Juventus take on Barcelona in what is a repeat of the 2014/15 Champions League final on Tuesday night. The two teams have come a long way since then and the match remains one of the highlights of the quarter-final stages. The Old Lady comfortably beat Porto to qualify while the Spanish giants had to mount the most epic European comeback of all time to reach this stage.
But if we were to make a team of the best players from both teams, who would make the lineup? We look at a combined XI of players from both Juve and Barca.
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Formation: 4-3-3
Goalkeeper
This was a bit of a tough one Juventus have kept more clean sheets in the Champions League than Barcelona – the Italian side have kept a clean sheet in six of their last eight matches (Buffon played in seven of them).
While that has a lot more to do with the defence than just the goalkeepers, Gianluigi Buffon has looked a lot more assured compared to the vulnerable Marc-Andre ter Stegen in Barcelona’s goal.
The veteran 39-year-old Italian goalkeeper is yet to win the Champions League – the only major trophy missing from his already impressive cabinet – having finished on the losing side in the final in 2003 and 2015.
Ter Stegen may be a Champions League winner but we’re going with Buffon for his performances this season.
Defence
The centre-back pairing is made in Spain and Italy. If there’s one player who does not make the lineup it is Barcelona’s Javier Mascherano. The Argentine defensive-midfielder-turned-centre-back has arguably been the weakest link in the Barca side – both in the Champions League and La Liga.
However, Gerard Pique remains an invaluable member of the squad and is now one of the most senior members of Enrique’s team. The 30-year-old has been the one constant at the back for Barca and even gets the nod over Samuel Umtiti and Juve’s experienced duo of Andrea Barzagli and Giorgio Chiellini.
For partnering him in defence is none other than Juve’s youngest member of their own version of BBC – Leonardo Bonucci. The central defender can play in both the3-5-2 and 4-2-3-1 formations – the two main formations Max Allegri has used at the Turin club this season.
In the full-backs roles, it’s all Juventus. On the left is Alex Sandro who has been one of Juve’s standout performers – enough to send Patrice Evra packing. A strong dribbler who creates a number of chances with his crosses, Sandro is also defensively adept with his tackling although he is prone to conceding the occasional foul.
Barcelona have not had a specialist right-back since Aleix Vidal’s horror injury and Sergi Roberto is no like-for-like replacement. On the other flank, Jordi Alba has been erratic and is yet to really fit into Barcelona's philosophy of moving the ball (although that philosophy has also been changed in recent years).
At right-back is a man who will find the Camp Nou a familiar hunting ground – Dani Alves. The former Barcelona man left under acrimonious circumstances but has played an integral part in the Champions League no matter what formation Allegri picks. Stephan Lichtsteiner has often played in Serie A but, in Europe, it’s Alves all the way.
Midfield
Sergio Busquets would have walked into this lineup had he not been suspended for the first leg. In an ever-changing lineup at Barcelona, Enrique has pretty much stuck with Busquets in central midfield. So we go with the next best option – Miralem Pjanic. The Bosnian midfielder is akin to a deep-lying playmaker and can pick a pass through the crowd while he is also a threat on set-pieces (namely free-kicks).
Alongside him is one of Barcelona’s captains – Andres Iniesta. The Spaniard has not had the best of seasons if you look at the numbers but he is still the last vestige of Barcelona’s famous midfield that keeps the ball ticking and creates chances out of seemingly nothing. He is a midfielder that opponents struggle to dispossess and his ability to find the right pass under intense pressure is what makes him a key to Barcelona’s midfield.
In the playmaker’s role is Juve’s next big star – Paulo Dybala. The 23-year-old Argentina international can play as a forward or attacking midfielder in the hole behind the striker and the latter position is where we will put him. In fact, he has been ore successful in that role rather than when leading the line with six goals and four assists (in the league and Europe) compared to four goals and two assists as a forward.
Forwards
Since we have adopted a 4-3-3 formation, the choices for the wide forwards is pretty much obvious. On the right is Lionel Messi – the Champions League’s top goalscorer with 11 goals in seven appearances so far. The Barcelona talisman is six goals away from the unique achievement of 100 goals in the competition (second only to Cristiano Ronaldo who is on 95 goals).
Messi lit up the group stages with two hat-tricks – against Celtic and Manchester City – in dominant performances where the Catalan club walked away with 7-0 and 4-0 wins. In all, he has been involved in 13 goals – so good luck trying to pick Juan Cuadrado ahead of him.
On the left is Barcelona’s second-best player in the competition with four goals and eight assists (involved in 12 goals) – Neymar. While Messi was marked out of the game in the second leg against Paris Saint-Germain, it was the Brazilian who stepped up, kept his cool to score a goal and grab two assists – including the final lob that saw Roberto score the crucial sixth goal to win the tie.
Also read: All rise for Prince Neymar, the imperfect heir to Messi's throne at Barcelona
Neymar also had a goal and an incredible four assists to his name in that same game Messi scored a hat-trick against Celtic. The battle between him and compatriot Alves will be one to look out for in the game.
Picking a striker to lead the line was the toughest job and it’s a dilemma most manager would not want to face. Do you pick Juve’s so-called mercenary striker who jumped ship from Napoli to effectively complete a winning team or do you go for the Barcelona frontman who has scored 36 goals for the club in all competitions?
In the end, we had no choice but to go with Luis Suarez. Because if you were building the best team from the players available, you would rather go with the trio of MSN up front since they have won trophies together for nearly three seasons now.
Still sceptical? Then ask yourself “Who would Messi pick?” while the highlights of the World Cup and Copa America finals run in the back of your mind.
