Juventus vs. Barcelona Will Dazzle as Champions League 2014-15 Final Showpiece

The stage seemed set for a second all-Spanish Champions League final in as many years, but Wednesday saw Juventus do just enough to hold off Real Madrid and take their place opposite Barcelona in this season's final.

By all means, one might have been justified in seeing an El Clasico encounter as the more attractive prospect, but after showcasing their stubbornness against Los Blancos, Juve are capable of helping produce something great.

Andres Kudacki/Associated Press

Massimiliano Allegri's side entered Wednesday's second leg with a 2-1 lead from their first meeting against Real, but the reigning champions of Europe brought with them an expectancy to lead from the forefront.

What bit back, though, was a spirited Bianconeri outfit ready to utilise the anguish of 12 years without a Champions League semi-final appearance, and Match of the Day's Gary Lineker agrees the final will be memorable:

Though great Juve's achievement was, there's no evading the fact the Italians head to Berlin's Olympiastadion as underdogs, with Barca showing against Bayern Munich what a devastating power they are on their day.

It was foretold that Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez would form a triple threat of terrifying nature, but the 5-3 aggregate victory over Pep Guardiola's men—still one of the continent's finest teams—was a warning shot.

Team	Played	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
Juventus	12	7	3	2	16	7	+9
Barcelona	12	10	0	2	28	10	+18

We live in an age where tactics, analysis and premonition hold a very high perch in the public spectrum, but Juve chief Allegri has a task ahead of him of which even Guardiola was incapable.

It may simply be that there is no one blueprint to beating Messi, Suarez and Neymar—operating under the moniker "MSN"—with Eurosport illustrating the trio's freakish scoring figures in their first season together:

Dark horses or not, the Serie A title holders—having recently sealed their fourth successive Scudetto—possess some superstar weapons of their own.

The midfield metronome of Paul Pogba, Arturo Vidal, Andrea Pirlo and Claudio Marchisio speaks for itself, a terrifically balanced and adaptable variety of players one might argue is well able to duel with Barca's.

In Pirlo, Allegri has his shred tinkerer, an exuberant dynamo in Pogba, Vidal's warrior mentality and the disciplined engine of Marchisio. By no means is this Juventus brigade to be ruled out before a ball has even been kicked.

ESPN's Musa Okwonga takes note of what could come to be a hugely important factor, something neither statistics nor analysis can really compensate for—the resurgent sense of fight this Juve team has to achieve what many thought impossible:

Reserve goalkeeper Marco Storari posted a video of the team's celebrations upon reaching the Champions League final, showing just what it means to Allegri's men after booking their date on Saturday, June 6:

It's almost fate, then, that it should be a somewhat shrouded figure who gave Juve their salvation on Wednesday, where former Real Madrid man Alvaro Morata converted the equaliser to send Juve through.

For all the money Real have spent on players over the years, it was one they let go who came back to bite them, and the irony wasn't lost on Bleacher Report's Samuel Marsden:

And so it would come to be that Juve clinched their first Champions League final since 2003 by ousting the kings from their throne, but the foes waiting ahead are likely to be an even greater challenge.

It was never going to be easy for the Serie A side, though, so perhaps it's only fitting Juve take on the best of the best in what's shaping up to be a momentous occasion in the German capital next month.