And here come the new European champions. Taking over from Real Madrid ... Barcelona! Luis Enrique - what a first season he’s had as manager! - is the subject of a bear hug from Platini. Once all the players have taken their place on the podium, old big ears is handed over to Xavi, whose last act of a long, storied Barcelona career is to lift the European Cup! Down comes the ticker tape, and it’s party time in Berlin for Barca. Let’s leave them to it as they bounce around the Olympiastadion pitch, taking a look at their new exalted place on the roll of honour:
10: Real Madrid
7: AC Milan
5: Liverpool, Bayern Munich, Barcelona
4: Ajax
At the rate Barca are going - it’s four wins in ten years - Real and Milan will looking nervously over their shoulders. Good night and sweet dreams, everyone!
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Barcelona form a guard of honour for the officials, as they go and collect their Uefa trinkets. But of course it’s really for Juventus, who are warmly applauded by the victors as they collect their runners-up medals. Pirlo seems a little happier now, and receives a warm hug and kiss from Uefa bigwig Michel Platini. Patrice Evra and Paul Pogba get one too.
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That really was an astonishing game of football. The most entertaining Champions League final for years. End-to-end excitement pretty much from the get-go. Barcelona deserved to win - they were the dominant team for the most part - but Juve gave them a good working over for a sizeable chunk of that second half, a period during which the result really was in doubt. It took a huge effort from Juventus to stay with a simply brilliant Barcelona team, and for that they should be applauded. Many wouldn’t have been able to hang on. But eventually Barca’s class told. Barcelona have their fifth European Cup, joining Liverpool and Bayern Munich at that mark on the roll of honour. Poor old Juve now hold the record for final defeats, this being their sixth. But everyone should go away feeling proud. Only one team will be lifting the trophy, of course, so it might take a while for that last point to kick in with Juve.
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BARCELONA BECOME EUROPEAN CHAMPIONS FOR THE FIFTH TIME!!! Juventus 1-3 Barcelona
Neymar’s goal is the last kick of the final! Barcelona are the winners of the 2015 Champions League! And become the first-ever side to win a second Treble! Neymar and Messi bounce around in glee. Poor old Andrea Pirlo is in tears. What a final that’s been. Both teams were brilliant. It’s just that one team was more brilliant than the other.
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GOAL! Juventus 1-3 Barcelona (Neymar 90+7)
Bonucci looks to hoick forward on the halfway line. Dani Alves handles it past him. Free kick. A chance for Juve to load the box, and throw a Hail Mary pass forward. But Barca clear, and break forward. Pedro slips the ball to the left for Neymar, who smashes home from the edge of the area to seal it!
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90 min +6: Suarez is finally replaced by Pedro.
90 min +5: Suarez, who looks to have won the Champions League for Barcelona, limps off. He does this from the far corner, miles from the bench, and isn’t above milking this for the full worth.
90 min +4: Messi busies himself down the left and wins a corner. Barca don’t do much with it, but that’s not really the point. The clock continues to tick round.
90 min +3: Llorente looks to turn on the edge of the Barca box. He’s about to shoot, or lay off to Pogba, but is blocked out of it by a stunning Mascherano challenge. Barca clear.
90 min +2: Marchisio hoicks long. Llorente wins the header and feeds Tevez, who cuts in from the left and looks to curl one into the top right. But there’s not enough on the ball, and ter Stegen gathers with ease.
90 min +1: Rakitic is replaced by Mathieu. Some professional clock management going down here.
90 min: There will be five added minutes. Five tense, wonderful added minutes. Suarez nearly sends Messi scampering clear down the middle. But Barzagli gets in the way.
89 min: Marchisio, 25 yards out, threads a low shot through a thicket of legs towards the bottom right. ter Stegen does marvellously well to tip the ball round for a corner, and the set piece is easily dealt with by Barca. That was so nearly the goal that’d take us to extra time! Marchisio has been magnificent.
88 min: Evra goes down in a tangle with Jordi Alba, and is replaced by Coman.
87 min: Suarez falls backwards, his right leg planted in the turf. Ooyah, oof, that’s really put pressure on his knee. He’s in real pain, but eventually gets up. The break jiggers Barca’s concentration, though, Llorente nearly breaking clear into the area down the left, his eventual cross not quite finding Pereyra. ter Stegen smothers in a panic.
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85 min: Llorente comes on for Morata.
84 min: Dani Alves zips down the right and hooks a cross into the centre. Suarez takes the ball down, swivels, and screws a weak shot wide right from 12 yards. Here’s Adam Wilson: “Well I am grateful I’m a Forest fan (64 min) and especially that we won (Twice! As many times as Juventus!) when colour TV had been invented or it’d seem like even longer ago.”
82 min: Messi earns a free kick down the right. He takes a while to get to his feet, though he’s only running down the clock, which is not Juve’s friend. Xavi’s set piece is cleared, but Rakitic plays it back into the Juve box, a delightful pitching wedge down the inside-right channel. It drops over Pique’s shoulder. The big defender waits for it to land, then belts a rising shot over the bar from a tight-ish angle. A real chance to put this final to bed, though. How Barca will wish that had dropped to Messi, Suarez or Neymar.
80 min: Juve make their first change, Pereyra coming on for Vidal. “To Matt Dony’s silver lining list might I add Liverpool’s fantastic new kit deal?” quips Peter Oh.
79 min: ter Stegen isn’t the most secure keeper. Rakitic concedes a needless corner down the left. The ball’s hit long, Pogba rising at the far post after a ter Stegen flap. The keeper’s fortunate that Pogba heads over from close range. What a chance!
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78 min: Iniesta is replaced by Xavi, making his final appearance in a Barcelona shirt. “Hold on. Liverpool didn’t sell Aspas, only sent him out on loan?” wonders Ann Sharpe. “He’s still on the books? Let’s get him back so we have a decent corner taker next season.” Satire, ladies and gentlemen.
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77 min: Now Barca are tearing upfield, five on two. Jordi Alba slips as he enters the area down the left, and the danger’s gone, though a free kick’s soon earned, five yards outside the box, just to the left of goal. Another very dangerous position. But Messi’s delivery is uncharacteristically useless, miles wide left and high.
74 min: And now a corner for Juve down the left. ter Stegen punches it straight at Morata, the ball nearly ballooning back into the empty net!
73 min: Messi goes on an intense dribble down the right, glides inside, but can’t quite get his shot away. This is relentless!
72 min: For a second it looks like Barcelona are 3-1 up, as Neymar heads a left-wing Jordi Alba cross into the right-hand side of the net. But he’s headed the ball down onto his own right elbow and into the goal, and the referee rules it out. The deflection off his elbow is the one that beats Buffon, and despite Neymar’s prayers - he’s pleading with the referee, a long celebration having been curtailed - the decision goes against Barca.
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70 min: This is a great final. Straight from the kick off, Suarez is booked for an over-eager challenge on Bonucci. Y”eah, but we’ve still got Iago Aspas,” writes Liverpool fan Matt Dony, making the best of it.
GOAL! Juventus 1-2 Barcelona (Suarez 69)
What a big decision the non-penalty call looks now! Messi runs with great determination down the inside-left channel. From the edge of the box, he unleashes a low rasper towards the bottom right. Buffon gets down to save brilliantly, but the ball only breaks into the middle for Suarez, who batters a sidefoot into the unguarded net!
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67 min: Pogba powers down the left and slides the ball wide to Evra, who stands one up to the far post, where Tevez can’t quite rise high enough to head goalwards. Then in the next phase Vidal swings a ball in from the right, and Pogba looks to swivel on the penalty spot to shoot. Dani Alves sticks his hand on Pogba’s shoulder, and drags the man down. Admittedly he doesn’t need much persuasion, but that’s a fair penalty shout, that.
64 min: This is a marvellous match. Pogba glides in from the left and whistles a low, hard shot straight at ter Stegen from the edge of the box. “At least Po’ Shaun Wilkinson (46 min) can be thankful he’s not a Nottingham Forest fan,” replies Simon McMahon. “Two time European champions.”
63 min: Morata in space down the right. He cuts back for Marchisio, who pivots a pass from right to left through the Barca D for Tevez. He shoots wildly over the bar. Then Barca go up the other end, Iniesta very nearly opening Juve up down the middle with a dummy and a delicate rolled pass into the area for Suarez. Buffon is out quickly to smother.
61 min: Iniesta caresses a diagonal looper from left to right, and nearly finds Messi, breaking into the area from the flank. Just a bit too much juice on the ball. Good luck in calling this result!
60 min: Pogba is sent skittering into acres down the left by Pirlo, a lovely quarterback’s pass. Evra scampers along to join the attack, but the passes aren’t quite crisp enough. Barca were light at the back there, though. All of the certainties of the opening 50-odd minutes no longer apply. What a final we have on our hands here!
58 min: A free kick for Juve down the right. Pirlo wands it into the area, where Morata heads over from 12 yards, looking for the top-right corner. There’s a cracking atmosphere in the Olympiastadion, and Barcelona don’t look their confident selves all of a sudden.
57 min: What is it with Juventus, Champions League finals, and backheels? First Alessandro Del Piero in the ‘97 final, and now Marchisio! That really was something special. Barca’s passes aren’t sticking all of a sudden. What a sudden jolt to the atmosphere! Juve have been all over the place for the most part, and now look!
GOAL! Juventus 1-1 Barcelona (Morata 55)
Marchisio flicks a stunning back-heel down the inside-right channel to release Lichtsteiner into the box. He slips inside for Tevez, who swivels on the penalty spot and belts low and hard to the bottom-right corner. ter Stegen gets down well to parry brilliantly, but the ball only breaks into the middle for Morata, who can’t miss! A simply stunning goal, a moment of genius from Marchisio, and we’re all level!
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53 min: Buffon holds the ball to his chest for a while, just to calm things down. A wise old head.
51 min: Messi cuts in from the right. He one-twos with Neymar, then Suarez, across the front of the area, some rat-a-tat brilliance, before looking for the top left from the left of the D. It’s not far away. What a goal that would have been. Juve are hanging on again.
49 min: ... Barca nearly score! The set piece is easily cleared, and suddenly Barca are five on three! Rakitic makes good down the inside-left channel, and flicks it to his left for Suarez, who pearls one towards the bottom left. It’s turned around the corner by Buffon. The corner doesn’t really work for Barca, though the ball’s recycled down the right, where a slightly frustrated Suarez looks for the top right from distance. He does find the top right, but only of the stand behind the goal. Rakitic should probably have played that ball to the right, for Neymar on the inside, and none of these Suarezian mishaps would have happened.
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48 min: Pique bundles Tevez over, gifting Juve a free kick, 40 yards out down the inside-right channel. A chance for Pirlo to deliver something dangerous. He curls one towards the head of Pogba, on the edge of the six-yard box, but Pique heads behind for a corner. From which ...
46 min: Messi embarks on a very busy ramble down the right, and cuts into the area. He lays off to Suarez, who can’t quite control and falls over. For a second there, Juve were in danger of being prised apart. “I am watching this final, and I call can think is: I remember Newcastle beating both of these teams in the Champions League,” writes Shaun Wilkinson. “Then I think of Mike Ashley and John Carver, and want to cry.” Don’t do this to yourself, Shaun. Just imagine what poor old Simon McMahon (6 min) is going through.
The second half is underway!
Barcelona take the escalator down to the pitch. Juventus must feel like they’re taking the lift to the scaffold. No changes. Barca get the ball rolling again.
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Half-time advertisement reel:
HALF TIME: Juventus 0-1 Barcelona
Messi nearly tears Juve apart with a dribble down the right, but he runs the ball out of play before he can cut back for Suraez. And that’s that for the first half. The way it panned out, Juve can consider themselves very fortunate to be just the one goal down, and still with 11 men on the field. And you know that hoary cliché about a game of two halves? Well, that. Hey, you never know. It promises to be a fascinating second period. No flipping!
44 min: Lucky Gigi Buffon! He attempts to play the ball out from the back, but only finds Neymar with a terrible pass to the left flank. Neymar chips into the middle, and with the keeper backtracking and out of position, if he’d found Suarez, it’d be 2-0. But the chip’s too high, and the ball skates off Suarez’s head. Juve go up the other end, and Marchisio sends a long-distance rasper into the hands of ter Stegen.
41 min: Pogba is booked for a clumsy clatter into the back of Messi in the midfield. Totally pointless. “You get the feeling Juve love complaining more than they hate injustice,” suggests Jeremy Dresner. It’s part of their unique charm.
40 min: Suarez fancies a goal. He cuts in from the right, and sends a low fizzer wide of the bottom-left corner, but only by a lick of paint on the post. So close. Then he bustles in from the left, and hammers a rising shot straight at Buffon. The keeper can only parry it over the bar, though. The corner comes to nothing. But that was very close. Twice.
39 min: Iniesta nearly dances clear into the Juve area with some twinkling toes down the left channel. He’s blocked, but Pirlo nearly out-Pirlos himself on the edge of his own area. Messi thinks about shooting, but is bundled out of it by Barzagli.
36 min: Pogba goes over on the edge of the area as he tries to turn past Jordi Alba. Juve claim a penalty. For a start, the pair came together just outside the box; also there doesn’t appear to have been much in the way of contact, if any. Juve are livid, though, and surround the referee. That looked worse than it was in real time; who’d be a ref, huh?
35 min: ... bugger all. Pirlo sends the ball deep to Marchisio, who lumps an idiotic ball into the arms of ter Stegen from distance. Juve had loaded the box there, but no delivery was forthcoming.
34 min: Pirlo rakes a pass from the centre circle to Morata along the left. He shuttles the ball down the flank towards Evra, but the left-back’s cross isn’t up to much. Barca only half clear, though, and the becalmed Vidal earns a corner down the left with some persistent play. And from the free kick ...
32 min: Barca just hogging the ball right now, taking their time. Suddenly they burst forward, Neymar sliding a pass left to Jordi Alba, whose low cross is hacked clear by Barzagli with Suarez lurking.
29 min: Corner for Barca down the right. Messi and Neymar take it short. It’s an over-elaborate nonsense. Pirlo, who has been quiet so far, sticks an impatient boot in to break it up. Juve have calmed it down a little here, though Barca are still enjoying territorial supremacy.
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27 min: Now it’s Juve’s turn to fanny around at the back. Their loose play allows Neymar to shape to shoot from the left-hand corner of the box, but though he’s got space and time, he can only waft a lame effort straight at Buffon.
25 min: Barca do like to faff around, though. From the resulting goal kick, possession’s lost in a fug of needless passing, and Morata, on the edge of the D, nearly curls a shot into the bottom left. Then, in the very next phase of play, Jordi Alba is nudged off the ball by Morata, allowing Marchisio to send a stunning screamer inches over the bar from 20 yards. Barca get a free kick for the challenge on Jordi Alba, which is generous in the extreme. Juve not far from an equaliser there.
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23 min: Tevez dribbles at speed down the left. He floats a cross into the middle, and though it’s nowhere near Morata, it very nearly diddles ter Stegen and floats into the top right. Think Paul Konchesky in the 2006 FA Cup final. Nearly; it goes out for a goal kick on the right. Konchesky > Tevez. QED.
22 min: Alves nutmegs Vidal down the right wing. For his trouble, he’s hauled back and clipped round the lug. The facilities at the Olympiastadion must be rather fancy, because Vidal really fancies that early bath. Once again, the referee is very lenient.
20 min: Here, this is better from Juve. Pogba makes good down the inside-left channel and curls a low ball into the box, aimed for Tevez. Mascherano is forced to slide in and concede a corner. The resulting set piece is cleared by Pique. The last four or five minutes should give Juve a little succour.
18 min: A bit of possession for Juve in the middle of the park. It’s the quietest this stadium has been since the pre-match caterwauling. Morata, Juve’s one bright spark so far, probes down the left but can’t get anywhere.
15 min: From the resulting free kick, Rakitic wins a corner down the left. Then the ball’s worked to Jordi Alba, who shoots from the edge of the area. He’s not too far away. This is a stunning display by Barcelona, and a very uneasy one by Juventus. They need something to happen quickly.
14 min: Vidal really needs to watch himself. He slides in on Neymar down the left. There’s not much content, though Barca want a second yellow shown to the hot-headed midfielder. A small shoving match. The referee calms it all down, and does nothing, though he makes sure the player can see the flash of red in his wallet, the dread card sticking out for all to see.
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13 min: Juve are hanging on here a bit. No, a lot. First Suarez twists and turns down the inside-left channel, and nearly dinks the ball past Barzagli. But a fine tackle saves the day. Then Messi, down the right, nearly finds Neymar six yards out with a delicious diagonal ball. And finally Suarez scampers down the right and pulls a ball back from the byline for Alves, who sends a screamer towards the top right from the edge of the box. It’s in all the way, and Buffon’s diving in the wrong direction, but the 37-year-old adjusts mid-flight, sticks out a strong arm, and makes a majestic save. He’s kept his team in this final.
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12 min: Incidentally, just before the Morata/Vidal move on 8 mins, Neymar found himself in a little space down the left, and clipped a cross into the box which hit Lichtsteiner’s hand. The full back’s arm was hanging limply by his side, so the penalty that was claimed for wasn’t awarded. But you’ve seen them given.
11 min: Vidal hasn’t calmed down. He slides in manically on Busquets, who goes down very easily, having only just been clipped. But the intent was there, and Vidal has been asking for the booking he receives.
9 min: Neymar is in the mood. He takes up possession 25 yards from goal, advances to the right-hand corner of the Juve D, and with little backlift sends a riser inches wide of the top-right corner. That was a forensic strike. Buffon might have got that had it been on target, but you would never say it with too much certainty.
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8 min: That was a very strange start. Juve came out full of positivity, and Barca were a little ragged. And then look. But Juve come back well here. Morata bombs down the right, and just before he’s level with the box, checks and sends Jordi Alba sliding off. With space, he finds Vidal racing down the inside-right channel. Vidal looks for the top-left corner with a diagonal shot, but it’s miles too high.
6 min: Juve look shaken, as you’d expect after such an early blow. Vidal goes sliding in behind Iniesta, and is fairly lucky not to go in the book. The referee tells him to calm down, and in fairness the player appears more rattled than raging. “I shudder to think what one of the greatest attacking teams ever assembled would do to this Barcelona side.” Simon McMahon there, bringing up Dundee United’s 100% winning record over four matches against Barcelona. Because, let’s face it, if your team had a 100% winning record against Barca, you’d do it too.
GOAL! Juventus 0-1 Barcelona (Rakitic 4)
So much for that fast Juve start! Jordi Alba is sent skittering down the left. He slips it inside for Neymar, in a little space on the left-hand corner of the Juve box. Neymar flicks further inside for Iniesta, who slides the ball across to Rakitic, on the penalty spot. Juve have been pulled to pieces, and Rakitic sidefoots into the net! What a lovely goal!
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2 min: Or is it a nervous start by Barca? Another loose pass, from the goal kick, and Mascherano is forced to chase after the ball near his own right-hand corner flag. He can’t stop it going out. The long corner finds Evra in a little bit of space, but he can’t connect with his head. Barca eventually clear. Juve have made an early statement here; they really don’t fancy being the sacrificial lambs.
The 2015 Champions League final is underway!
Juve kick off. They lump it forward, and lose it quickly enough. Evra slides in on Rakitic, conceding the first foul of the game. But Barca faff around at the restart, and a loose ball allows Tevez a snapshot from 25 yards. It’s miles over the bar, but this is a decent start by Juve.
Coins have been tossed, managers have ostentatiously hugged, hands are being shaken. We’ll be off in a minute! “Say what you want about the tenets of North Korean socialism, but they’d have put on a better pageant than this boring nonsense,” opines Kári Tulinius. I assume Kári means the dirge at the Olympiastadion. Perhaps it’s a reference to this report. It could be either, couldn’t it.
The teams are out! Someone’s caterwauling over Bastardised Zadok. This isn’t an enjoyable moment. Juve are in their famous black-and-white stripes, Barca their red and blue. It’s Notts County versus Basel - and it’s live.
No player appears more relaxed than Juve right-back Stephan Lichtsteiner. The Juve players are trotting down the stairs towards the pitch - but he’s taking the escalator! He leans against the moving handrail, a picture of nonchalance and contentment, like a man leaving M&S having just managed to get his money back on a pair of slippers despite losing the receipt. “I’d like to offer a sharp rebuttal to the Very Right Reverend (7.15pm) about that Ajax photo,” splutters Matt Drake. “Where are the badges? The stars? And those shirts: they appear to NOT be made of ground-up plastic bottles and do NOT seem to have the latest in moisture wicking technology. How on earth could they possibly play under those conditions? On the other hand, they did have some pretty sweet hair.”
Champions League anthem, pre-bastardisation:
A lovely interview earlier on Sky Sports with Gianluca Vialli, by the way. He admitted that, while he obviously wants Juventus to win tonight, a little bit of him will be annoyed that he’d no longer be the last Juve captain to lift the European Cup. All said with a smile, and he went on to explain that, as the 1983 trophy was lifted by Gaetano Scirea, and tonight’s would be raised by Gigi Buffon, it’d be “like your picture hanging between a Picasso and a Van Gogh”. Broad brush strokes, of course, but there’s the beauty of Italy, and Italians, right there. Or you don’t hear those sort of analogies so often from our lads, let’s put it that way.
Also in a lyrical mood is the Very Reverend Kevin Porter. “What a glorious photo of Ajax (6.40pm). Not a sponsors’ logo in sight. An unadorned, untarnished classic strip. Not even the background of some soulless bowl of stadium dominated by corporate boxes, advertisements and tacky lettering on the seats. The pure simplicity and dignity of arms folded, a plain white football, a training ground setting and the European Cup. A real football club winning a trophy, not a corporate brand exploiting the marketing opportunities. Bliss. This is, my friend, what football was, even at this level, before exploitative television and global marketing took over.” Preach on, brother!
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The starting line-ups are pretty much as expected. No Giorgio Chiellini for Juve; Andrea Barzagli turns out in his stead. No matter: our man Paolo Bandini thinks this is to the Old Lady’s advantage. As for Barca, there are no surprises. Some players making their swansongs tonight: Andrea Pirlo and Xavi definitely, Dani Alves possibly. It’s going to be emotional. But then finals always are. Even the 2003 one, which would have brought a tear to a glass eye.
The teams for the 2015 Champions League final
Juventus: Buffon, Lichtsteiner, Bonucci, Barzagli, Evra, Marchisio, Pirlo, Pogba, Vidal, Tevez, Morata.
Subs: Storari, Ogbonna, Coman, Llorente, Padoin, Sturaro, Pereyra.
Barcelona: ter Stegen, Alves, Pique, Mascherano, Alba, Rakitic, Busquets, Iniesta, Messi, Neymar, Suarez.
Subs: Bravo, Xavi, Pedro, Rafinha, Bartra, Adriano, Mathieu.
Referee: Cuneyt Cakir (Turkey)
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Whoever wins tonight will join a very select list of champions. Both teams have already won their domestic league and cup Double, so the 2015 Champions League winners will complete a famous Treble. Only seven teams have managed to pull off this stunt before: Celtic in 1967, Ajax in 1972, PSV Eindhoven in 1988, Manchester United in 1999, Barcelona in 2009, Internazionale in 2010, and Bayern Munich in 2013.
The dramatically increased frequency of this particular feat - four Trebles in the first 53 seasons of the European Cup, while this’ll make it four in the last seven - suggests something’s going awry in the world of football. But let’s not go pulling at threads tonight. It’s some achievement, even so.
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These two teams haven’t met that often in European competition. They did so for the first time at the quarter-final stage of the 1986 European Cup, in a match-up viewed by most at the time as the de facto final. Juve - the reigning champions - held Terry Venables’ side for 82 minutes in front of 120,000 fans at Camp Nou in the first leg, before Julio Alberto scored from 25 yards with a low shot.
In the second leg at the Stadio Communale - attendance a mere 70,000 - Steve Archibald opened the scoring from a tight angle midway through the first half. Michael Laudrup slipped Michel Platini free for Juve’s equaliser just before the break. But that was that. Barca eventually made it to the final in Seville, and that indignity against Steaua Bucharest.
Juventus got their own back at the same stage in 2003, Marcelo Zalayeta scoring a 114th-minute winner at Camp Nou after the teams had played out a pair of 1-1 draws. It was a textbook Italian smash and grab: Barca had 22 attempts at goal that night; Juve, happy to soak up the pressure, only ten. Once again, the winners made it to the final before losing out on penalties. A neat symmetry there, albeit one that will be no more once we’re all done this evening.
The only other summit meeting between these giants came in the semis of the 1991 Cup Winners’ Cup. Barca ran out 3-2 winners on aggregate, then fell to bits in the final against Manchester United. Not a whole lot of success to talk of here, then, when it all came down. These two have been masters at jinxing each other upon contact. But again, that spell will be broken one way or the other tonight. Everything changes.
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While Juve have been waiting patiently, Barcelona have established themselves as the dominant Champions League club during the last decade. Their ten-year record is second to none: winners, round of 16, semis, winners, semis, winners, semis, semis, quarters, and now the final again. All of their semi-final losses were against the eventual champions, and the two earlier defeats came at the hands of teams who made the final. Every time Barca have made the final themselves, they’ve won it. It’s an astonishing run of form.
And yet it’s slightly incongruous with the rest of their European Cup and Champions League history. Barcelona made their first final in 1961, having of course become the first club to knock Real Madrid out of the competition, but they lost to Benfica. They didn’t get there again until 1986, and to the amusement of most neutrals missed all of their penalties in a shootout with Steaua Bucharest. They eventually won the thing in 1992, Ronald Koeman breaking their duck with a blistering free kick against Sampdoria at Wembley. But the subsequent defeat by Milan in 1994 smacked of a club which still suffered from an inferiority complex when competing at the very top level, a strange mental block considering their size and status.
That’s all changed now, of course. Victory today would be their fifth in the competition, pulling them clear of the famous Ajax and drawing them level with Liverpool and Bayern Munich. If they seal the deal this evening, only Real Madrid and Milan will have more wins in this famous old tournament than this famous old club. ¡Força Barça!
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This is Juve’s first final since 2003. Nothing need be said about that match, which was goalless and lost on penalties to Milan. It wasn’t any good, the intelligentsia are trying too hard, and lying to you. It’s been a long, long wait for Juve since then, and an eventful one, during which they were demoted to Serie B for their part in the Calciopoli scandal. But they’ve made it back. Phew. We were worried there for a while.
Their imperial phase as the leading club in Europe seems even further away: lifting the Champions League in 1996, losing finals they were favourites to win against Borussia Dortmund in 1997 and Real Madrid in 1998, capitulating in the semis against Roy Keane in 1999, thus bringing to an end a period of continental domination which should have garnered more trophies than it did.
Juve have only one other success in Europe’s biggest competition to their name. That came at Heysel in 1985; how they’d dearly love to win a third cup in the wake of the 30th anniversary of that awful tragedy. RIP the 39.
Juve’s overall record in European Cup finals isn’t particularly great, though. Their first appearance was in 1973, when they were thoroughly, Totally, outplayed by Ajax, the 0-1 scoreline flattering in the extreme. Then they lost the 1983 final to Hamburg. Throw in the three aforementioned defeats in 1997, 1998 and 2003, and that’s five final failures, an unwanted record they share with serial losers Benfica and Bayern Munich. Unless they pull this off tonight, they’re out on their own in that respect.
And if they do pull it off? A third trophy will bring them level with Internazionale and Manchester United, and move them ahead of fellow two-time winners Benfica, Nottingham Forest and Porto. Forza Juve!
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It's the 60th final of Uefa's premier tournament!
Messi, Neymar, Suárez: the greatest attacking package in the history of the European Cup and Champions League? Maybe Alfredo Di Stéfano, Ferenc Puskás, Francisco Gento and Luis del Sol would have something to say about that. You might get an argument from Gerd Müller and Uli Hoeness, too. And perhaps also from Ruud Gullit and Marco van Basten, Sandro Mazzola and Jair, Eusébio and José Torres, George Best and Bobby Charlton, Kevin Keegan and Terry McDermott, Zinedine Zidane, Luís Figo and Raúl, Milan Baroš and Harry Kewell , Samuel Eto’o and Ronaldinho, Cristiano Ronaldo and Ángel di Maria …
But the point stands, these three lads are pretty damn good. Just the 106 goals between them this season so far. Mercy! Juventus are up against it this evening in Berlin.
Thing is, you could probably add Romário and Hristo Stoichkov to that list of great European Cup striking partnerships. They went into the 1994 final as the hottest ticket in world football, an irresistible attacking force, and so their Barcelona side, which had battered all comers en route to the big match in Athens, were firm favourites against some Italians in disarray. Opponents Milan were without Franco Baresi and Alessandro Costacurta, and due to Uefa regulations at the time couldn’t field the non-nationals Jean-Pierre Papin, Florin Răducioiu and Brian Laudrup. Final result: Milan 4, Barcelona 0. Daniele Massaro and Dejan Savićević ran riot.
The relevance of that match being? All hope is not lost for unfancied Juve, that’s what! The Old Lady isn’t quite in the sort of shambolic state their compatriots were before facing Barca in the final 21 years ago, but they will - unless they’re trying it on - be without one of their regular defenders in Giorgio Chiellini. However Andrea Barzagli is a more-than-decent replacement, while Juve’s attackers Álvaro Morata and Carlos Tevez are none too shabby themselves, having recently led Real Madrid a merry dance in the semi-final. The Daniele Massaro and Dejan Savićević de nos jours? Or will Barca’s famous three dominate as expected? It’s going to be a blast finding out, as two of the biggest clubs in European football come out swinging in the hope of landing the 2015 Champions League. It’s on!
Kick off: 8.45pm at the Olympiastadion in Berlin, in Turin, and in Barcelona; 7.45pm in London.
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