points, but he deals well with crosses and is an excellent shot-stopper. Little used back-up Kiko Casilla is very inexperienced at this level if needed.

    DEFENCE

    Adam: To many casual observers, this will be seen as the strongest area of the team. With a deep and versatile squad, Max Allegri can tailor his backline – and indeed his entire formation – to nullify a variety of opponents. However, since January he has opted for a 4-2-3-1 framework that has truly brought the best from them, and in the semi-final against AS Monaco he made a small tweak that made a massive difference.

    Fielding Andrea Barzagli at right-back, Juve could now switch to a back three when they had possession, the veteran Italian joining Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci in a move that neutralised the counter-attacking pace of Kylian Mbappe and co. That will almost certainly be Allegri’s set up in the final too, Alex Sandro rounding out the unit, the Brazilian bringing pace, power and defensive diligence to the left flank.

    Andy: There can be no doubting the individual quality of Madrid’s back four. Dani Carvajal, Marcelo, Sergio Ramos and Raphael Varane would walk into practically any team in the world, and versatile understudy Nacho is hugely underrated. But lapses in concentration sometimes make the backline less than the sum of their parts, with Varane and Ramos particularly liable to committing costly errors.

    Their particular defensive weakness is on the flanks, where the lack of width in Zidane’s midfield diamond – or the regular laziness of Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale if they are fielded as wingers – can leave full-backs Carvajal and Marcelo outnumbered.

    Conversely, the two full-backs have a key role to play going forward, using their boundless energy to provide most of the team’s attacking width – which can also leave them exposed to fast counter-attacks. And, of course, Varane and especially Ramos pose a major goalscoring threat from set-pieces.

    MIDFIELD

    Adam: Juve ostensibly field a two-man central midfield, with Sami Khedira and Miralem Pjanić the first choice pairing. They are often joined by the two wide attacking players when Juve defend however, the efforts of those ahead of them ensuring that the duo are not outnumbered in the middle of the park.

    Pjanic provides some excellent passing and is deadly at free-kicks, while Khedira’s use of space and his late runs into the box are vital. The two qualities they lack both concern pace, neither player particularly quick across the ground but their positional awareness usually ensures they are not caught out.

    The team looks much sharper when Claudio Marchisio is present, because as well as being quick himself, he passes the ball much sooner than the other two men, adding a sharpness to Juve’s attacking play.

    Andy: In terms of knitting the team together, arguably Madrid’s most important player is Casemiro, whose positional instincts and rugged physicality allow him to brilliantly protect the back four. The Brazilian will play a major role in minimising the impact of Paulo Dybala, as well as providing Toni Kroos and Luka Modric with the freedom to get on the ball.

    Those two players are wonderful in possession and capable of taking over the game, with Kroos boasting an awesome range of passing while Modric has the intelligence and ability to create space between the lines of the opposition’s midfield and defence.

    Completing the quartet is Isco, who has been Madrid’s best player in recent weeks and will play at the tip of the diamond, with plenty of freedom to roam. Although he nominally starts in the centre, Isco can drift onto either flank or push upfield as a third striker.

    ATTACK

    Adam: Since Allegri made his tactical change, the greatest difference has unquestionably been seen in attack, where Gonzalo Higuain is supported by a trident of forward-thinking players. Paulo Dybala tucks in behind his compatriot, his skill and invention able to open up even the best defences, while he offers a left-footed alternative to Pjanic at set pieces.

    Mario Mandzukic adds both aerial prowess and a physical presence, while his willingness to drop back and defend is key to making the system function. The inclusion of Barzagli also allowed Dani Alves to take up a more advanced role on the right, and that resulted in the former Barcelona man weighing in with three assists and a goal in the two meetings with Monaco.

    Perhaps the one weakness is Higuain’s reputation for bottling big games, but he too was on the scoresheet in Juve’s semi-final triumph and has also scored in vital clashes with Roma, Fiorentina and bagged four goals in four tough games against his old club Napoli.

    Andy: Cristiano Ronaldo is in truly spectacular form, plundering 14 goals in his last nine games including Champions League hat-tricks against both Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid. Ronaldo has evolved into a pure goalscorer, carrying out nearly all his work inside the penalty box and contributing very little to build-up play, but his understanding with Isco has been devastating in recent weeks and he remains among the most potent attackers in the world with an unmatched hunger for goalscoring.

    Karim Benzema has endured a patchy season, capable of velvety touches of magic – such as his assist for Isco in the semi-final at Atletico – but equally liable to drift through games almost unnoticed. If he is struggling, however, Zinedine Zidane does have the option of introducing from the bench former Juve man Alvaro Morata, who has scored goals at a much faster rate than Benzema this season.

    BENCH

    Adam: New roles for Barzagli and Alves meant that Juan Cuadrado dropped to the bench, strengthening arguably Juve’s most problematic area. The Bianconeri have a raft of reliable but ultimately functional players sitting on the sidelines, but nothing close to the number of match winners Real Madrid can call upon.

    However, while the likes of Tomas Rincon and Stephan Lichtsteiner might not have the individual quality to alter a result, Juve’s true weapon on the bench is Allegri. The Coach has proved time and time again that he can make in-game adjustments to help his team, and the number of versatile players he can call upon only adds to that ability.

    If Juventus need a spark in the second half, it is most likely to be provided either by Cuadrado or the Coach, who can rely on his squad to understand and accept his instructions.

    ​Andy: ​Zidane has the luxury of world-class substitutes in practically every position. He is particularly well blessed in the forward positions, starting with Morata as a goalscoring option. Perhaps his first choice from the bench, however, will be Gareth Bale – assuming the Welshman is fit enough to appear in his home city.

    Bale has suffered a pretty mediocre season and was playing poorly before his calf injury in April, but he is still undoubtedly capable of making a major impact especially against a tiring defence.

    The same is true of another versatile winger, Marco Asensio, whose solo effort against Bayern in the quarter-final second leg reaffirmed he is destined for the top. With punchy winger Lucas Vazquez and goalscoring creator James Rodriguez also available, it’s clear Zidane has no shortage of attacking options. Mateo Kovacic is an energetic back-up in midfield, and Nacho can comfortably appear anywhere across the backline.

    Recommended