FC Barcelona have a date with The Old Lady (La Vecchia Signora) on June 6 in Berlin. As true gentlemen, the blaugranas must come prepared.

Let’s take a look at how the team coached by Massimiliano Allegri usually plays. Special focus is given on the Champions League games they played against Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid, as well as on their Italian Cup final against Lazio.

This is Juve’s basic shape from which everything starts.

The players shown above are the ones most likely to play the final against Barça.

Their shirt numbers and basic physical characteristics are the following:

The way Juventus play can be analyzed in four different parts:

Positional defense

When Juventus try to recover the ball very high, Vidal gets with the forwards and they may start chasing the ball holder. Normally Morata and Tévez stay in the center channel and the other midfielders move closer to their direct opponent. This way they expect to cut the pass of the pressed player or force a long ball that Bonucci and Chiellini are likely to win.

But they do not press the opponent’s center midfielder, who can receive the ball.

If Juventus don't press high, the forwards stay on the half-line. There Vidal is normally positioned behind them and thus the team organizes in 4-3-1-2. They do not press actively and prefer to wait for their rivals. With three men in the center on the first line, the other team is likely to play through the flanks.

When the bianconeri have to defend in their own half, Vidal goes deeper and they form a flat 4-4-2.

Each player defends his own zone, and normally doesn’t jump to press. They are more prone to wait for their opponent to come to them – they “float” them.

The closer they get to their goal, the less space they leave between midfield and defense.

When the other team takes the ball to the flank, the full back – Evra or Lichtsteiner – stays on the side and moves to press the ball holder, but the other three defenders group together into the area to defend the possible cross.

The flank midfielder – Pogba or Marchisio – also goes to the side to help the full back.

The center midfielder from that side may also come closer.

Vidal will be much more aggressive than Pirlo, who normally prefers to stay in the center channel.

Allegri also uses the 3-5-2, or 5-3-2 depending on how you view it. Barzagli, who may not make it to the final due to a recent injury, substitutes one midfielder to play as a third center back.

When defending in their own half, the block is also positioned low.

Juventus manage two ways to defend in this system:

In the same way as for the 4-4-2, the full back moves closer to the ball holder and the other defenders – four in this case – stay together in their area.

On the side where the opponent is attacking, the full back defends high, on the same line as the midfielders, and the center back goes behind him. The other two center backs move to the center and the remaining full back moves to his normal position. Thus Juve also adopt a 4-4-2 shape, using a “double full back” on the side.

Attacking Transition

Normally Juventus recover the ball deep in their own half, since their block is usually in that position. The way they normally play is to pass the ball directly to the forwards. Morata and Tévez are close together. One of them receives the ball and the other starts running, which makes the defenders start running as well and give space to the player with the ball. This one will normally keep it, turn and start running as well.


They do not wait for their teammates. The only objective is to score in the most direct way, running toward the goal. They give as few passes as possible.

The two forwards are normally accompanied by at least two midfielders, usually Vidal and Pogba or Marchisio.

If they cannot play directly with the forwards, Allegri’s boys will change the game to the full back or center back on the opposite side the ball was recovered, to gain space and time. Pirlo excels at this.

From there, either the full back/center back will start running with the ball to push the opponent to its half and/or pass the ball to one of the forwards, normally Morata, in the free space on the same flank.

When the forward is on the flank, he will try to finish alone or, more often than not, will try to cross for Tévez and Vidal, as well as for Pogba (and even Marchisio) from a second wave, all running fiercely toward the goal.

The third option for the full back is to calm the game down, wait and pass to the ball back, enabling Juventus to start their positional attack.

Positional Attack

Juventus are not afraid of taking time to organize themselves in their own half. They exchange lots of passes between center backs, Pirlo and the full backs.

The main option they will consider is a vertical ball in the center channel, usually by Pirlo, Chiellini or Bonucci.

Chiellini is left-footed and plays on the left side, while Bonucci is right-footed and plays on the right. This is very helpful since they both can pass the ball using their natural foot and they are both valid options for starting Juve’s passing sequence.

Those vertical balls (off or on the ground) have three main destinations:

A forward coming deep – or Vidal moving high – between lines. Vidal compensates for the forward movement by moving closer to the other striker.

Then the Juventus player holds the ball, turns and runs.

Or he passes to a close midfielder looking toward the goal. This way they gain meters and progress as a block, pushing the opponent in their own half.

Pogba, Vidal and Tévez between the lines, one step deeper than described above. They will also turn and run, especially Pogba. Marchisio normally is not an option for this since he plays closer to Pirlo.

A forward attacking the space at the back of the defense.

Sometimes Pirlo gets between the center backs. Then the midfielders have to come deeper to provide passing options.

If the receiver of those vertical passes in the center channel cannot turn, he will give the ball to the full back, who is looking toward the goal. Then they will:

Start the sequence again by passing it back to the center backs.

Run with the ball to gain meters (especially Evra).

Pass the ball to the forward moving closer .

Give a vertical pass to a forward or Vidal going to the side.

Once in opponent’s half, things change, especially the pace which becomes very high. There are up to seven players between the ball and the opponent’s goalkeeper.

The bianconeri look for a vertical pass to someone between lines (Pogba).

Then the storm strikes, with vertical runs from several players, “killer” pass to space or shoot from outside the area.

They can open the side for a cross from the full back to a crowded area. The two strikers are accompanied by at least two midfielders – usually Pogba and Vidal.

If there is no space to run into and no clear passing options, the Italians will go backwards for Pirlo to execute a “killer” pass to four to five players running to the goal (including full backs), sending the ball between the defense and the goalkeeper.

A consequence of those options is that normally they will only lose the ball in the opponent's penalty box, after a cross or a shoot. This way of attacking enables the bianconeri to force their opponent to counterattack from very far away.

When Juve play 3-5-2, they use basically the same mechanisms. But one more resource is the full back playing as a winger providing an additional passing option for a long range ball from the back.

Defensive Transition

As described in the positional attack section, La Vecchia Signora attack with six to seven players: two strikers, three midfielders and one or two full backs.

Pirlo stays behind them, just in front of the central defenders Chiellini and Bonucci.

Therefore when Juve lose the ball, those three players will be the last line between the opponent and Buffon. They are normally helped by one of the full backs – if their block was not very high on the pitch – from the opposite side from where the game was developing.

When one bianconero loses the ball, the closest player presses the opponent to prevent him from playing fast. This way he gives time to his teammates to run back to their defending positions.

If the other team sends an off-ground long ball, the center back will advance to cut it.

When Juve play 5-3-2, the third center back takes the role of the full back, who plays much higher on the pitch than when using four at the back. However, the defenders play closer together so there is less distance between the three center backs than between two center backs and one full back.

The Final

Now that we have seen the basic mechanisms of the Vecchia Signora, let’s have a look at what may happen against FC Barcelona.

The first move to consider is Messi’s diagonal.

Messi, as right winger, will face Pogba and Evra. It is likely that Vidal will be positioned behind Pogba and not Pirlo, who would suffer more defending.

Rakitic attacking the space between Evra and the other defenders will be the key movement.

If Vidal doesn’t follow him, Messi can pass the ball to Rakitic in a very good position.

If Vidal does follow him, the space behind Pogba will be free. Therefore if Messi eliminates Pogba (through dribbling or combining), Leo will be in front of the area against Pirlo, who is not a specialist at defending. From there anything can happen.

Messi can:

Give his diagonal pass to Neymar and Alba.

Dribble Pirlo and/or shoot.

Pass to Rakitic.

The bianconeri also have what it takes to threaten Barça.

It is likely that they will look for long balls toward Morata (1.87 meters) against Mascherano (1.74 meters) and Alba (1.70 meters).

The game between the lines behind Busquets by Tévez, Vidal and Morata will be an issue for the blaugrana. This is one of their weakest points and the Italians may take advantage of it.

Evra and Pogba on the left side might take advantage of Messi not tracking back. Evra would find a crossing position to pass to the Juve players in the area.

Conclusion

These are the basic mechanisms Juventus use, how they are more likely to line up during the final, and the consequences on the main strategies that are likely to happen in Berlin on June 6. Messi vs Pogba, Tévez and Morata against the culé defense, Vidal running everywhere… The result will depend on small details.

Now let the geniuses play and enjoy the final!

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