Juventus vs Real Madrid: Alves and Sandro can deliver European glory
The big game is finally upon us. Real Madrid, who are looking to make history, will face off against Juventus in the Champions League final. Los Blancos are striving to become the first time to successfully defend their Champions League crown, yet there’s a certain Old Lady standing between the La Liga champions and another place in the history books. Max Allegri tactically masterminded Juventus' path to the final of Europe’s elite club competition, with his side’s solid defence part of the reason why they made it so far. Juventus’ own BBC - Barzagli, Bonucci and Chiellini - is arguably one of the most formidable defensive trios in the history of football and with Gianluigi Buffon operating behind the threesome, their resolve has no right to be called into question.
It’ll be their to keep the Real Madrid attack at bay, but their importance cannot be overstated, both in shutting out the Spanish giants and allowing those ahead of them to excel. As a three-man defence re-establishes itself as the flavour of the month, Juventus have actually mastered this art for years now, with the setup delivering domestic success on a seasonal basis. What’s crucial to the system working efficiently, though, is the wing-backs, who are charged with both powering forward to stretch opponents and making their way back to turn a three-man defence to a five-man backline.
Allegri, by all accounts, has at his disposal two of the most effective wing-backs in the game in Dani Alves and Alex Sandro. The Brazilian pair made WhoScored.com’s European team of the season and for good measure after solid seasons for Juventus, even if the former took his time to adjust to the demands of his new manager on the back of his free transfer from Barcelona. Nevertheless, the pair will be absolutely vital for Juventus once more if they are to usurp Real Madrid as the best team in Europe.
That, though, shouldn’t be too big a challenge for the flying wing-back duo. Alves (7.85) is Juventus’ highest rated player in the Champions League, with Sandro (7.36) impressing in his own right. Their attacking influence can be highlighted in that Alves (2) is averaging more accurate crosses per European game of all players for the Serie A champions, with Sandro (1) second to his compatriot. With Miralem Pjanic and Sami Khedira widely expected to start in the middle of the park, and the duo offering the required protection to the defence, this allows Allegri to unleash his wing-back pair upon opponents.
It offers another dimension to Juventus' attack when the wing-backs push forward. As he so often did for Barcelona, the 34-year-old buccaneers up the right flank to dominate this side of the pitch and has the ability to pick out a teammate in the box on a regular basis. It's because of this that also brings the best out of Mario Mandzukic, despite the fact the Croat is playing in an unfamiliar wide left position. Considering his style, Manduzkic's deployment there is a role that shouldn’t work on paper, yet does so to great effect. The Croat is capable of hounding opponents off the ball and crucially provides a direct attacking threat out wide where he is usually marked by smaller, less physical defenders.
After his big summer arrival from Napoli last summer, Gonzalo Higuain was always going to be the club’s main striker, while Mandzukic’s physical threat provides a happy balance in the space behind the Argentine. Whereas Paulo Dybala provides the guile and ability to carry the ball forward with ease to hurt opponents, Mandzukic offers power and a vital aerial threat in the final third, as exhibited in the second leg 2-1 win over Monaco. Alves picked out his Juventus teammate and while the Croatia international was initially denied by compatriot Danijel Subasic, Mandzukic made no mistake when handed a second bite of the cherry to effectively wrap up the tie.
What’s important here is that when Mandzukic comes infield Sandro is then on hand to capitalise on the space left to offer another dynamic out wide. When he, along with Danilo, who Sandro will likely face on Saturday evening, both departed FC Porto, it was believed that Real Madrid had brokered the better of the two deals, yet it’s Sandro who continues to flourish whereas Danilo flounders. Indeed, the Brazilian right-back is only expected to feature in Cardiff due to injury to regular starter Dani Carvajal.
If Danilo’s performances in a Real Madrid shirt have been anything to go by, though, he can be expected to come up trumps when he faces off against Sandro at the weekend. Indeed, only Paulo Dybala (2.3) is averaging more dribbles per Champions League match than the 26-year-old full-back (1.6) of all Juventus players this season. What’s more is that Sandro also ranks highly for key passes per European game (1.3) for the Turin side, a metric Alves tops (2.7). That being said, Real Madrid aren’t lacking in full-back department. As indifferent a campaign as Danilo has endured, he still has the means to stretch opponents when he does press forward, while Real Madrid head coach has at his disposal one of the finest left-backs in world football in Marcelo.
Juventus’ Brazilian duo, though, have the defensive means to counter the threat of their Real Madrid counterparts, with Alves (2.9) and Sandro (2.6) ranking first and second, respectively, for tackles per game of all Juventus players in the Champions League this season. Ultimately, the pair will have a vital say for the Italian giants in their bid to secure just their third European cup. Should Alves and Sandro play to expectations, then it’s wholly possible that Juventus’ name will be the next carved on the Champions League trophy, denying Real Madrid a place in the record books in the process.
