Live Real Madrid vs Juventus, UEFA Champions League final: Catch all the updates as the two European giants clash at Cardiff. (Source: AP)
The 2017 UEFA Champions League final is upon us. On Sunday, June 4, 2017, 22 players will draw the envy of footballers from around the globe as they line up at the Millenium Stadium in Cardiff with the Champions League anthem and the screams 66,000 fans filling the air. Both Real Madrid and Juventus dominated their opponents in the semi-final and that makes predicting the outcome of this match nearly impossible. While Juventus are chasing their first ever treble of domestic league, cup and continental titles. Real are chasing a double of domestic league and continental titles and could also be the first ever team to defend their Champions League title since the tournament has been rechristened. Catch live scores and updates of the UEFA Champions League final between Real Madrid and Juventus.
Real Madrid vs Juventus, Live football score, 2017 UEFA Champions League final:
2327 hrs IST: Bale is in the subs and so could be a bit of a card up Zidane’s sleeves. It would have been one of the surprises of the season if he was in the first team though. But anyway, Isco has got his deserved place in the starting XI.
2324 hrs IST: Team News;
Juventus: Buffon, Barzagli, Bonucci, Chiellini, Alex Sandro, Khedira, Pjanic, Dani Alves, Dybala, Mandzukic, Higuain
Real Madrid: Navas, Carvajal, Varane, Marcelo, Modric, Casemiro, Kroos, Isco, Benzema, Ronaldo
2311 hrs IST: Rumours were emanating from Cardiff that Gareth Bale might start the match. A few other whispers then came that bale will not be in the Real starting line up. Whatever it may be, we await the official squads for the two teams.
2245 hrs IST: One of the lasting images of the 2009 Champions League final between Manchester United and Barcelona is Cristiano Ronaldo chasing the ball as it is passed in almost nonchalance between Andres Iniesta, Xavi and Carles Puyol. An exasperated Ronaldo, then the reigning World Player of the Year kicks the air when Iniesta finally puts the ball forward. It was the first time that Ronaldo was playing in a second consecutive Champions League final. United were undone that day by a magnificent Barcelona led by the diminutive Lionel Messi and Ronaldo moved to Real for a record fee that summer.
Eight years later, he faces another chance to be part of a team that have won two consecutive Champions League titles. He has been at the centre of Zinedine Zidane’s revolution at the Santiago Bernabeu and his mind numbing ability to find the back of the net more often than not have helped Real dominate Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid on the road to Cardiff. But in the context of the match itself, Ronaldo is not the sole protagonist. There is also the venerable Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon who hasn’t been able to win the title since making his debut in 1995. At the time, Ronaldo was a promising 10-year-old playing in Portuguese club Nacional’s youth squad. There is also the Juventus back line of Giorgio Chiellini, Leonardo Bonucci and Andrea Barzagli who have formed what has to be one of the strongest defences in the world this season.
There is Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane, who has played for Juventus in two Champions League finals and lost both of them. He has then won the trophy with Real Madrid, scoring the winner against Bayer Leverkusen in 2002. The goal is rated as the greatest in the history of the tournament. He has then won the trophy a second time in his first season, in fact half season, as manager. Multiple storylines will be drawing to a climax at Cardiff, pick your poison.
