Juventus Champions League final news: Alves, Kean, Allegri
With the big day in Cardiff now less than a week away, AS brings you a daily round-up of the goings-on as Juve prepare to play Real Madrid.
Marotta confident
Juventus director general Giuseppe Marotta looked ahead to the Champions League final after his side’s success in Serie A and the Coppa Italia. “The league is a long-course competition in stages and the best team always wins in the end but in the Champions League there are things you can’t foresee. We deserved to win the Scudetto and we are deservedly in the Champions League final. Maybe the game against Porto served as a point for us to examine ourselves. What do I feel about the game against Real Madrid? I’m very optimistic. We will play a side that we respect, but we do not fear them. We’re better prepared than we were two years ago. We know we have a team of champions and we can win.”
Alves century
The former Barcelona defender will bring up 100 Champions League appearances in the final in cardiff, becoming the 31st player to reach the milestone. If Juventus are victorious Alves will also join a more exclusive list of 18 players to have won the European Cup / Champions League with more one that club.
Kean as mustard
Another Juve player bagged a record in the champions’ final Serie A game against Bologna, a 2-1 victory. 17-year-old Moise Kean scored the winner in the 94th minute to become the first player born this century to find the net in Europe’s five biggest leagues (Serie A, LaLiga, Ligue 1, Bundesliga, Premier League). The Italy under-17 international was born in Vercelli on February 28, 2000.
Allegri switches focus to Champions League
With the Serie A season now done and dusted, the Juventus coach has finally been able to turn his attention fully to Cardiff. "The season, right now, is beautiful," the 49-year-old said. “We have Cardiff still and, from Monday, we will prepare only to win.”
