Bayern Munich midfielder Arturo Vidal has admitted to having mixed feelings about tonight’s trip to Turin.
The Chilean comes up against his former club Juventus for the first time since leaving them last summer and admits he would rather not have to face the Bianconeri yet.
Vidal made 171 appearances for the Turin giants, and played a key role in their march to the Champions League final last season.
“It’s a very special game for me because I’m very grateful to Juve and I still have a lot of affection for them,” Vidal said. “I had four incredible years there and felt at home there – the fans and people loved me and I loved them because they always supported me.
“I would have preferred to have met Juventus only in the semi-final or final because I still have a lot of affection for this club. I follow practically all of their games because I like Italian football. I wasn’t happy with the draw, but that’s football.”
Tomorrow is all that matters now ?? @juventus #forzajuve #uefachampionsleague pic.twitter.com/D3RwA6oErZ
— Paul Pogba (@paulpogba) February 22, 2016
Vidal, who also admitted he turned Manchester United down to move to Germany, insists he is devoted to the Bayern cause and hopes to beat Juve, but he will have a warning for his team-mates not to expect it to be a walkover. The Bundesliga club beat Shakhtar Donetsk 7-0 at the same stage last season, but Juventus are a different prospect with one man in particular concerning Vidal: Paul Pogba.
“He’s going to be one of the best midfielders in the world,” Vidal added. “Games like these, in the last 16 of the Champions League, will help him grow. He’s already a much better player than he was last year. But Juventus also have other dangerous players, like (Paulo) Dybala, who is playing very well, as are (Mario) Mandzukic and (Alvaro) Morata. They’ve got some really dangerous players we have got to watch out for.”
Bayern will nevertheless be regarded as favourites, having beaten Juve 2-0 home and away the last time these two teams met in the quarter-finals three seasons ago. The Bavarians scored more than any other side in the group stage, with 19, and conceded only three.
Bayern, though, will once again have a makeshift defence with Serdar Tasci set to take his Champions League bow for the season while centre-back Medhi Benatia could return from injury with Javi Martinez, Jerome Boateng and Holger Badstuber all out injured.
