Michael Ballack: Messi, Neymar and Suarez are a bit like divas
Former Germany captain Michael Ballack was asked about any weaknesses the current Barcelona team may have that Juventus could exploit in the Champions League final. The former Leverkusen midfielder pointed a finger towards Barcelona’s defence.
“Of course they have weaknesses. Most obviously in terms of their defence: remember Bayern Munich scored three goals in the second leg, so they’re clearly vulnerable,” he said.
Then he somewhat surprisingly also spoke of what many would say is Barcelona’s primary strength and pointed out what he thought could be their undoing.
“Their biggest strength can also become a weakness,” said Ballack. “Those three forwards are all superstars. They are a little bit like divas sometimes when you see them: they don’t like to defend.”
The former Chelsea man went on to speak of other areas that Juventus could exploit, saying, “It will be interesting to see how Juventus can create unhappiness in their game.
“These kind of players like to have the ball, they want to play, they want to enjoy movements, to pass the ball around. If Juve makes sure that can’t happen, as the game goes on they’ll become more and more frustrated and they can lose their discipline.
“That’s the key. That’s the time where Juventus must take over because an Italian team never loses discipline. Their players live for and thrive off this discipline.”
Ballack believes that Juventus are a streetwise team and that the Catalan side would do well to be aware of them.
When asked for his opinion on how the final in Berlin would play out, he also made a prediction. He said: “It would be great for Italian football if Juventus could win it. I didn’t think they’d get through against Real Madrid, but they did and now they will believe they can go all the way.
“It will be tight, but I will go 1-0 for Juventus.”