At the beginning of last season, I wrote an article titled "Juventus will win the
Serie
A this year and the Champions League next year". I for one will admit
that at the time it seemed a ridiculously audacious article to write. I
mean, all you had to do was look at
Juventus at the time to see they were in tatters. The
Bianconeri
had just come out of a season where they finished seventh in the
league, had sacked several coaches and had players moving around left,
right and centre.
However, just a handful of matches into the 2011-12 Italian
Serie A it had all became clear. Antonio Conte's
Juventus was not like the
Juventus who were still recovering from the consequences of
Calciopoli.
No.
They were something more.
And
Juventus tifosi everywhere will tell you that Conte's first match in charge of
Juventus against
Parma in the new
Juventus Stadium was something special. All of a sudden, there was this belief that
Juventus were back—a belief that, in reality, was never truly realised since relegation to
Serie B.
Claudio Villa/Getty Images
To this day I cannot tell you whether it was the new coach, the new roster, the new stadium or new management. Whatever it was,
Juventus stormed home to take home the
Scudetto—undefeated...Europe was now on the agenda.
There is no denying that not many people expected
Juventus
to qualify out of their Champions League group, let alone come out
undefeated with the best defensive record in the competition...after
all, how could
Chelsea possibly get knocked out. And now, after a 3-0 demolition of
Celtic at
Parkhead, it seems
Juventus are shaping up as potential finalists in everyone's books.
David Ramos/Getty Images
Going back on my words of roughly one-and-a-half years ago, I would think it naive to say
Juventus have this year's
UCL wrapped up, simply because,
Juventus aren't the best team in this year's competition—Barcelona are. And I believe at this current point, the
Bianconeri
could deal with any side left in Europe except Tito Vilanova's
squad—more on those potential match-ups as the competition progresses.
The statistics of this year's competition (
via Whoscored) probably serve as an indication that The Old Lady isn't quite at the level of
Barca just yet (adjusted to group stage matches only):
| Area | Barcelona | Juventus |
| Average possession per game (%) | 75.5 | 48.4 |
| Average pass succession rate (%) | 91.6 | 82.8 |
| Average shots per match | 16.7 | 19.4 |
| Goals | 11 | 12 |
| Goals conceded | 5 | 4 |
| Average dribbles per game | 9 | 4.6 |
| Average interceptions per game | 13.5 | 22.3 |
Statistically and tactically,
Juventus have a better defensive capability than Barcelona. Despite playing with three at the back,
Juventus actually have one of the strongest
backlines in all of Europe, testament to how well organised the
Bianconeri are in general.
However, what Barcelona may lack in brute strength, they make up for in attack...and the thing with
Barca is, they can attack from anywhere on the pitch. It is why Vilanova's side doesn't need a
brickwall-like defence. Their mobility at the back serves them well, whilst they may concede a few more, they create much more.
Claudio Villa/Getty Images
Possession wise, the La Liga leaders are unbeatable at 75.5 percent. Surprisingly,
Juve's
possession statistics in this year's competition are quite low at 48.4
percent, especially considering just how good Conte's side have played
up until this point. It isn't testament to the quality of their midfield
either, with Andrea
Pirlo, Claudio
Marchisio and Arturo Vidal pulling the strings to great effect.
It's hard to really compare anything to the functionality of Sergio
Busquets, Andre
Iniesta and
Xavi.
They are simply phenomenal when played together. When we take a closer
look however, what we notice is that both the Italian's and Spanish's
middle three are based on a similar principle.
That is, you have your playmaker—in
Xavi and
Pirlo—your creative spark—in
Iniesta and
Marchisio—and you have your engine room—in
Busquets and Vidal. It's an interesting, but extremely effective method of approach and is why
Juve's midfield is indeed Barcelona's closest rival.
But whilst Conte's midfield scores a majority of
Juventus' goals, Barcelona's midfield creates them. It is here where the team from Catalonia really takes the cake though...upfront.
Stu Forster/Getty Images
Juventus lack a world class forward, that's no secret, and in the big matches, this glaring shortage will come to the surface. Lionel
Messi is—of course—in a league of his own and it is the ability
Barca have to rely on him to deliver when they need them most which sets them apart from
Juventus and indeed the rest of the world.
Sure, the
Bianconeri
find the back of the net sufficiently, but an over-reliance of goals
from midfield isn't necessarily the best thing for a side shaping up as
one of the favourites to bring the Champions League trophy back to
Turin.
With
Juventus all but guaranteed a passage through to the quarter finals of the
UCL, a
Juve-Barca tie is still on the cards. Speaking from the perspective of a
Bianconeri fan, that particular tie can wait until the final, because ultimately, Barcelona are the best side in all of Europe...but
Juventus aren't that far behind.
Where do you think
Juventus stand in a European context at this point in time?
