Only a handful of hours are left for the biggest event in the football calendar, as finally, after 12 years, Juventus shall be competing once again in the Champions League final.
Juventus has passed through a lot during these previous 12 years, as they hit rock-bottom in 2006 after being relegated to Serie B, right after Italy’s victory of the fourth World Cup trophy.
1) Both in 2006 and in 2014, Luca Toni was crowned as the Serie A’s top goal scorer, il capocannoniere.
2) Massimiliano Allegri’s hometown is that of Livorno, while Marcello Lippi is from Viareggio, which both happen to be in the region of Toscana.
3) No one would have predicted Juventus could possibly reach the final at the beginning of the competition, just as no one predicted that Italy would make its way to the 2006’s World Cup final, let alone winning it.
4) People started believing in Juventus after watching them trashing Borussia Dortmund in the Westfalenstadion, just as people started believing in Italy after they watched them beat Germany in the same Westfalenstadion.
5) As in the 2006 final, Giorgio Chiellini will be watching the game from the stands. Back in 2006, he wasn’t part of the squad, and tonight, only an injury will be holding him from starting in the first eleven.
What occurred on the eve of the 9th of July back in 2006 will take Gianluigi Buffon, Andrea Pirlo and Andrea Barzagli on a trip down memory lane, as they will be remembering what happened on the magical night, whilst hoping that the same fate awaits them, even if it means that they have to suffer as much as Italy had suffered a few years ago.