Juventus Club Focus: Champions League Campaign In Review

After the undefeated Scudetto campaign last season, the consensus highlight of this season was the Bianconeri’s return to Champions League. Being drawn in a group with defending European champions Chelsea only added to the anticipation and hunger felt by the club and her fans, after a summer in which Beppe Marotta made a mission of adding quality depth to the squad so it could handle a Champions League run.

The opening matchday fixture against Chelsea led to much salivating from Juventini, as our boys were finally going to be able to prove themselves against Europe’s finest. Things quickly turned sour though, when Arturo Vidal picked up an injury and Chelsea took a 2-0 lead all within a few moments. Vidal, still limping, would equalize before the first half, but things were still looking down for Juve, down 2-1 at Stamford Bridge.

Juve picked up their play in the second half, but still couldn’t find a goal. Then in the 75th minute, Fabio Quagliarella came on for Sebastian Giovinco. It only took five minutes for Quags to equalize the score, with a beautiful ball that was sent through Petr Cech’s legs. The score was now 2-2, and Juve had come from behind at Stamford Bridge. Their first result back in the Champions League was a draw, but it was an encouraging draw nonetheless.

Next came Juventus Stadium’s Champions League debut, with the Italian champions hosting Ukranian giants Shakhtar Donestk. The match itself was overshadowed by some controversy surrounding the ticket pricing, which led to a protest from the Ultras. As a result, Juventus Stadium was fairly empty and the homefield advantage that the stadium had previously provided was negated. Shahktar took a 1-0 lead off of an Alex Teixeira goal in the 23rd minute.

Leonardo Bonucci equalized just two minutes later, but the scoreline persisted through the match, despite Shakhtar’s energy and Juve’s lethargy. Two straight draws (continuing Juve’s streak of draws in European fixtures that has its roots back in Juve’s Europa League days under Luigi Delneri), but it was still looking alright for Juve. Fun fact about this match, I was watching it in class and when Bonucci equalized I became so overcome with excitement that I accidentally clapped in celebration, causing everyone in the class to turn around to look at me. It was awkward.

Juve’s third match in the Champions League was the one that led to the most grief. FC Nordsjælland hosted Juve in Denmark, and after taking a 1-0 lead in the 50th minute all was looking lost for Juventus. Again Juve were saved by a late striker substitution, this time Mirko Vucinic came on and equalized in the 81st minute. It was a 1-1 draw against the weakest team in the group. This led to much grumbling and fear from Juventini and from many commentators, and it was looking like Juventus would not qualify for the knockout rounds.

In between the draw and the return match against the Danes, Juve lost 3-1 to Inter. We now know that this served as an impetus for a nice run of blowouts for Juve, the first of which was a 4-0 drubbing of FC Nordsjælland at Juventus Stadium, then followed by a 6-1 victory of Pescara. The Champions League win was highlighted by Sebastian Giovinco, who had struggled in previous Champions League appearances this season.

This was when Juve turned the corner, ending their streak of draws and getting into good Champions League form. This was proved when Juventus hosted Chelsea, and smashed the reigning Champions League winners 3-0. This time Quagliarella scored the first goal, reigning in the blow out this time as opposed to softening the blow like with his last goal against Chelsea. This match also had a big effect on the group standings, leading to today’s scenario, where Juve only needed a draw or win to qualify, while Chelsea needed to win and hope that Juve lost in order for them to go through.

The final group stage match between Shakhtar and Juventus was played at a very high tempo. It was an exhausting match for both sides, as they both fought quite hard for a win. Juve, in particular, seemed extra eager to win and not settle for the draw, having not made a substitution until the very end of the match. Both sides had a few scoring chances, with Shakhtar’s looking a tad more dangerous.

Eventually, a cross to Sebastian Giovinco led to an own goal by Shakhtar’s Olexander Kurcher. Giovinco deserves a fair share of credit for his efforts, but his touch was not the one that sent the ball into the goal. Paul Pogba received a pass in the 85th minute, free on goal, but he was wrongly called offside and what likely would have been a second Juventus goal was barred from occurring. Juve held on throughout the match and ended up top of the group after winning 1-0.

Juventus are now through to the knock out stages of the 2012-2013 Champions League, and can now begin dreaming of potential match ups against teams like Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Manchester United, and even Barcelona. We could even see a rematch of the 2003 final, in the improbable scenario that both AC Milan and Juve reach the final.