Juventus vs. Barcelona: Winners and Losers from 2015 Champions League Final
OLYMPIASTADION, Berlin — Barcelona lifted the treble—the first time a European club has done it twice in its history—as they beat Juventus, 3-1, in an entertaining Champions League final in Berlin on Saturday night.
Goals from Ivan Rakitic (in the fourth minute), Luis Suarez and Neymar were enough for Luis Enrique's side to add Europe's biggest prize to the domestic league and cup double they had already won this season, as Alvaro Morata's second-half equaliser only briefly gave Juventus realistic hope of emerging victorious.
The Italian champions started the game poorly and were dominated for spells, but for at least five minutes around Morata's close-range strike they made the final entertaining, as Barcelona began to fear they might throw away a game that they had controlled almost from the first whistle.
That eventuality would not come to pass, however, as the attacking trio that has propelled their glorious play all season came to the fore once again. Suarez's clinical finish came after scintillating play from Lionel Messi, whose fingerprints were all over this win even if he did not score. Neymar's strike was just the icing on the course; the Brazilian swept home another counter-attacking move with injury time almost expired.
Barcelona are European champions for the fourth time in the past decade, while Juventus have now lost their last three finals in this competition.
Click on for some winners and losers from the game.
Winner: Lionel Messi
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Lionel Messi did not score, but he was nonetheless a hugely important influence on Barcelona's eventual win at the Olympiastadion.
"Well, he played spectacularly—like he has done throughout the season," his manager, Luis Enrique said. "He disturbed the [Juventus] players, and the goals were born in his boots."
It seemed a fitting assessment. Messi's vision and technical quality was written all over Barcelona's fourth-minute opener, even if the talent of his team-mates—most notably Sergio Busquets, Andres Iniesta and Ivan Rakitic—also played significant parts.
If that was a team effort, then the second, decisive goal was down to his unrivalled brilliance; the Argentine weaving past defenders with his customary grace before firing a low shot that Gianluigi Buffon was unable to do anything other than palm into the path of Suarez to score.
Around those defining moments in the match, Messi was a constant light for his side, frustrating Juventus with his ability to retain the ball and creating spaces for his team-mates with the attention and challenges he attracted.
Other players will get the headlines and perhaps see their magic moments replayed on the television more over the coming years, but Messi was undoubtedly the one who conducted the performance, whose class permeated everything Barcelona did.
"He is our benchmark player, our best player," as Luis Enrique concluded. "We are delighted we can celebrate these trophies, regardless of who scores the goals."
Loser: Andrea Pirlo
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Whether it was his final Juventus match or not remains to be seen—his manager, Massimiliano Allegri, claimed afterwards that he had no idea about the player's future plans—but it was certainly not a night to remember for Andrea Pirlo.
Not only did Juventus lose, but the veteran midfielder—almost universally beloved by those who admire the way he plays the game—looked hassled, harried and off the pace throughout a performance that will only live on in some memories for the wrong reasons.
Only Alvaro Morata, Stephan Lichtsteiner and Paul Pogba completed a lower percentage of passes than Pirlo over the 90 minutes, yet that is what the Italian is on the team to do. Yet time and again, particularly in the first half, Pirlo found himself harried into mistakes on the ball, an issue that invited pressure onto his side and stopped them from getting into a rhythm.
If he now rides off in search of a new challenge, perhaps in a less demanding league, then it will be a sad end to his Juventus career. But it might, just might, be a timely one—having finally been exposed somewhat at the highest level.
Winner: Luis Enrique
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This victory was sweet vindication for Luis Enrique, even if he has yet to confirm his future at the club. A treble in your first season is a dream eventuality for any manager—if he does now depart Barcelona (and it must surely be a huge if), he will do so after almost unrivalled success.
"This is our 60th match [of the season]," the head coach noted afterwards. "We’ve lost six games, four draws and I think the figures show it is one of the best seasons for Barcelona."
He added: "We dominated the first half and had opportunities to score more goals. Buffon was at his top level, as usual. Then Juventus started to press stronger, and it got more difficult for us. They started to come very close in our half and put pressure on us, and for about 10 minutes we had an uphill struggle. But I think over the course of the match we were superior, and we deserved to win."
Clearly there are some behind-the-scenes issues to be resolved—Luis Enrique made many references to Andoni Zubizarreta, the sporting director who left the club midway through the season—but his work as a manager cannot now be easily challenged. As he rightfully points out Barcelona were worthy winners and worthy treble-winners too.
"He has not said anything, but I hope he stays at the club next season," midfielder Andres Iniesta noted. "We have had a spectacular season, in every sense of the word."
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Loser: Arturo Vidal
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Should Arturo Vidal have been sent off just 15 minutes into Saturday's final? Booked after 11 minutes for a challenge that was not his first poor one of the match, the Chilean certainly put his fate in the referee's hands when he clattered through Neymar just moments after.
The suspicion was that, were it not for the fact this was a final and the referee did not want to brandish a red card so soon, Vidal would have been gone.
Vidal committed five fouls in his 80 minutes on the pitch. (By way of comparison, Barcelona committed just 12 in total.) Perhaps he deserves credit for somehow avoiding a red card for the 65 minutes after his closest brush with the referee—in the end, however, most people's overriding impression of his performance will be of a headless chicken who did little to help his team.
Winner: Luis Suarez
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This is why a player, one of the best in the world, will leave a club as big as Liverpool. On Saturday night, Luis Suarez scored the decisive goal as Barcelona won the Champions League, completing the treble in his first season at the club.
The Uruguayan's desire to leave Merseyside for Catalonia has already been fully justified, even if some Reds fans remain disappointed that he did not stay to try to achieve such dreams with them.
Afterwards, Suarez reflected, per Football Italia:
"Winning the Champions League is something I’ve only ever dreamed of. To win these tournaments you have to suffer, otherwise you won’t succeed, and we did that.
Juve equalised after pressing a little more and had chances, but we have players who make the difference, and they put us back ahead.
We always wanted to better our objectives. La Liga became the Copa del Rey final and now we have the treble.
Humility and our togetherness throughout the season [is the key to our success].
"
Loser: Real Madrid
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Having already lost out in the league to their archrivals (and fallen out of the cup to their city rivals before that), Real Madrid had to sit back and watch as Barcelona beat the team they could not to lift Europe's prize—cementing their current preeminence in the process.
A fourth European crown in 10 years (remember how long Real Madrid were waiting for La Decima!) is only one statistic that underlines Barcelona's current superiority. Rafa Benitez has a huge task ahead of him.
Winner: Andrea Barzagli (and Alvaro Morata)
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Even though they lost on the night, not all Juventus players walked away without anything to show for their efforts—indeed, many of them put in admirable displays in difficult circumstances.
Alvaro Morata will have done his reputation no harm with another goal, adding a strike in the final to finishes in both legs of Juventus's semi-final win to his burgeoning CV. If Real Madrid have the option to buy him back next summer, as a report from AS (h/t Sunday Express) suggest they do, then the striker's growing reputation for delivering in the biggest game will do him no harm in being wanted back by his former side.
Others also had their moments: Andrea Barzagli made a number of invaluable defensive interventions over the course of the 90 minutes, underlining that he is more than simply an understudy for the injured Giorgio Chiellini, while Paul Pogba was also impressive as he fought a losing battle in midfield.
As Vidal looked like a headless chicken, the Frenchman often looked like the real deal. He may have ended up disappointed tonight, but this does not seem likely to be his final shot at the Champions League.
Winner: Xavi
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His impact on the game might have been only moderate, but perhaps in the end this was Xavi's night. In his final appearance as a Barcelona player, he was the one given the honour of lifting the trophy—as he also set a new all-time record for Champions League appearances (151) as he sails off into the sunset.
The veteran Spaniard arrived in the 78th minute of the game, taking the armband and the responsibility of marshalling the midfield off team-mate Andres Iniesta, with Luis Enrique clearly deciding that his experience and composure was needed to see Barcelona through. As it was, Xavi was hardly involved on the ball, able to watch approvingly as his side soared to victory.
At 35, a glittering career with the club he grew up in ended in the perfect fashion. It was the perfect way to go out.
Quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise stated. Statistics via UEFA's official stats packs.
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