Can this Juventus team reach the pinnacle of European football?
When was the last time we watched a perfect football team? A team which has everything; creativity, pace, good defensive structure, resilience, and a Godly figure to inspire themselves to new heights?
A team which has a potential to go down in history as one of the greatest? People tend to think of the Bayern Munich sides of the early to mid-2010s which won the treble in 2013, the Manchester City side of last year which won the Premier League by accumulating a 100 points.
But the truth is that they were well-oiled machines which were on their day the best but had evident stumbling blocks.
While that Bayern Munich side never reached another champions league final after 2013 even after retaining the core of their group and adding even more talent (Lewandowski, Hummels), the Manchester City from last year which claims to be one of the most talented squads in premier league history if not the most are finding it difficult to retain their crown . The Real Madrid team of the late 2010s which won 3 back to back champions league dominating Europe fell face first in La Liga on multiple occasions and ended up winning it only once. The only real team which pops into our mind is the Guardiola driven Barcelona side of the late 2000s and early 2010s which dominated La Liga and Europe and had God-like figure in Messi in his prime in their ranks along with other talented world-class, legendary players.
Exactly a decade after Barcelona empire began, a new team is arising in Italy, team which has been winning Serie A for the better part of this decade but Europe's crown has been eluding them for more than 2 Decades now, Juventus are hungry for their third Champions League title.
It has reached such a level that the Serie A does not matter to them anymore. Juventus have been Serie A champions seven times this decade and will continue to dominate Italy for years to come. Due to this, their sole purpose is to win the Champions League. After winning their last Champions league in 1996, they have finished runners up on five different occasions which have been difficult for them to swallow. They have had many great players grace their turf in the form of Zinedine Zidane, Fabio Cannavaro, Gianluigi Buffon, Zlatan Ibrahimovic but none have been able to win Europe's biggest prize for them. Frustration has reached a climax as they are not even the second best team in Italy regarding the Champions league as both Milan sides have won the competition more than them. Falling victims to both Barcelona and Real Madrid in 2015 and 2017 champions league finals and the realization that their legendary backline might be in the twilight of their careers have made them take the final push.
Juventus have both Bonucci and Chiellini at the heart of their defence, a luxury which not many teams in modern football possess. Perhaps the best centre back partnership of this decade; they are brick walls through which very extremely talented players can pass. Blessed with good fullbacks, Alex Sandro and Joao Cancelo are adept at both attacking and defensive situations and have a part to play in a lot of Juventus's goals this year.
They identified the immense potential of Miralem Pjanic and brought him from Roma before he had a made a great name for himself. Sami Khedira and Blaise Matuidi are the powerhouses in midfield and give protection to the defence while guiding up and coming midfielders like Emre Can and Bentancur to be future stars.
They have a nippy winger in the form of Juan Cuadrado who on his day can give any fullback a nightmare and Douglas Costa who can almost outpace any defender in the world. The magic of Paulo Dybala playing just behind the strikers have been mesmerizing leading to talks of both Barcelona and Real Madrid scouting him. Mario Mandzukic continues to be an effective striker still capable of scoring vital goals in big situations.
And they have bought the King, the king who has successfully ruled both the Premier League and La Liga with Manchester United and Real Madrid, the winner of 5 Champions leagues and 5 Ballon d'Ors, a king who knows only how to win, Cristiano Ronaldo remains hungry as ever. Holding the record for most number of goals scored in Champions league history, he is the symbolization of Europe's biggest football tournament. A gun for hire, he has been asked by this iconic club to do everything he can to win the prize for them as he visibly is in the twilight of his career and wishes to go out on a high by touching his most favourite trophy for one last time.
Under the guidance of a brilliant tactician like Max Allegri, this team has the potential to dominate Europe and write themselves in footballing history as one of the greatest sides ever.