Juventus vs BVB: Follow The Yellow Brick Wall
Juventus facing Borussia Dortmund was always going to be a matchup dictated by the strength and motivation of not just the managers and players, but the home fans in both the Juventus Stadium and Signal Iduna Park. The first leg ended 2-1 in favor of Juventus in a game they seemingly had in control for the greater majority. Coincidentally this favorable condition was present after an Andrea Pirlo injury knock. It was that very injury that made things more tedious and improbable for Jurgen Klopp’s “Yellow Army” from Germany. They went into the Juventus Stadium with clear instructions and strategies to stifle the Juventus flow of the game simply by making Andrea Pirlo irrelevant. In fact, BVB had proven that Andrea Pirlo cannot handle the pace of the Dortmund midfield and so the introduction of Roberto Pereyra became a match in pace that was going to spell problems all night for the Germans.
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In Torino Massimiliano Allegri outwitted his counterpart with a massive replacement for an irreplaceable demi-god. Had Giorgio Chiellini not found the only banana peel on the pitch and cleared that stray ball away from Marco Reus it would likely be Juventus secured and heading through to the Final Eight of the Champions League. Instead Marco Reus capitalized on a typically clumsy Chiellini and slotted Dortmund’s only real opportunity against a strong Juventus defense in that brief moment. Chiellini had a lapse where he must have backtracked on his childhood days of playing Mario Kart with that disastrous moment. It is no wonder he is known as “The Gorilla” since his days at Livorno.
Things will not be all black and white on the yellow brick road to Germany for the Italian Champions. At the end of this road there will be an ever-present yellow brick wall of 60,000 fans standing behind their BVB heroes. It is in the Signal Iduna Park that Juventus will need to endure arguably one of the most hostile environments in all of UEFA’s governed leagues. Will Juventus be able to keep their nerve and poise against a team that seems to have rediscovered their confidence at the right time?
In their last five games Juventus have found a respectable run of form: W (2-1 versus BVB), D, L (Coppa Italia), W, W. In these five games they had to face stubborn opponents including Roma, Fiorentina, and Borussia Dortmund. Throughout the stretch Juventus are coping without Andrea Pirlo and playing a game of quicker tempo. Paul Pogba and Claudio Marchisio have been given more opportunities to play the ball from the middle, which allows Juventus to press their opponents higher up the pitch. But is this the approach Allegri will take into Germany? He’s known to be a bit more conservative when traveling in Europe. During his time at AC Milan he faced constant misfortunes facing Barcelona and each time at the Camp Nou found his Milan teams with their legs dragging.
Dortmund on the contrary have stumbled in their most recent game drawing FC Cologne nil-nil. Making their hope for European competition next season very distant unless they were to officially throw all their eggs into the Champions League basket of dreams. To say that Dortmund were looking towards their home matchup with Juventus would be a lapse in analysis considering their entire starting lineup was fielded for this matchup. Immobile did come in off the bench and provided little for BVB to shake the game up against a gritty Cologne side. What does this say for Dortmund against Juventus?
BVB need to find it in themselves to crackdown a Juventus midfield and defense that never lacks for aggression. They will find the task difficult despite being at home and reports in Italy do not favor Dortmund. After last season’s failed Champions League run Juventus have made it a priority to make it to at least the Final 8 of the tournament and this once again looks like an episode of repeated fates. It would be difficult to believe that a reliable defense will crumble despite the hostile surroundings in Germany. At the professional level these players should not be and will not be easily shaken. Sometimes a hostile stadium is just what a team needs to keep itself pushing on without a lapse in judgment on the pitch.
It would safe to say Juventus should be the more counter-attacking team on this day and with that being said a draw in Dortmund is very likely to be the result in Signal Iduna Park.