Ekun Samuel, |6 June 2015, 9:05AM
With the UEFA Champions League final set to be played and hosted in Olympiastadion Germany with two of the biggest teams in Europe this season, we take a look at a brief run down between both teams. Berlin is the fourth German city to have hosted the European Cup final after Munich (1980, 1993, 1997, 2012), Gelsenkircken (2004) and Stuttgart (1959, 1988). A Spanish club, Real Madrid, won the first final staged in Germany, beating Stade de Reims 2-0 in Stuttgart in 1958/59.
Both teams are superbly on good form to clinch this title, as they both have secured thier domestic titles, double each. The last time both teams met was in 2003 UEFA Champions League knock out stage and Juventus won with Marcelo Zalayeta scoring the winning goal in Camp Nou. But went on to lose the final to thier arch rivals AC-Milan 3-2 on penalties with Luis Enrique and Xavi present then in the Barca team that lost to Juve. Juventus cruised past last season Champions Real Madrid in the semi-final 2-1 aggregate to reach their 8th European cup final so far. They have lost five and won two in the process.
Juventus Final Pedigree:
For Juventus this is their eighth European Cup final. Their record is W2 L5:
1972/73 0-1 v AFC Ajax
1982/83 0-1 v Hamburger SV
1984/85 1-0 v Liverpool FC
1995/96 1-1 v AFC Ajax (4-2 pens)
1996/97 1-3 v Borussia Dortmund*
1997/98 0-1 v Real Madrid CF
2002/03 0-0 v AC Milan (2-3 pens)
*played at Munich’s Olympiastadion.
For Juventus, Buffon is the sole survivor of Juventus’s last final appearance in 2003, when Pirlo was on the opposing side playing for AC-Milan as Juve lost to AC-Milan in the same stadium (Olympiastadion).
Meanwhile, coincidentally this is the stadium Italy won the world cup in the year 2006, so already its not a strange ground for the Italian team.
Barcelona on getting to the final, cruised past Bayern 5-3 aggregate to a scintillating style of play that was difficult for Bayern to contain. Barca who last won the trophy 2011 five years ago are seeking for thier fifth European league trophy.
Barcelona have eight survivors of their 2011 UEFA Champions League final team in their squad in comparison to thier counterpart who has just one in the person of Buffon, the final which they lost to the rival AC-Milan. The players are: Daniel Alves, Gerard Piqué, Xavi Hernández, Andrés Iniesta, Javier Mascherano, Sergio Busquets, Pedro Rodríguez and Lionel Messi. Adriano was an unused substitute.
This is also Barca eight European cup final and Lionel Messi could become the only player to have scored in three UEFA Champions league final, 2009, 2011.
Barcelona final Pedigree:
This is also Barcelona’s eighth European Cup final and their record is W4 L3:
1960/61 2-3 v SL Benfica
1985/86 0-0 v FC Steaua Bucureşti (0-2 pens)
1991/92 1-0 v UC Sampdoria (aet)
1993/94 0-4 v AC Milan
2005/06 2-1 v Arsenal FC
2008/09 2-0 v Manchester United FC
2010/11 3-1 v Manchester United FC.
Juventus are nine games unbeaten in this year UEFA Champions league, and prior to the loss of Barca against Bayern in the semi-final, they were on thier nine match winning streak in the competition.
Lionel Messi has scored 58 goals in the competition, 10 in Champions league with just one more of becoming the tournament’s highest goal scorer, and 5 in Copa dey Rey. Messi, Neymar and Suárez have scored 120 goals between them in all competitions this term, surpassing the 118 Karim Benzema, Cristiano Ronaldo and Gonzalo Higuaín managed for Real Madrid in 2011/12 season.
Can the Bianconeri’s coach Allegri contain the formidable force of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez which have proved unstoppable this season?
