Sports
Barcelona, Juventus set sights on treble (Preview)
Madrid: Spanish side FC Barcelona will be at full strength when they look to defeat Italian champions Juventus to win their fifth Champions League trophy in the final at Berlin.
Saturday’s game in the Olympic Stadium in Berlin promises to be a clash of the football Titans as the Spanish and Italian League and Cup double winners go head to head, reports Xinhua.
There is no doubt that a Barcelona side led by the free-scoring trio of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar are the favourites, but nobody should forget that Juventus knocked Barcelona’s eternal rivals Real Madrid out in the semi-finals.
That has denied us the intriguing prospect of a Barcelona-Madrid final, but with former Real Madrid striker Alvaro Morata looking to give fans of his former club something to smile about, Barcelona would be well advised to take nothing for granted.
Barcelona defender Gerard Pique, who will partner Javier Mascherano at the back, warned that Juventus have quietly made their way to the final, where nobody expected them to and said that the attacking threat posed by Morata and Carlos Tevez could not be ignored.
Juventus will be without central defender Georgio Chiellini after he suffered a muscle injury that will deny fans the chance to see him face-off against Suarez after an ugly biting incident involving the two at the 2014 World Cup led to the Barcelona forward getting a four-month ban.
Barcelona meanwhile have no injury doubts and are looking for a repeat of the treble they won in 2009 under former coach Pep Guardiola. Indeed, current Barcelona coach Luis Enrique has said that the chance of a treble is what drives his side on and that ambition, rather than the Champions League alone which is their target.
With defenders Jordi Alba and Dani Alves and midfielders Sergio Busquets, Ivan Rakitic and Andres Iniesta, Barcelona will look to dominate the ball, attack and pressure their rivals into mistakes.
Barcelona will look to win and dedicate the trophy to departing veteran midfielder Xavi Hernandez. But Enrique has warned his team not to take things for granted.
The left-handed batsman from Haryana is garnering praise from all quarters for the way he’s finishing games regularly in the most exciting IPL season.
Gavaskar reckons Tewatia’s whirlwind knock in Sharjah (in IPL 2020) where he smashed West Indies pacer Sheldon Cottrell for five sixes in an over, gave him the confidence that he belongs to the big stage.
Speaking on Cricket Live on Star Sports, Gavaskar said, “That assault on Sheldon Cottrell in Sharjah gave him the belief to do the impossible and the confidence that he belongs here. We saw the impossible (he did with the bat) the other day as well. There’s no twitching or touching the pads (which shows a batter’s nervousness) when he bats in the death overs. He just waits for the ball to be delivered and plays his shots. He’s got all the shots in the book, but most importantly his temperament to stay cool in a crisis is brilliant.”
Gavaskar has also nicknamed the 28-year-old cricketer the ‘ice-man’ and lauded Tewatia’s ability to remain unruffled during the tense moments.
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