Berlin. Barcelona is not getting caught up in the euphoria of its fans as it prepares for tonight’s Champions League final against Juventus, coach Luis Enrique said on Friday.

Barca supporters are on a high after their team wrapped up the La Liga title and King’s Cup last month, with the club now on the verge of repeating its historic treble from 2009.

The Catalan giant is favorite to triumph at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, but Juve showed what it is capable of by dispatching Barca’s rival and holder Real Madrid in the semifinal.

“The fans are euphoric and we are delighted with that,” Luis Enrique told a news conference. “But as professionals we will approach the game with the utmost seriousness.

“We will need to have a good day to get past a rival of this magnitude,” added the former Barca and Spain midfielder.

Luis Enrique, who is in his first season in charge at the Nou Camp, said midfielder Andres Iniesta should be fit for today’s match after an injury scare this week.

Spain midfielder Iniesta will be expected to help unlock a stubborn Juve defense, though the Turin side’s chances have been hit by an injury that has ruled out influential center-back Giorgio Chiellini.

“I want to have the ball more than them, occupy their half and play at a top level but we are sure to have some difficulties,” Luis Enrique said.

“I don’t think it will be a clash of styles as they will want to have the ball too. They have resources and that’s why they are also in with a chance of a treble.”

Like Barcelona, Juve has already won the domestic league and Cup double this season. It will be appearing in its eighth Champion’s League final and chasing a third triumph.

Barca has also played in seven finals, winning four, and is bidding for its third triumph in seven years in Europe’s elite club competition.

Reuters

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Juventus’ Alvaro Morata celebrates winning the Italian Serie A after the match.
Reuters Photo / Giorgio Perottino

Berlin. Juventus forward Alvaro Morata seemed genuinely apologetic after he netted the goal that knocked his former club Real Madrid out in the Champions League semifinals and he wants to try to make amends.

The 22-year-old Spain international scored in both legs of Juve’s 3-2 aggregate success over the holder and is hoping to lead his side to victory against Real’s bitter rival Barcelona in Saturday’s Champions League final.

Morata joined Juve for a fee of 20 million euros ($22.53 million) in the close season after finding himself surplus to requirements at Real and has played an important role in the Italian club’s charge towards a possible treble of titles.

He netted eight goals in Serie A as Juve wrapped up a fourth consecutive title, two in its successful Coppa Italia campaign and has four so far in Europe’s elite club competition, including his crucial strike at the Bernabeu last month.

The goal leveled the semifinal, second leg at 1-1 and ended the holder’s dream of an 11th European crown following its 10th in 2013-14, when Morata was a second-half substitute in the final against Atletico Madrid in Lisbon.

On Saturday at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium, he will bid to become only the fourth player to appear in Champions League final victories in successive seasons for different clubs, joining Marcel Desailly, Paulo Sousa and Samuel Eto’o.

“I will try to win, also because of what that would mean for Real fans,” Morata, who joined Real’s youth ranks in 2008, told reporters on Monday.

“Obviously scoring against Barcelona would not be as painful as it was scoring against Madrid but I need to actually score before thinking about celebrations,” he added.

“I’m not going to say it’s an extra motivation for me because you don’t need extra motivation when you play a Champions League final, but facing Barca will always be special.”

Biggest surprise

As well as becoming a key figure at Juve, Morata has started to make an impact for Spain following a highly successful run in La Roja’s youth sides.

He starred in Spain’s European Championship winning Under-19 and Under-21 teams, winning the Golden Boot award for the top scorer at each tournament.

He was hailed as “the future of La Roja” in March after he fired the European champions to a 1-0 win against Ukraine in Euro 2016 qualifying in Seville.

Morata made his league debut for Real in December 2010 under Jose Mourinho and went on to win one La Liga title, two King’s Cups and a Spanish Super Cup as well as the Champions League.

His performances since joining Juve have impressed no less a figure than captain and goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, although the World Cup winner with Italy in 2006 did hint that Morata still has a lot to learn.

“Morata has been the biggest surprise,” Buffon said on UEFA.com on Wednesday.

“Now that I know him, I can say that if he matures in the right way and if he wants to put his professionalism to the benefit of the team and the profession, he can be the star of the next few years.”

Reuters

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Madrid. Stuttering holders Real Madrid could see their last chance of silverware slip away if they are unable to overturn a 2-1 deficit in Wednesday’s Champions League semi-final, second leg at home to Juventus.

Ending the season without winning the Champions League, the La Liga title or the Spanish Cup would be a disaster for the world’s richest club by income but such a scenario is a real possibility for Carlo Ancelotti’s men.

Saturday’s 2-2 La Liga home draw with Valencia left them four points behind leaders Barcelona with two games left and they were dumped out of the King’s Cup by Atletico, the team they beat 4-1 after extra time to secure a record-extending 10th European Cup last term.

Elimination from the latest edition could prompt drastic action from Real’s notoriously impatient — and deep-pocketed ‚ president Florentino Perez, who has rarely stuck by his coaches for long if they do not deliver trophies on a regular basis.

An exodus of players is also a possibility, with local media speculating that top scorer Cristiano Ronaldo and captain and goalkeeper Iker Casillas could be on their way.

Real’s hopes of getting past Juventus into June’s showpiece in Berlin hinge on cutting out the errors and inconsistency that have dogged them in recent weeks.

Injuries have also played their part and Ancelotti is hoping to have France striker Karim Benzema back for the clash at the Bernabeu, while a suspected injury to Germany midfielder Toni Kroos on Saturday looks to have been nothing more than a scare.

“Above all we need to keep a cool head, be patient, and not go crazy,” defender Dani Carvajal, who conceded the penalty Carlos Tevez converted to win the first leg, said on Real’s website on Monday.

“We have to try to make time go really slowly for Juve so that they suffer without the ball,” added the Spain international.

“They created danger when we lost the ball or because of our errors. I believe that if we stay calm, remain really patient and make them move then the game will go our way.”

The successful side is likely to meet Barca in the final after they thumped 2013 winners Bayern Munich 3-0 in their first leg last week, with the return in Munich on Tuesday.

Reuters

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