adminBERLIN. — Fact-file on Juventus and Barcelona ahead of tonight’s Champions League soccer final at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium:
Form: Barcelona coach Luis Enrique is bidding to emulate Pep Guardiola by winning only the second treble of Champions League, La Liga and Copa del Rey in the club’s history, following their 2009 feat.
The Catalans won the Spanish title by two points from Real Madrid and beat Athletic Bilbao in the Copa del Rey final, and their South American strike-force of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez are in top form with 120 goals between them.
In comparison, the entire Juventus team has managed 103 goals, but Argentina’s Carlos Tevez has formed an impressive partnership with ex-Real forward Alvaro Morata to help take The Old Lady of Turin to the brink of their first treble.
Massimiliano Allegri’s won the Serie A title by 17 points and, with the Coppa Italia already secured, the Champions League title would be the icing on what has already been a very impressive season.
Coaches
Juventus — Massimiliano Allegri (ITA) — 47 yrs
Barcelona — Luis Enrique Martinez Garcia (ESP) — 45 yrs
Leading scorers in all competitions
Juventus — Carlos Tevez (29 goals)
Barcelona — Lionel Messi (58 goals)
Domestic league performance
Barcelona — Barca earned their 23rd Spanish league title by finishing just ahead of Real Madrid in the table.
Juventus — Won Serie A for the 31st time with a 17-point margin from runners-up Roma.
Road to final
Barcelona — Winners of Group F ahead of PSG. Beat Manchester City 3-1 on aggregate in the last 16 and eased past Paris Saint-Germain 5-1 on aggregate in the quarter-finals.
Dispatched Bayern Munich 5-3 on aggregate in the semi-finals after a devastating 3-0 victory in the first leg at the Camp Nou.
Juventus — Runners-up in Group A behind Atletico Madrid. Beat Borussia Dortmund 5-1 on aggregate in the last 16 and Monaco 1-0 in the quarter-finals before beating Real Madrid 3-2 in the semis to knock out the holders.
European Cup/Champions League best performances
Barcelona — winners 1992, 2006, 2009, 2011
Juventus — winners 1985, 1996
Other honours
Barcelona — 23 x Spanish champions, 27 x Copa del Rey winners, 4 x Cup Winners’ Cup winners, 3 x Inter-Cities Fairs Cup winners, 4 x UEFA Super Cup winners, 2 x Club World Cup winners
Juventus — 31 x Italian champions, 10 x Coppa Italia winners, 6 x Italian Supercup winners, 1 x Cup Winners’ Cup winners, 3 x UEFA Cup winners, 2 x UEFA Supercup winners, 2 x Intercontinental Cup winners
Previous European Cup/Champions League meetings:
Barcelona 2 Juventus 3* — 2002/2003 Champions League quarter-final second leg
Juventus 1 Barcelona 1 — 2002/2003 Champions League quarter-final first leg
Juventus 1 Barcelona 0 — 1990/1991 UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup semi-final second leg
Barcelona 3 Juventus 1 — 1990/1991 UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup semi-finals first leg
Juventus 1 Barcelona 1 — 1985/1986 European Cup quarter-final second leg
Barcelona 1 Juventus 0 — 1985/1986 European Cup quarter-final first leg
* after extra-time — AFP.
leeroy