Real Madrid
Chiellini gives shock name for Madrid’s ‘unstoppable’ player during triple Champions League run
The former player has praised the Malaga native’s role in the 2017 Champions League final, which saw Madrid beat Juventus 4-1.
Former Juventus star Giorgio Chiellini recently opened up about his career on Sky’s podcast, The Overlap. Among various topics, he discussed the two Champions League finals he lost with the Italian giants—one in 2015 against Barcelona and the other in 2017 against Real Madrid in Cardiff.
The veteran defender heaped praise on Isco Alarcón, who started in the decisive match held in Wales: “He was the one who broke our game plan; he was really unstoppable.”
Chiellini recalled that they had already beaten Real Madrid two years earlier, in the 2015 semifinals. At that time, Carlo Ancelotti preferred to start James Rodríguez. The Colombian had an impressive debut season at Santiago Bernabéu, but Juventus exploited the defensive weaknesses of a team that fielded Rodríguez alongside the BBC trio (Bale, Benzema, and Cristiano Ronaldo).
Chiellini names Madrid’s 'really unstoppable' player
Things changed in Cardiff. “When they played with Casemiro and Isco instead of Bale… Isco was the player who broke our game plan. Isco was really unstoppable because he created overloads on the left, right, and center. It wasn’t easy for us to stop them,” Chiellini admitted.
The former Juve player explained that, as difficult as it was, they knew how to stop Bale’s “predictable” moves, but they weren’t prepared for the unpredictable talent of the player from Málaga: “An unpredictable player is better than one whose moves you know, even if he’s very good.”
Real Madrid won that final 4-1, capping off an almost perfect season in which they clinched both the Champions League and LaLiga titles. Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice for the Madrid side, while Mandzukic netted a memorable goal for the Italians, though it didn’t significantly impact the outcome.
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Original article written by Álvar Gutiérrez, translated with the assistance of AI and edited by Joe Brennan.