28 September 2021
There have been two previous matches in Turin between Juventus and Chelsea, both in the Champions League. The first battle was in the 2008-09 edition: at the Olimpico, the return leg of the Round of 16 clash ended 2-2 as the Londoners qualified for the next round. The Juventus rematch took place four years later: Matchday Five of the group stages was played at the Juventus Stadium and Fabio Quagliarella's goal (in the photo) laid the foundations for a superb 3-0 victory, the premise for the advancement of the Old Lady in the competition, and the early elimination of the reigning European champions.
SEBA'S STAMP
Sebastian Giovinco launches towards the goal, his touch taking him one-on-one with Petr Cech, as the ball ends up in the back of the net. This is the image that closes the Juventus-Chelsea match on 20th November 2012. After Quagliarella's goal in the early stages of the game, the Bianconeri double their lead in the second half through Arturo Vidal, and then definitively seal the result with the sharpness of Seba in injury time.
LEO'S CONCENTRATION
In the first leg, at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea and Juventus draw 2-2, with the Blues netting twice thanks to a brace from Oscar shortly after half an hour. A great deal of attention must be paid to the young Brazilian talent, at the time 21 years old, and in Turin the BBC contains him very well. The image reproduces a moment of Leonardo Bonucci's control, very good in the first half to oppose a potentially very dangerous opponent's conclusion.
GIORGIO EVERYWHERE
A contrast between Giorgio Chiellini and Victor Moses, the Nigerian midfielder who took the place of Cesar Azpilicueta in the 60th minute. A few seconds later, Vidal makes it 2-0 and Chelsea manager Roberto Di Matteo's plan is shattered. Giorgio is the absolute leader of the challenge, and he is everywhere, as the numbers attest: he is the one who touches the most balls in the Juventus team, and retrieves the most balls as well. Construction and opposition, a performance that avenges the elimination suffered four years earlier.
DROGBA, THE DRIVER
Together with Gianluigi Buffon, Claudio Marchisio and Giovinco, Chiellini is one of the players who played in both Juventus-Chelsea match-ups played in Turin. Here we see him during the challenge of March 10, 2009, committed against Drogba, scorer of the goal that fixes the result at 2-2. A high-intensity confrontation against someone more than a "simple" great striker: the Ivorian is a real driver and will end up being the man who will push the Londoners to win their first Champions League in 2012.
OPPONENTS AND TEAMMATES
In that match, in which the supporters at the Olimpico with a heartfelt final applause acknowledge Juve having fought to the end, there are two opposing players who will later become teammates. The photo puts Marchisio and Nicolas Anelka close to dueling. Claudio has always been a Juventus player, while Nicolas leaves Paris for a roundabout trip to various clubs. After London there will be Shanghai and then six months in Turin, for only three appearances in the black and white jersey in 2013, in a formation in which - by now - the Principino is a veteran.
