Two years following Juve's run to the Champions League Final in Berlin, the Old Lady is back at it again with yet another impressive deep run into the final stage of the world's most prestigious club competition. A few hours away from kickoff of the final between Juventus and Real Madrid in Cardiff, I thought I'd revisit some of the transfer market strategies and tactics I highlighted 2 years ago, and also shed light on one additional component that just might give the Bianconeri the ability to go one step further than they did in Berlin.
Mature/Bosman Signings
The Bosman signings of Sami Khedira and Dani Alves highlight Juventus' continued impressive ability to find value in the transfer market like few clubs can. Both players, who have experience winning the Champions League (and a World Cup in Khedira's case), have been crucial during this season's campaign and could play a vital role later on today. To have signed these players for $0 is quite incredible.
Italian Core
Buffon, Barzagli, Bonucci, Chiellini and Marchisio form an Italian core that is critical to everything Juventus has achieved in the past few years. It's not a coincidence that the five of them (in addition to Swiss defender Stephan Lichtsteiner) have been with Old Lady for all of Juventus' six consecutive Serie A titles (a European record). The sense of identity they bring to the table is a characteristic well represented in all sides that have been dominant in the Champions League's recent history (Barcelona and Bayern in particular).
Statement Signings
Following the negative financial impact of Calciopoli, a new stadium (whose naming rights have just been sold to Allianz coincidentally), a more modern approach to commercial sponsorships, and Juventus' extended runs in recent Champions Leagues have all contributed to significantly amplified revenue streams that have enabled the Old Lady to splash the cash in the transfer market. This is a major shift in mentality relative to seasons past in which all signings (see 'Prudent signings' section in article below) were financially conservative relatively speaking. To give a few examples, over the past 2 seasons Juventus has signed Alex Sandro (26 million Euros from Porto), Miralem Pjanic (32 million Euros from Roma), Paulo Dybala (32 million Euros from Palermo) and most significantly Gonzalo Higuain (90 million Euros from Napoli).
The signings of Higuain and Pjanic simultaneously played the role of significantly improving the technical level of the team while simultaneously weakening their strongest competition in Serie A (Napoli and Roma in this case, respectively). The signing of Higuain said one thing and one thing only - Juventus want to win the Champions League. Personally, I think the gamble will pay off, and Juve will take that extra step this time. We'll find out whether or not that's the case in a few hours, and regardless of the outcome today, expect to consistently see the Old Lady in the very latter stages of the Champions League for years to come.
