Am I crazy to suggest that outside of Barcelona, Juventus represent the next best shot at lifting this season’s Champions League? The bookies must think I am, ranking them fifth favourite for the world’s biggest club tournament which resumes this week.
Juventus successfully negotiated one of the hardest groups in the first phase of the competition, emerging unbeaten and having conceded just four goals from their six matches.
Only PSG fared better defensively, letting through three, however they were pitted against much gentler opposition than most.
In a group which also contained Chelsea, Shakhtar Donetsk and Danish champions Nordsjaelland, Juventus generated more shots than any other team in the Champions League while conceded the sixth fewest.
That were ranked within the competition’s top third for tackles, and sixth overall for intercepted passes.
Juventus’ domestic form has been even more impressive, leading the Serie A by five points while possessing a goal difference of +34, having scored the most goals as well as conceding the least.
In this season’s Serie A, Juventus top every major statistical category thanks largely to a very talented midfield led by one of the world’s very best, Andrea Pirlo and a consistently efficient back four
Juventus’ Achilles heel as the competition enters its tougher phase may pertain to their goal scoring. In this season’s Serie A there’s no less than 16 players who have scored eight or more goals. None are from Juventus.
What may work to Juventus’ advantage however is that their goals have mostly arrived via teamwork this season rather than a sole marksmen or two.
This season they’ve no less than eight players who’ve scored four or more goals. In the group stage of the Champions League, five different Juventus players found themselves on the score sheet.
In addition, the Old Lady of Italian football will also be able to call upon the services of French legend Nicolas Anelka whom they recently signed on load from Chinese Club, Shanghai Shenhua.
Juventus were lucky enough to have drawn Celtic for their round of 16 fixture, and though the Scots famously beat Barcelona back in November, one would think knocking out the 28-time Italian champs would likely constitute even more of an upset.
Yes, Barcelona deserves their favouritism for Europe’s biggest tournament, but Juventus may well represent the best chance of knocking the Catalans off come late May.
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